Rainbow headbands, ribboned ponytails, and a packed gym signaled that this wasn’t just another game night—it was the Volleyball teams first-ever Pride Night.
On Jan. 10 at 6 p.m., the Women’s and Men’s Volleyball teams gathered at the ARC’s Main Gym to have Pride Night in collaboration with Trellis—a Kingston-based community care centre that provides stigma-free HIV/AIDS education, harm reduction, and support services—and the Yellow House Student Centre for Equity and Inclusion. The event marks Queen’s Volleyball teams first Pride Night at the ARC.
After running the Women’s Hockey team’s pride game last year, the night was organized and promoted in three weeks by both Holly Biasi, ArtSci ’26, and Chris Zimmerman, ArtSci ’27, who run the Queen’s Queer and Gender Diverse Student Athlete Association—founded in 2023 by former Gaels Women’s Hockey captain, Charlotte Melindy, ArtSci ’25.
At the start of each game, a write-up was read to the crowd for them to understand what Pride Night was and why it was happening.
“Pride Night recognizes and celebrates the contributions, identities, and experiences of 2SLGBTQIA+ athletes, students, staff, alumni, and supporters. Sport has the power to build community, belonging, and shared purpose, but it’s also important to acknowledge that sport hasn’t always been inclusive. For many 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals, athletic spaces have historically been marked by exclusion, silence, and harm, rather than safety and acceptance,” the write-up read.
“At Queen’s, we believe excellence in athletics goes hand in hand with building a community rooted in belonging, respect, and inclusion,” the write-up further stated. Clothing donations were being collected for Trellis, and Zimmerman said in an interview with The Journal they finished the night with a total of 25 hats and gloves to donate.
Men’s Volleyball team after Pride Night game. PHOTO BY CHRIS ZIMMERMAN.
During their games, the men’s team wore rainbow headbands, while the women tied rainbow ribbons in their hair to show their support of Pride. For Zimmerman, Pride Nights have been long on his agenda, and he’s excited to see them grow in the future. “I would love to see this become bigger in the future at Queen’s and have a bigger theme game where lots of students come out,” he said.
While Pride Nights still have yet to involve all teams at Queen’s, Zimmerman sees the potential for future growth in heteronormative and traditionally queer-excluding spaces. “Having just like even that small amount of space and in such a masculine-driven environment is super powerful, and I think that it would be really cool to see something like that happen,” he said. The popularity of Pride Nights is expanding across the OUA, Zimmerman explaining that the OUA hosted its own Hockey Pride Week back in November.
And for Zimmerman, the meaning of the night extended beyond symbolism—it showed up on the scoreboard too.
Besides a night filled with Pride, Zimmerman said both teams won their sets 3-0. “All the more reason to play for,” he said.
Tags
Chris Zimmerman, Holly Biasi, Pride Night, Queer & Gender Diverse Student Athlete Association, Trellis, Yellow House Student Centre for Equity and Inclusion
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