April 2025
Play by the Rules spoke with filmmaker and community-club Aussie Rules player Mitch Nivalis about their new sports film Equal the Contest and how LGBTIQ+ inclusion in clubs can be game-changing.
How was your experience with traditional sporting clubs? Have you participated in many sports and clubs before joining Mt Alexander Falcons?
My only real experience with traditional sports clubs before joining the Falcons was when I was young, and I'd joined a boys T-Ball team and a boys soccer team. I got kicked out of both because at the time (late 80's / early 90's) they were 'boys sports' and there was a perception girls shouldn't play beyond about 10 or 11.
I had a couple of years of no sport which really saw my mental health plummet as I moved into my early teens, then a girls soccer team started for the first time, which I joined. I was too young to know the politics surrounding our team and what the parents had to do to fight for our access to fields, but whatever it was they did a good job of protecting us as I largely just felt able to play until I left high school.
It was around that time I was finally ready to come out as gay, but I was also very aware of the homophobia in and around the team and club, so I quit and left the country as I was too scared about how I would be treated. The field we played at was a known beat for gay men at the time, so it had a homophobic nickname and there were always jokes and derogatory comments being made about gay people.
I really struggled to come out and was full of self-loathing and engaging in some destructive behaviour at the time, so once I quit sport my life really unraveled without my soccer team holding me together. I felt very alone and wasn't exercising, so there's a domino effect that happens once you feel like you don't belong in sport.
How does the club recruit new members? Is there a particular strategy that has been more effective than others?
Their initial strategy was to be very clear and public about the club's values. What engaged me as a player was a few things - very publicly saying "gender diverse people are welcome" was one. Other things were making it clear that anyone that wants to try footy will get a run - it's 'come and try' not 'try out for selection' and holding regular 'come and try' sessions in preseason. But really the message all year round is just to come and try.
The club has a playing and training membership, so people can sign up with the intention of only training with the team and not actually taking the field, which usually ends up leading to people wanting to get on the field, but that initial pressure of trying something new that you might feel worried about disappears with that shift in language.
Showing on social media how active the club is in living their values I think also speaks to people looking to feel like they belong. So, showing the LGBTIQ inclusion work being done, the cultural safety work being done and connecting with First Nations people. The jumpers we had designed which have Aboriginal and LGBTIQ flags on each shoulder, so we play with respect to those communities every game - not just wheeling out the respective jumper for one round a year. I guess the strategy has multiple approaches, but they are all clearly inclusion led.
What was your motivation for making the film?
Initially my motivation for starting to document what I was seeing was the euphoria I felt at finally, for the first time in my life, finding a community where I felt like I wasn't just being tolerated or even accepted, I was being celebrated. That was life changing. I wanted to show the wider world how what I was experiencing can change lives.
I also wanted to show audiences what it looks like to build a club from scratch with today's values, where it's built entirely around the needs of women, gender diverse people and people from diverse backgrounds. That's totally different than tacking on a women's team to a preexisting men's club and not actually changing those structures that have potentially been in place for over 100 years.
Did you have any concerns about how other club members would feel about being included in the film?
At first, I worried people wouldn't want to be filmed, but that was very short lived. Every time I had a conversation with our players or players from other teams the response was the same - players were excited to see themselves represented. For so many of us, our games have never been considered worthy of having a photographer or filmmaker turn up. So, we've never seen images of ourselves in action, looking strong or tackling. So, everyone was super excited to be involved.
What was something that surprised you once the film was made?
The biggest surprise has been the way older men have engaged with the content. I've lost count of the amount of times a man (or boy) has come up to me and said "I didn't know it was like this" or "this has inspired me to do better" has made me feel so hopeful for the way things will change in the future.
How has the general reception been?
It's been overwhelmingly positive. From our first sell-out screening at Castlemaine Documentary Film Festival with a standing ovation at the end, to another 8 film festivals around Australia and the world, over 50 public screenings, and a few awards, it's really been mind-blowing. I feel so grateful to everyone who's been championing this film.
Equal the Contest is now streaming on SBS on Demand and Amazon Prime; how did that come about, and how do you feel about the film being on such big platforms?
The journey to this point has been interesting. Usually the approach in the film industry is to get distribution and a sale at the very start of the making process. But I couldn't get a look in from anyone, so I just had to make the film and almost reverse engineer the process. So, once I'd finished, we approached Umbrella Entertainment and they took on the film for Australian distribution and organised the connection with SBS on Demand and Amazon Prime. It's a huge win to have it now so easily accessible to Australian audiences and makes me feel so happy to know these important conversations about inclusion, belonging, gender equality and gender diversity in sport can be happening in loungerooms across Australia
How would you like the film to influence the future of Aussie Rules and LGBTIQ+ inclusion in Australia?
For me Equal the Contest and the way the Mt Alexander Falcons created their club is a case study for what's possible in community sport, not just in AFL, but across codes. There's so many positive take-aways in the film that are easy and free to implement in clubs. So, I hope people watch the film and then perhaps take a few things to their respective teams and clubs and try things. It's actually so easy to help people feel like they belong, it just requires some egos getting out of the way and once that can happen the knock-on effect to how a club strengthens is huge.
EQUAL THE CONTEST is now streaming on SBS on Demand and Amazon Prime - The award winning, groundbreaking documentary that's changing the game in community sport.
