England Lacrosse to support Stonewall's 2024 Rainbow Laces campaign

England Lacrosse is delighted to be supporting Stonewall’s 2024 Rainbow Laces campaign that aims to make sport safer and more inclusive for members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Taking place from Saturday 16 to Wednesday 4 December, the annual campaign, now in its 11th year, will this year focus on making sure sport is safe and welcoming for all when taking part or watching in the crowd.

Since the campaign was started in 2013, over one million people have laced up to show that sport should be everyone’s game but for all the progress that has been made there are still those who discriminate against and exclude LGBTQ+ people in sport.

Many LGBTQ+ people continue to feel unsafe at live sporting events and Stonewall along with England Lacrosse believe people shouldn’t have to make a choice between taking part in sport and being their authentic selves.

By lacing up and taking part in the Rainbow Laces campaign this year, you can send a powerful message: your club is a safe place where everyone can be themselves.

There are many ways to support the campaign but the most prominent is to wear a pair of Stonewall’s laces which now come in the traditional rainbow colours as well as a variety which support specific branches of the LGBTQ+ umbrella including the lesbian, trans, bi, non-binary, pan, and asexual flags.

To take part in this year’s campaign, grab your own pair of Rainbow Laces HERE.

For more information about the Rainbow Laces campaign and the important work Stonewall do, click HERE.

Rainbow Laces Campaign celebrates 10th birthday!

As a Stonewall Diversity Champion, England Lacrosse is once again delighted to be supporting Stonewall’s annual Rainbow Laces campaign that is celebrating its 10th birthday in 2023.

The campaign, which runs from the 25 November to 11 December, encourages those involved in sport to wear rainbow coloured laces in support of LGBTQ+ equality.

Over the past ten years, Stonewall has hit goal after goal, getting more than one million people to lace up and changing perceptions across the sporting world.

Thanks to the campaign and the support of millions of people around the UK, Stonewall has helped change the game; their polling indicates that, of fans who have seen the campaign:

• 74% now consider LGBTQ+ people part of the sport community

• 68% feel a responsibility to stick up for LGBTQ+ fans of the teams and sports they follow

• 49% believe they are more likely to challenge anti-LGBTQ+ language at live sport fixtures

• 71% think leading sports organisations are taking their responsibility to support LGBTQ+ fans and players more seriously than they were a year ago.

Obviously, this must-win game isn’t over yet and large parts of the LGBTQ+ community still can’t be their true selves whilst attending or participating in sporting events.

This year, discriminatory abuse and chanting on the pitch, on the side lines and in the terraces across grassroots and professional sports has been on the rise. That’s despite research showing that the number of people who see homophobic remarks or banter as ‘acceptable’ has halved over the last five years; from 25% in 2017 to 14% in 2022.

In 2023, that just blows our mind so while we should be proud of what’s been done so far, this is no time to take our eye off the ball and that’s why Stonewall’s 2023 Rainbow Laces Campaign message is to keep it up.

Keep up raising awareness. Keep up supporting each other. Keep up pushing to make sure sport is for everyone.

Lacing up is still making a difference but only if we keep doing it, and keep making all the noise we can. Lace up to keep it up.

For more information about the Rainbow Laces Campaign, visit the Stonewall website HERE or view their activation pack HERE.

England Lacrosse Support Annual Rainbow Laces Campaign

England Lacrosse are proud to once again be supporting Stonewall’s annual Rainbow Laces Campaign that has a particular focus this year on “celebrating the impact that sport has on LGBT people, and the impact that LGBT people have on sport”.

The campaign, which was initially launched seven years ago in 2013, aims to raise awareness around LGBT+ inclusion in sport and runs from 26 November to 13 December.

Since the campaign began, Stonewall have sent out over one million pairs of rainbow laces and supporters of the campaign this year will be able to support specific branches of the LGBT+ umbrella with the launch of laces depicting the lesbian, trans, bi, non-binary, pan, and asexual flags.

Maria Munir, Stonewall's Associate Director of Community Engagement, said: "It's fantastic that we've sent out close to one million laces across the UK and beyond. It shows what a phenomenal symbol lacing up has become for LGBT+ people”.

Given the circumstances the world faces this year, it’s no surprise that there’s a huge focus in the 2020 campaign on the impact that COVID-19 has had on LGBT+ communities after a recent Stonewall survey found that loneliness and isolation are badly affecting LGBT+ communities during this time.

England Lacrosse will be highlighting some of these stories across the next two weeks so keep an eye out on our social media channels and website to stay up to date!