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VFLW PLAYER COURTNEY UGLE TO ADVOCATE FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AT MELBOURNE MARATHON

Got Your Back Sista

Key Facts:

• Noongar woman and VFLW player Courtney Ugle is participating in the Melbourne Marathon as part of 'I Run For Her', a national movement honouring victims of domestic violence
• Ugle lost her mother to domestic violence at age 19 and found healing through football, playing for Swan Districts and Essendon VFLW
• She founded Waangkiny, a social enterprise focused on empowering others through discussions about trauma and healing
• 'I Run For Her' is in its sixth year as a major fundraising initiative by Got Your Back Sista, supporting women affected by domestic violence
• To date in 2025, 35 women have been murdered by a domestic partner in Australia
• Funds raised will support counselling, emergency support, and empowerment programmes for women and children affected by domestic violence

This Sunday, proud Noongar woman, Essendon VFLW player and domestic violence advocate Courtney Ugle will lace up her runners for the Melbourne Marathon, taking part in I Run For Her, a national movement also being held this Sunday by Got Your Back Sista to honour women lost to domestic violence and empower survivors to reclaim their strength.

At just 19, Courtney’s world was shattered when her mother was murdered by her abusive partner. Having also lost her father at the age of six, Courtney endured profound loss from an early age. But rather than allowing trauma to define her, she has transformed her pain into purpose.

“When violence becomes normal, you start to believe that’s what love looks like,” Courtney says. “I had to unlearn those patterns. Now I run for the women who can’t and for every survivor fighting to find safety and healing.”

Growing up amid instability and grief, Courtney found solace in sport. Football became her lifeline — a space where she could rebuild her sense of identity and rediscover strength. She went on to play for Swan Districts in WA and later joined Essendon’s VFLW side in Melbourne.

But Courtney’s journey didn’t stop at the boundary line. Channelling her story into advocacy, she founded Waangkiny, a social enterprise and speaking platform dedicated to empowering others through open conversations about trauma, healing, and resilience.

“I want people to know that we’re not defined by what happens to us,” she says. “We can choose healing over hate. We can choose to live.”

Now a National Ambassador for I Run For Her, Courtney continues her mission to break the cycle of violence through awareness and action. As part of this Sunday’s Melbourne Marathon, she will run to honour her mother and all women whose lives have been taken by domestic and family violence.

“Domestic violence devastated my family in the most heartbreaking way,” Courtney shares. “That pain never leaves, but it drives me to stand up for other women and children. Every step I take is for them - for safety, for hope, and for freedom.”

I Run For Her is one of Got Your Back Sista’s major annual fundraising initiatives, now in its sixth year. It invites individuals, families, and communities across Australia to walk or run in solidarity with survivors and raise funds for vital recovery programs.

“I Run For Her is our collective stand and a way to say enough is enough,” says Got Your Back Sista founder Melissa Histon. “Every kilometre helps us support women and children to rebuild their lives with dignity and hope.”

Funds raised will go directly to providing counselling, emergency support, and empowerment programs for women affected by domestic and family violence.

Courtney will join thousands of participants this Sunday at the 2025 Melbourne Marathon, proudly wearing her purple “I Run For Her – Say NO to Domestic Violence” shirt - a symbol of strength, remembrance, and unity.

Funds raised for I Run For Her are directly invested in Got Your Back Sista’s lifesaving programs that help women and children escape domestic violence and thrive in their reclaimed lives. Anyone wishing to donate to Courtney’s I Run For Her fundraiser can visit irunforher.com

About us:

Got Your Back Sista was established as a registered charity in 2016, with a vision to see women and their children happy, thriving and living independently after escaping the trauma of family violence, in fact we’ve helped over 1,200 women.

Got Your Back Sista offers benevolent relief and support to women and children escaping domestic violence and are at risk of living below the poverty line.  We give them a hand up to begin again by providing furniture and household items to set up a safe home free from violence.

We also empower women to thrive by running courses and programs to rebuild their confidence, self-esteem, physical and emotional wellbeing and create pathways to study and employment.

Contact details:

Brooke Stevenson
0407 240 211
[email protected]