Inner West Council successfully hosts gender diverse swim night at Ashfield Aquatic Centre

Sydney’s Inner West Council has announced that the Ashfield Aquatic Centre’s hosting of a first Trans and Gender Diverse swim night has been a “raging success”, with the event going ahead last Friday night despite receiving a deluge of transphobic comments.

The swim night, which took place at Ashfield Aquatic Centre, was announced this month and proceeded to go forward after a Facebook post promoting the event encountered transphobic abuse from people mainly in the United States and United Kingdom.

Programmed for an otherwise quiet period on Friday evening, the free to attend event attracted 350 trans and gender diverse people and their friends who swam and joined in aquarobics classes.

Councillor Mat Howard said that he was “proud” of the Council for hosting its first Trans and Gender Diverse night, while Inner West Deputy Mayor Jessica D’Arienzo said that the event was a “raging success (that) clearly demonstrated our community is at its best when we support each other and work together”.

Inner West Council’s LGBTQ Working Group Chair, Jody Toomey advised that the event developed from looking beyond “talking about bathrooms and problems with the existing signage.”

The swim night proceeded despite a Facebook post promoting it having encountered transphobic abuse, with the Inner West Aquatics Facebook page being commandeered by transphobic activists - much of it from overseas.

Explaining that the Council was undeterred by this, an Inner West Council spokesperson told the City Hub website that Council officers decided to go ahead with the event as planned after meeting to address the abusive comments, saying that they would “ensure an atmosphere of safety and support for all attendees”.

The Trans and Gender Diverse swim night comes after the Council approved plans for its draft community strategic plan, 2022/2023 budget and 10-year financial plan to be put on public exhibition later this year.

Council has included a new inclusion policy in its strategic plan, which will support First Nations people and multiculturalism and service its communities, including those identifying as trans or gender diverse.

Images: The indoor pool at the Ashfield Aquatic Centre (top, credit: FDC Constructions) and Inner West Council's Facebook post responding to transphobic abuse about the event (below).