AO Pride Night returns to Collaroy

On Thursday, 29 January 2026, Collaroy Tennis Club kicked off this year’s events calendar with another great night, held in conjunction with Pride Day and the ‘Glam Slam’ at the AO in Melbourne.

Once more, our club was awarded a grant from Tennis Australia to host what was our 3^rd AO Pride event. Our long-time community partner, Fusion Pride Northern Beaches again came on board to ensure the success of a night that helped promote inclusion, celebrate diversity and encourage LGBTQ+ participation in sport across Australia.

Thanks to volunteers like Martin, Samantha, Ed, Dave and Lynne, the whole club was dressed in a sea of colour. An AO Pride banner took pride of place on the Court 2 fence, rainbow flags flowed from the gates on every court and at the entry to the Club, while rainbow bunting fluttered proudly between the poles that once held our shade cover. (We are working on replacing that shading!)

And the colour didn’t stop there as attendees wore a sparkling array of ‘Bold and Bright’ tennis gear, with prizes for best dressed this year sponsored by our favourite local restaurant, GurTaj Indian. Samantha in her stunning rainbow coloured taffeta outfit took home one $50 GurTaj Gift Voucher, while Mr Brightside himself (Garry of course) was awarded the other for wearing a brilliant AFL pride jersey. Check out all the photos at the end of this post.

Our President Martin opened the night with a short speech welcoming everyone and then Deborah Richardson-Bull, Co-Founder of our long-time event partner Fusion Pride Northern Beaches, said a few words, thanking the Club for our efforts in promoting inclusion and kindly saying how important the Club is a welcoming, safe place for all.

'The Orange Team' - Michael and Alana - POP Tennis Champions

The event incorporated a fun Round Robin tournament and the chance to try POP Tennis on a dedicated court, which proved very popular with local dignitary, State Member for Wakehurst, Michael Regan! Currently suffering from an injury that prevents him playing actual tennis (and his preferred sport, cricket), Michael teamed with Alana - daughter of Club Legend Ros Ode – to take on all-comers at this Fast, Fun and Easy form of the game, currently being promoted by Tennis NSW. (The pair remained undefeated over the course of the night.)

The Round Robin took place across our five other courts, with an even split between club members and visiting non-members from all over Sydney. There were a couple of surprise packets, including Lucy S. (all the way from Bondi) – an extremely strong player – Tessa from Belgium (via Manly) who took out the Court 4 title and Olympian Sharni Smale, who gave Ed a particularly tough time with her swinging serve on Court 3.

We had visitors from other local clubs (great to see you there Denise, from Allambie) along with former touring player Robyn Rickard and husband Mark – regular attendees at this event. Robyn showed she’s still a formidable player, taking out the Court 5 title.

Wil again organised stunning medals for our individual court winners and runners-up, each bearing the Club’s Pride logo, which were presented by Martin, Dave and the Fusion Pride team.

Hem from KodaSmudge Designs (right) with Fusion Pride Co-Founder Sean and Olympian Sharni.

Our new friend, Hem from KodaSmudge Designs, brought along a range of very cool Pride T-Shirts and Tops for sale, each able to be customised for purchasers on the spot. These proved very popular, with many attendees taking home new custom-made garments as a memento of a fun night out at Collaroy T.C.

Hit the Target Winners - Claudia, Sam and Bianca

Following the tennis, players gathered on Court 6 for a fun round of ‘Hit the Target’, in which prizes were awarded for hitting a ball through the holes of targets supplied by Tennis NSW. Club member Sam managed to do so twice (!), while visitors Claudia and Bianca also took home Rainbow Tennis Socks for hitting the target.

The brilliant Bunnings BBQ Crew

The wonderful team from Bunnings Narrabeen again prepared a fantastic BBQ Sausage Sizzle for us (thank you Carol, Dale and Ross) and refreshments flowed freely throughout the evening.

Many people turned up even though they weren’t playing, just to cheer on friends. It was great to see so many smiling faces around the Club… it really felt good to be a Collaroy member.

Our next big community event is on Sunday April 12 in the lead up to ANZAC Day. 'Return Serve' will be very special... a chance to say thanks to current and former veterans and their families for their service and sacrifice. More on that one soon.