A foundation stone of the St Kilda Football Club is its commitment to diversity and inclusion in the wider community.
Borne out of one of the most historically diverse suburbs in Melbourne, the Saints are proud to have continued this commitment to celebrating diversity and ensuring everyone feels welcome and included at the footy.
The club’s work with Auslan (Australian Sign Language) seeks to promote awareness and support for the deaf community, as well as an understanding of how best to include this community both online and in person.
“Our goal is to make our games and events a more inclusive environment for our members and supporters who are deaf or hard of hearing,” Jack Newnes said.
“In 2017, we were the first club to have an Auslan presenter accompany the game-day MC on-field, and captions on the screen for all video content and live interviews.”
St Kilda’s work with Auslan has also extended to closed captions on club videos shared via social media channels, and an increased presence of Auslan presenters at major club functions and events, such as the Best and Fairest night.
Earlier in 2018, all Saints staff and players were invited to participate in a six-week Auslan Professional Development Course to encourage learning and development within the club.
The course was a resounding success, and covered areas including deaf culture and awareness, question signs, alphabet and numbers, instructions, and other key areas of interest.
