Pride of the Terraces

Edinburgh Jitsu: “I’m very proud of the fact that our club has been a consistent feature in the community for such a long time.” Against his own expectations, Ben Reynolds has found a home in martial arts – and now he helps others do the same by teaching them self-defence at Edinburgh Jitsu.

Brand new on POTT: Edinburgh Jitsu! Instructor Ben Reynolds explains how he went from reluctant participant to running the club, and what he’s doing to keep it an inclusive space.

Thanks to Ramsay Banks for putting this one together.

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"Sexuality is fluid over time, and I think that’s the case with gender identity as well."

A very interesting read, highly recommended.

Also do follow @ans.bsky.social if you don't already.

Loved talking to @ahenderson96.bsky.social on how running ultras helped me through the worst of cancer diagnoses, coming out as non binary, and the importance of claiming our (queer) spaces in established races #runsky #lgbtqi+

Anson Mackay: “I’m not going to hide it from other people any longer, and especially not in a space I love.” Anson Mackay’s life changed a handful of years ago, with a terminal cancer diagnosis coming quickly off the back of realising they were non-binary while out running.

New on POTT: @ans.bsky.social! A pleasure to speak to them and a truly remarkable story with coming out later in life as non-binary, ultra-running and cancer all intertwined. You do not want to miss this one! Read the full thing at the link below 👇

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Hebridean Baker: “My whole life I knew football was where I wanted to be – albeit I had to find my place.” Coinneach MacLeod (aka The Hebridean Baker) has become known for his culinary creations all around the world – but much of his life work has come in the football sphere.

Just realised I never got around to sharing this on here - last month I went to Out In The Hills in Pitlochry where I heard about the Hebridean Baker’s background in football - naturally that meant I had to follow it up with a chat for POTT. Read it below!

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🥌 🇬🇧 We’re psyched for the big one!

Good luck Bruce and Team Mouat in the #Olympics men’s #curling final 🤞

Cheer the boys on for us, Craig, @scottishcurling.bsky.social and #TeamGB

📺 Watch from 1805 GMT on Saturday

#MilanoCortina2026 #TeamLGBTQ @leapsports.bsky.social @prideoftheterraces.com

Pippa York: “I didn’t go through all the s*** I’ve gone through to look at anyone in a changing room.” Pippa York is one of the few athletes to have reached the top of their sport, and then gone through a gender transition – but long after retirement she is now looking to add another accolade …

We’re at the end of Trans+ Awareness Week, and today is Trans Day of Remembrance, so it feels apt to publish this interview with legendary cyclist Pippa York this morning, covering her career, being a trans journalist and her new memoir, The Escape.

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FAO: @fvhscot.bsky.social @footballvhomophobia.com @prideinfootball.bsky.social @leapsports.bsky.social @sportsmedialgbt.com

Glasgow Community Football League: “We had a chance to show the LGBTQIA+ community that they had a safe space to play.” The founder of the GCFL speaks to Ramsay Banks about the league’s evolution over the last few years, and why it remains a safe haven for many of the players involved.

There has been an explosion of inclusive football in Glasgow over the last few years - and that’s in no small part thanks to the Glasgow Community Football League. Here’s founder Julie Richard, speaking to Ramsay Banks for POTT, about the project’s growth.

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Guidance from EHRC should be challenged by Labour I WRITE as a feminist and the parent of a trans teenager. I have also spent years working to safeguard women and children. I understand risk- and where harm comes from. I'm writing because of the damage being done by the initial guidance on single-sex spaces from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), and the urgent need for principled leadership from Keir Starmer. The trans community - and by extension, my child - faces hostility, suspicion, and dehumanisation simply for existing. The hatred I see online is terrifying. When politicians fail to stand up for their rights, it sends a chilling message: that trans people are not safe, not welcome, not worthy of dignity. That families like mine don't matter. But it also fails women. It misdirects their fear. The risk to women and children is overwhelmingly from cis men. Women are not safe in their own homes - why are we talking about toilets?

This guidance doesn't protect women it undermines us. It shifts the burden of safety onto marginalised groups, rather than addressing the real sources of harm. It tells cis women that their fear should be directed at trans women, rather than at the systems that fail to protect them from male violence. It also divides us. It pits cis women against trans women, when we should be united in fighting misogyny, inequality, and abuse. It distracts from the real battles - like the epidemic of domestic violence, the failures of the justice system, and the rise of online misogyny. It offers a false sense of security while leaving the actual threats untouched. As a feminist, I find this deeply regressive. It's not about protecting women - it's about controlling spaces. And this brings me to the hypocrisy of current safeguarding rhetoric. Politicians claim to be protecting children, yet ignore the fact that many public spaces - swimming pools, for example - are not gendered. Children routinely share spaces with cis men, often with no supervision. No-one seems concerned about safeguarding in those contexts. Male children routinely stand beside adult men exposing themselves at urinals - yet no-one calls for reform in those spaces. Sex offenders are not routinely stopped from using public toilets. But no pearl-clutching for that. Why? Because the concern isn't about safeguarding - it's about targeting trans people under the guise of protection. The current political framing of trans people as a blanket risk is not only inaccurate - it's unethical. It is also incompatible with trauma- informed practice. Blanket bans and exclusionary policies ignore the complexity of trauma, identity, and safety. Trauma-informed work requires us to consider the individual, not to impose rigid categories. It demands that we create environments where people feel safe, seen, and respected.

I am astounded that Labour have not yet publicly rejected the EHRC's guidance. Surely their role is to challenge it - not quietly adopt it. It is the role of politicians to lead, to legislate, to protect - not to defer responsibility. The EHRC's proposals are unworkable. They do not support the rights of my trans child. From what I've read, they are focused on exclusion, not inclusion. Are we going to segregate trans youth like it's 1950s America? That seems to be what Wes Streeting is suggesting. Will my child have to walk miles to find a toilet they can safely use? This issue does not exist in a vacuum. Women in the UK face enormous challenges. We have a police force riddled with misogyny. În Scotland alone, there were 65,000 reported domestic abuse incidents last year. We face inequality in healthcare, threats to reproductive rights, and systemic failures in protecting victims of violence. Online misogyny is on the rise. These are the issues that demand urgent attention. Yet here we are talking about single-sex spaces. This is not about protecting women. It is about stoking fear. It is about scapegoating a marginalised group. And it is deeply harmful - not just to trans people, but to all women. All this could have been avoided. So much harm has been done - harm that will take years to undo. My child's life has been made more painful, more difficult, more isolating. Not because of who they are, but because of what the Labour Party has legitimised. Because of the fear and hatred that has been fuelled. I urge Keir Starmer to reject the EHRC's guidance, to listen to trans people, parents and professionals, and to lead with empathy - and more importantly, with evidence. Because right now, Labour is failing trans children. As a parent, it's horrifying. Parent of a Trans Child

"A blanket ban on access to gender- affirming spaces does not support healing. It retraumatises. It isolates. It tells vulnerable young people that their needs don't matter."

A powerful letter from a parent of a trans child in the National today, calling for the govt. to challenge EHRC guidance.

Rainbow Warriors: “I feel like I’m not alone anymore.” Founder Ritchie Currie-Jenkins talks about the impact that having inclusive sports spaces outside of Scotland’s big two cities can have, and what he personally as a trans man has gained from …

Rainbow Warriors: “I feel like I’m not alone anymore.”

The impact that the Rainbow Warriors at @stenhousemuirfc.com have had in less than a year has been life changing for those involved. Here’s founder Ritchie speaking about how it all came together.

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I’ll have said this before, but every now and then I do an interview that reminds me why I do this - speaking to Olivia was definitely another one of those moments. Talking about some hugely important topics, and hearing how things came full circle at Endon, made me emotional just listening to her

Olivia Robinson: “I’ve gone from wanting to end my life to really loving my life, and loving who I am.” Walking from Land’s End to John O’Groats was a cathartic experience for Olivia, who used the challenge as an opportunity for self-reflection after battling depression and eating disorde…

A long overdue POTT interview to share the story of Olivia Robinson, whose love of cricket (and sport in general) helped her through struggles with mental health and eating disorders. She has just walked from Land’s End to John O’Groats - read why here 👇

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Feeling overdue some new content…

Brighton Seagals: “Maybe we don’t fit in. Maybe that’s the point!” Often, inclusive clubs become a beacon for LGBTQ+ people in their area. For the Brighton Seagals, that is slightly different. As an inclusive football club in one of the UK’s most queer-friendly ci…

Brighton Seagals: "Maybe we don't fit in. Maybe that's the point!"

It's been too long since I posted a new interview, so here's my chat with Brighton Seagals founder Justine Thompson on where the club fits in, and how she has personally benefited from it.

Between a hectic schedule and some annual leave, it's been a bit quiet on Pride of the Terraces lately - so here's some of the stuff I've been getting up to in the day job in the meantime. Definitely more in the works for POTT soon too though, so keep your eyes peeled!

A return to the east coast of Scotland for this latest interview on POTT, with Asa explaining how travelling around the world for work helped give him the confidence to try out sport in the city of discovery.

Asa Bryce: “Maybe I’ve always been this person and just not fully lived it before. Now I am.” Asa Bryce would never have classed himself as competitive, but since getting more involved in sport through inclusive groups in Dundee, he has realised exactly what he had been missing out on.

Asa Bryce: "Maybe I've always been this person and just not fully lived it before. Now I am."

Having never seen himself as competitive growing up, Asa Bryce didn't know what he was missing until he joined @leapsports.bsky.social's Dundee groups last year.
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Been excited to get this interview out there for a while, and I think it's a fascinating look at LGBTQ+ and religion and how they can coexist. One you don't want to miss as Pride of the Terraces kicks off for 2025

Highly recommended read - how a gay Muslim man found himself, then the charity Hidayah, the Glasgow Frontrunners, inclusive badminton, and love. Such a heartwarming tale on Pride of the Terraces. Thank you Ahmed and @ahenderson96.bsky.social for sharing 🙏

#LGBTQ #sports

Ahmed: “There isn’t always a safe space for LGBTQ+ people who identify as Muslim.” Although many people struggle to balance their LGBTQ+ identities and their religion, Ahmed found that a pilgrimage to Mecca actually solidified his confidence in his own sexuality – and that …

Ahmed: "There isn't always a safe space for LGBTQ+ people who identify as Muslim."

The first new interview of 2025 on the site, and it is a really powerful perspective from Ahmed, who found peace in his sexuality during a pilgrimage to Mecca.
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For all of the connections I've made through POTT, I think this is the first time I've interviewed someone I was already friends with for the site. I'm so proud of Ailsa for getting to a point where she can fully throw herself into sport and overcome some of those challenges she has faced.

Ailsa Davie: “I remember feeling as a child that something was wrong with me, but I didn’t know why.” Ailsa Davie always loved sport growing up, but undiagnosed dyspraxia meant that she never felt like she could fully immerse herself in it – until recently.

Ailsa Davie: "I remember feeling as a child that something was wrong with me, but I didn't know why."

One last new interview in 2024, and this one focuses on the impact of dyspraxia on Ailsa's ability and confidence to take part in sport - and even love it.
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Jack Murley: “I cannot control how other people react to me, but I can control how I react to them, and I’m never going to live inauthentically again.” Jack Murley returns to Pride of the Terraces to talk commentating on pro wrestling, dealing with online abuse and a revolutionary experience with Cornwall-based inclusive football club Stargazy FC.

Both Jack Murley + @ahenderson96.bsky.social
have been great supporters of all those involved in #LGBTQ #cricket - This is a great article on Pride on the Terraces
where Jack talks about all the amazing work he has done and continues to do - check it out >> prideoftheterraces.com/2024/12/07/j...

Fin Annand: “There was nobody in my team that was gay when I was in America, openly anyway. I was the odd one out at the time.” Fin Annand has seen football take her across the world, but even though she spent years at college in America her story is still a positive one of support.

Back to the Scottish Highlands for this next throwback post, as I chat to Caley Thistle Women's Fin Annand about the development of women's football, playing in America and so much more.
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Jessica Platt: “I didn’t have anyone that I felt like I needed to be, I didn’t have to put on a front anymore.” Much like football is a way of life for many in the UK, ice hockey is a cultural institution in Canada. That was certainly the case for Jessica Platt, who grew up playing the sport – even to the po…

Across to the other side of the pond for today's throwback interview, which is with ice hockey player Jessica Platt.
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A much needed tonic after the discussions of the past week or so

Abbi Aitken-Drummond: “I do firmly believe that cricket is one of the most inclusive and diverse sports out there.” Former Scotland cricket captain Abbi Aitken-Drummond has always been quite a private person, which helped her come to terms with her sexuality as a youngster, but now she wants to speak out and ins…

For today’s throwback interview, let go back to my first foray into cricket, speaking to now-former Scotland women’s team captain Abbi Aitken-Drummond

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Not going to lie, I've been so excited to put this out there ever since having this conversation with Jack. He covers so many important things so well - in my mind none more so than dealing with the torrent of abuse he gets for working for LGBTQ+ visibility in sport. You don't want to miss this one!