Documents — Van Diemen Fencing Club

Acknowledgement of Country

Van Diemen Fencing Club respectfully acknowledges the palawa people, the Aboriginal people of lutruwita (Tasmania), as the Custodians of the lands and waterways on which we live, learn, gather, and fence.

We pay our deepest respects to Elders past and present, and acknowledge the enduring connection of Aboriginal people to Country, culture, community, and the lands, skies, and waterways that have sustained generations for tens of thousands of years.

We recognise the strength, resilience, and continuing cultures of Tasmania's Aboriginal people, and acknowledge the profound injustices of ongoing colonisation and their impacts.

Sovereignty was never ceded. This always was, and always will be, Aboriginal land.

We commit to listening, learning, and fostering a community grounded in respect, inclusion, and reconciliation.

Solidarity with Palestine

Van Diemen Fencing Club stands in solidarity with the Palestinian people, expressing our grief and outrage at the devastation, mass killing, and suffering in Gaza, and our unequivocal opposition to genocide, occupation, and the denial of Palestinian human rights.

We stand alongside those who oppose Zionism as a political ideology, while affirming our unwavering respect for Jewish people, their identities, cultures, and faith, and our absolute rejection of antisemitism in all its forms.

Our position is grounded in humanity, justice, and the belief that every person deserves freedom, dignity, and safety - opposing genocide is not antisemitism, and Palestinian lives are not worth less than anyone else's.

Our Commitment to Trans and Gender Diverse Inclusion

At Van Diemen Fencing Club, we stand proudly and unequivocally with transgender, non-binary, and gender diverse people - in sport and in every part of life.

Trans women are women. Trans men are men. Non-binary, genderfluid, agender, and all people whose experiences of gender exist beyond the binary deserve the same dignity, respect, safety, and freedom to be themselves.

We recognise the discrimination, hostility, exclusion, and systemic injustices that trans and gender diverse people continue to face, both within sporting environments and throughout society. These injustices cause real harm, and silence in the face of that harm is not neutrality.

We believe that sport should be a place of belonging, joy, friendship, and empowerment - never a place where someone's identity or humanity is questioned or used to justify their exclusion.

Our commitment goes beyond words. We pledge to actively challenge transphobia, discrimination, and harmful stereotypes, advocate for meaningful inclusion, and stand alongside trans and gender diverse communities in the fight for equality, dignity, and justice.

We will not stand quietly by while members of our community are marginalised, dehumanised, or denied the opportunity to participate fully in sport and society.

To every trans, non-binary, and gender diverse person: you are seen, you are valued, and you belong here.

Your identity is not up for debate. Your humanity is not conditional. Your place in our community matters.