00:00The Rainbow Sox were pulled up high as players took to the field in the Spring-Out Sports
00:07Festival, celebrating diversity and inclusivity.
00:10I love getting dressed up for these type of events, like I always have to be, you know,
00:15the shiniest person, just like shouting on the sidelines basically.
00:20Run by ACT Veterans Rugby, the event began last year as a rugby union pride round, but
00:25has grown much bigger.
00:27Players hope it'll become a permanent feature of Canberra's annual pride festival.
00:32There's queer people in every part of society, and it's good to acknowledge that it's a safe
00:36place for people to come and play sport.
00:37I think sport's a good way to get people involved and be a part of a community.
00:43It's a lot of, you know, just people out there that just need this safe space to get into
00:47something like this, to find out they love it, and so the more of this sort of stuff
00:50we can do, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter if it's a small kid or old man.
00:55Perhaps in that same spirit, vets' rugby rules are modified so everyone can take part,
01:00regardless of age.
01:01And once you get to 60, you can wear red shorts, which means you have to be gently tackled,
01:06and once you get to over 70, like me, you can't be tackled, but you can't go more than
01:1110 metres.
01:12That didn't mean a less intense game, with a few players left slightly worse for wear,
01:17while others sought a reprieve from the heat.
01:19This year, the event had also expanded to include games from codes like gridiron, touch
01:24and soccer.
01:25It's really great, especially for American football, especially with the women's, there's
01:29so many LGBTQ people that play, so it's really great to represent.
01:35Trying to show there's a place in sport for everyone.
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