89.9 TheLight’s Lucy & Kel celebrate women’s sport by covering registration fees

Lucy Holmes and Kel McWilliam of the Lucy and Kel Breakfast Show on Melbourne’s 89.9 TheLight have launched an initiative to support young female athletes, in the wake of Marty Sheargold’s controversial comments about the Matildas earlier this week.

The campaign will cover sports registration fees for girls whose families face financial barriers.

“We want our daughters to know their dreams matter and their hard work is worth it,” said Holmes.

The station’s phone lines were inundated for two hours as families shared stories of their daughters’ passion for sport and the challenges they faced.

Numerous local businesses also stepped forward with thousands of dollars in donations, including YV Financial Services and Total Solar Solutions.

Yesterday’s broadcast featured conversations with three professional sportswomen who began as young girls with big dreams: Milly Illingworth, professional cricketer for the Renegades, Maja Markovski, A League player for Melbourne Victory and Asha Hinton, a third-generation award-winning female umpire.

Through the combined efforts of TheLight and community partners, already more than 30 girls will now participate in their chosen sports this season without financial concerns.

“We see you, we support you, and we’re cheering you on every step of the way,” said Holmes.

Bek was among those to contact the station via SMS, saying “I am so happy this is getting spoken about! My three teens all play sport and yesterday my daughter came home saying she didn’t want to play anymore.”

Fellow listener Michelle said “Thank you for the conversations you’ve opened up this morning. Driving my two youngest daughters to school just now and my 9-year-old asked ‘Why are they just talking about girls in sport?’ I explained to them what was said on the other station and how important it is for them to not listen to the messages the world may tell them.”

Listen here.