At Wednesday's annual award ceremony in Melbourne, NQ also achieved Gold tier status on the Pride In Sport Index (PSI) while Chief Executive Officer Kate Davies was named Executive Leader of the Year.
The triple achievement comes as NQ enters its fifth year as a member of Pride in Sport, a journey which started after it introduced an inaugural Suncorp Super Netball Pride Match in 2021 between the Queensland Firebirds and Collingwood Magpies. NQ has since had a clear focus on LGBTQ+ education, policy development and LGBTQ+ visibility.
Davies said it was rewarding for NQ's strategic commitment to LGBTQ+ inclusion to be recognised.
"Achieving Gold tier recognition is a powerful reflection of our ongoing commitment to LGBTQ+ inclusion," Davies said.
"I’m incredibly honored to receive the Pride in Sport Executive of the Year Award. This recognition isn't about me - it reflects the collective effort of the passionate people at Netball Queensland who believe in the power of inclusion. True leadership means creating spaces where everyone can thrive as their authentic selves, and I’m proud to stand beside those who make that possible every day.
"Let’s keep pushing forward - with pride, with purpose, and with each other."
NQ is committed to having an increased focus on community engagement in 2025 and will launch a LGBTQ+ Champion program to establish a network of inclusion champions across the state.
The Queensland Firebirds will also host the Melbourne Mavericks in a Suncorp Super Netball Pride Match at Nissan Arena on Sunday, June 22 at 4pm.
"We are committed to ensuring that our netball community feels welcome, safe and respected on and off the court. We’re honoured to be leading the way and incredibly proud to be recognised along Australia’s leading sports and look forward to continuing our work with Pride in Sport," Davies said.
The PSI is an independently administered national benchmarking system used to assess LGBTQ+ inclusion within Australian sport.
The PSI is administered by Pride in Sport, a national not-for-profit sporting inclusion program led by Australia’s largest LGBTQ+ health organisation, ACON.
For more info on NQ LGBTQ+ inclusion, visit Pride in Sport - Netball Queensland.
