Craig Watson of LGBTI sporting festival Proud to Play has been recognised by the international community for his significant contributions to the global LGBTI community. The Federation of Gay Games, founded in 2007, has announced the recipients of it’s annual awards and this year has honoured Watson with a Medal of Commendation. The Event Manager for the newly-launched sports festival says “It feels extremely rewarding to be recognised by such a large international organisation. I feel humbled and I need to share this honour with my team and specifically Dion Leslie and Virginia Parker-Bowles who helped to lead the group.” “This also represents huge support and recognition to the LGBTIF sporting community in NZ, taking into consideration the issue of homophobia in sport. NZ sporting bodies are now focusing on this issue and are working with groups like Proud to Play to see how we can make sports clubs more inclusive and safe for the LGBTIF community.” This year’s Proud to Play Festival came to life after the collapse of the Outgames and the community driven event ran alongside the Auckland Pride Festival. “Proud to Play is now looking to build sporting groups around NZ and working further with these NZ sporting bodies to advocate for our community.” The Legacy Awards will be presented during a gala dinner on Monday 24 October in Sydney.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 1st August 2016 - 9:12pm