Administrators play a vital role in sport, particularly to reduce the potential for things to go wrong. Here, you can access resources to help you manage risks in your sport.
Coaches and officials are what make sport tick. They play a crucial role in helping keep sport safe, fair and inclusive. Here are a number of tools and resources to help you do just that.
If you are a player then you can make a huge contribution to making sport safe, fair and inclusive. Your behaviour influences others, not only your team mates, but everyone involved in sport.
As a parent you should be aware of your clubs responsibilities. At the same time you also have responsibilities and you can play a huge role in creating a safe environment for your child.
An inclusion commitment statement is a public record that expresses the club’s dedication to making sure its membership reflects the diversity of its local community. You might also come across the phrases ‘inclusion statement of commitment’, ‘equity and inclusion statement’, ‘diversity and inclusion statement’ or something similar. A club’s inclusion commitment statement could be large and very detailed with reference to discrimination legislation and polices or it could be much simpler. Whatever you call it and however detailed it is the core purpose is the same, to show that the club values diversity and is committed to taking steps towards inclusion.
There are many reasons why a club should have an inclusion commitment statement. Here’s a handful I think are important to consider:
As we have discussed your club’s commitment statement could be super detailed or not. So, it’s important to firstly understand the context of your club and ensure the statement reflects this. For example, a small community-based volunteer run club could have a simple statement setting out a few key commitments. While a large semi-professional or professional club with employees and players on contract may need something far more robust that addresses legislation and other policy aspects.
If you need guidance in relation to policy I recommend you get in touch with your National Sports Organisation or the relevant national government agency responsible for sport policy and governance. Next, I’ll provide some of the general things a basic statement should include. Before I get into that, the first and most important thing to consider is that this is something the whole club community needs to get behind. This means you need to incorporate the views and ideas from members, the club committee or board and any community organisations your club is partnered with.
For inclusion to happen in the club everyone needs to take responsibility and ownership. At the end of the day a statement means nothing if people are not willing to take action. Here’s what should be covered in your club’s inclusion commitment statement.
You should lead with a general statement of commitment that also defines your understanding of inclusion. So you need to discuss this with the key decision makers in your club and members. Then decide what inclusion means to your club and put that into words. You can also refer to your clubs core values and how inclusion relates to these values.
This might include your commitment to implementing or upholding policies that relate to inclusion and diversity. These policies might be ones your club has in place or they may be ones your state or national sporting organisation has in place, it may also include relevant state or federal legislation.
You may wish to be specific about the types of people your commitment to inclusion will affect. For example, stating that the club is committed to providing a safe and welcoming place for people of all ages, abilities, genders, cultural, ethnic or religious backgrounds or socio-economic status.
Perhaps you have identified a specific issue in your community and wish to highlight your efforts to address it. For example, if you live in an area with a large migrant or refugee population or are in an area where low income is real barrier.
You should include some words about the types of things you will do to ensure your clubs commitment is put into action. For example, will you commit to adapting and modifying your activities and provide a range of participation options to suit individual needs and goals? Will you ensure club members are made aware of inclusion issues and how to address them? Will you involve the wider community in your endeavours?
Inclusion is a societal issue and no one person or one club should go it alone. So, you could address this in your statement by acknowledging your club’s role as a community organisation and your willingness to work with and lead your local community.
Once you have written your inclusion commitment statement and your members and key decision makers in the club are all on board, it’s time to tell the world! At the top of this post I said, “An inclusion commitment statement is a public record that expresses the club’s dedication to making sure its membership reflects the diversity of its local community.” Making your commitment public is important. Why? Because A. it ensures everyone knows about your commitment and B. it helps keep the club accountable – once the commitment is public the club needs to live up to that commitment.
Here’s some easy ways to make it public:
Now it’s time to take action!
Michael Woods (Founding Director - Inclusive Sport Design)
Post originally published by Michael Woods at www.inclusivesportdesign.com.