Why is being inclusive important?
Being an inclusive aquatics club provides a safe space where people can feel confident in themselves, ensuring that they feel positive both mentally and physically. It provides a space where groups of people can trust each other and help remove social and cultural barriers which in turn strengthens the community of the club. Inclusive aquatics clubs are welcoming to new and old members from any background ensuring anyone who joins can experience the best the sport has to offer.
Who might experience barriers to sport?
Gender
Sometimes individuals or groups are excluded or prevented from participating in sport equally. If unfair treatment is based on gender, this could be sex discrimination.
Examples of gender discrimination in sport are;
- Unequal pay between male and female coaches or teachers
- Disproportionate coverage of achievements between male and female athletes
- Telling someone they are unable to do a certain activity because of their gender
Race based
Racial discrimination can be seen as bias or prejudicial treatment based on a person’s race or ethnicity. This could impact a race of participants or stakeholders, such as athletes, volunteers, coaches, teachers, judges, officials and committee members.
Examples of racial discrimination are:
- Racial slurs or derogatory comments made against participants during competitions
- Not employing or selecting someone due to their race
- Sports marketing without a diverse range of representation in images, videos and articles
Sexuality
Unfair treatment can happen based on someone’s sexuality or assumptions made on that person without any information.
Examples of sexual discrimination are;
- Experiencing derogatory comments or slurs during training or competitions
- Limited or no representation of LGBTQ+
People with disability
Participation for people with a disability in sports is significantly lower that in the general population. In 2023, 1% of the West Midlands membership declared that they had a disability. There are many ways to work with these people to ensure that they have every opportunity to participate in activities of their choice.
Some neurodiverse characteristics are also protected by the disability discrimination act.
Examples of obstacles for people with a disability are;
- Sport equipment or sessions that can’t be adapted to an individuals needs
- Venues without accessible seating or changing rooms
- Websites which prevent those accessing information easily
Religion
Religious discrimination in sport results in the unjust treatment of individuals based off their religious beliefs or practises.
Examples of Religious discrimination are;
- Uniform requirements that fail to accommodate religious practise
- Scheduling conflicts that coincide with religious observances
- Venues which cannot accommodate rooms for prayer access
Resources
Disability and Inclusion Action Plan- Suggested examples
People with disabilities
- The term ‘Disability’ includes a wide range of impairments so consider what is your club doing when people join who do need some extra support. Consider action plans for when someone joins- it could be that you have a chat with this person about how to support them if required or a form they can fill out (just make sure if it’s physical that it is stored appropriately). Focus on what they can do rather than what they can’t. If required, the Swim England Coach Consultation Form can be used to frame these discussions with new members.
- Place accessibility information on your club website. Simple things like car parking provisions, how many disabled bays there are, the distance from the carpark to the entrance, details of any ramps/ steps, the max capacity of stair lifts (some mobility scooters will exceed these limits), clear signage, staff availability on the help desk, is there a pavement leading to the facility, local public transport routes.
- AccessAble.co.uk is an on line accessibility checker- consider something similar for your pool, or getting your facility details placed on there- example of Loughborough University Swimming pool. Please note, AccessAble’s audits are a paid for service. If your pool already has one, great! If not, a discussion with the operator would be recommended. Alternatively, you can use AccessAble as an example of the type of information you may want to include on your club website.
- Plan weekly checks of the accessible changing areas (due to less frequent use, it can take longer for damage or poor cleanliness to be reported/ fixed). Also, consider the layout. Is the emergency alarm hanging freely and to the floor (this shouldn’t be tucked behind any pipes etc.)? Are the hangers at a sensible height for a wheelchair user? Is there a dry bench away from the shower participants can sit on whilst they get dressed? Outside this environment, are water refill stations at an appropriate height and information desks?
- If required, ensure disabled members are made aware of the Certificate of Exception. This will enable them to compete without being penalised for not meeting a technical requirement because of their impairment. https://www.swimming.org/swimengland/updated-resources-swimming-inclusion/
- CPD for coaches/ committee for neurodiverse members. Are quiet sessions a possibility for those who are neurodiverse/ may benefit from a quieter period? Sessions where there are less people and a calm environment may suit some people better. Removing as many stimuli as possible ie. Pool announcements, quieter/no music playing, no spectators on poolside
- Ask members of the team to complete the Foundations of Inclusivity eLearning. This would ensure that everyone understands the correct approach, terminology and further resources.
Diversity
- Collect and analyse membership data. Members can choose to input this information on their membership portal and you can download from the OMS Club reports. You might want to take this data and reflect on the build of your club- think about how you might increase minority participants. Keeping a track on this data would be useful if you ever wanted to apply for grants for work to attract and retain these individuals.
- Look into the viability of a private women’s only session for those who may lack the confidence/ religious reasons don’t want to attend a mixed session.
- In addition to this, consider whether it is possible to provide quiet areas during competitions, space allowing, where participants can go to if needed.
- Ensure that the Inclusive Club Guide is shared with all volunteers and paid staff members (where applicable). Available via the Swim England Inclusion Hub – https://www.swimming.org/swimengland/inclusion/
- Check the scheduling of your swimming sessions- is there any conflict with religious observation? If possible, reschedule these sessions. If this is not possible, be flexible with the participant and their needs.
- Ensure that coaches and teachers are aware of fasting and it’s perceived effects on performance. Heavy training sessions are recommended to be schedules either in the early morning (after breaking fast) or the last afternoon (close to breaking fast). More information can be found here: https://www.scienceinsport.com/sports-nutrition/fuelling-during-ramadan/
- Allow participants to wear clothing that they feel comfortable in for that activity- if someone chooses to cover up for religious reasons suggest fitted clothing such as leggings and slim fit tops. Acceptance of clothing such as burqini is also important for religious females.
- Check appropriateness of sponsors on team uniforms and awards. For some people, activities such as gambling, loan companies and alcohol are forbidden. When choosing awards or thank you gifts, avoid or phase out alcoholic beverages.
Club Provisions
- Check the accessibility of your website- https://accessibe.com/accessscan . Can someone with a screen reader get the information required from your website? Do the images have image descriptions? Do any files open in a new browser and if they do does it say that they are? If you have files do they open in a browser or a PDF? PDF files are often considered inaccessible for those with screen readers. Is the colour contrast of a level that is easy to read? Do you have images with text written on them? Again, screen readers won’t be able to read images and ‘alt text’ should be used to describe the image- this is also a consideration on social media.
- Consider having a fund for swimmers who are from a low income environment. This could be supporting a waiver for their fees or paying for entry to a swimming competition that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to attend.
- If your swimming team have team kit, how frequently is the design being changed? Could this change be reduced? For items like jumpers, can you collect them once a child has outgrown them and resell at a lower price/ give out to people.
- Ask your committee to upload a portrait to their email account to provide newcomers with a visual reference for who the person is. This will ensure that the person communicating can be identified easier by the new member.
- Consider whether a kit amnesty is possible for new members to use when they first join. For hygiene purposes this may need to be limited to specific items and equipment. Additionally, a small stock of affordable swimwear could be kept on site and offered if required.
- Consider whether you can engage with other community groups in your area. Are their youth groups, faith centres or support services that you can work with?
- Where possible, opt to have changing rooms split by gender. This could mean during competitions that one half of the changing rooms are used for male athletes, with the other for female.
If you require further advice, please contact your Regional team or equality@swimming.org