Plymouth City Council is committed to promoting equality and diversity in the city. Sport can be a great way of bringing people and communities together, which is why we have launched an initiative to encourage greater inclusion in sport. We want to ensure that everyone is able to participate in sport and feel the benefits that regular exercise brings. However, we recognise that many people continue to encounter barriers to watching and participating in sport in the city.
To help sports organisations and clubs better understand the importance of sport being accessible and inclusive we held a sports inclusion conference in spring 2022. During the conference, we captured feedback from sports organisations and clubs and used it to develop our sports inclusion charter.
Our sports inclusion charter sets out some principles that we would like local sports organisations and clubs to commit to fulfilling. We think that this is a great way for local organisations to demonstrate that they are committed to having inclusive and accessible environments.
Organisations who sign the charter will be making a clear commitment that they will not tolerate ageism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, misogyny, disablism or any other prejudice within their organisations. Signing the charter also shows that clubs will be taking proactive steps to promote equality, challenge discrimination within their organisation or club and ensure that their activities and are as accessible as possible.
Support and guidance is available to help ensure your club or organisation is inclusive. There are many resources freely available to help you fulfil your commitment to promoting equality in sports.
Sports inclusion charter
Organisations who sign the sports inclusion charter will be making a commitment to promote equality and challenge discrimination within their organisation/club.
If you sign this charter, on behalf of your organisation, you are committing to promoting equality in sport, ensuring that your environment is accessible, and a place where everyone is welcome.
By signing the sports inclusion charter, your organisation will:
- Play your part to promote wellbeing
- Challenge inappropriate language and behaviour
- Listen to feedback from staff, volunteers, participants and customers
- Bring people from different backgrounds together
- Treat everyone fairly and with respect
- Provide appropriate training and support to volunteers and staff
- Adapt sessions and activities where possible
- Use welcoming language when communicating with staff volunteers, participants and customers.
- Ensure that your organisation/club is a safe space for women and girls.
If you sign the charter, you will be sent a logo for you to use on your website and materials – reiterating your commitment to sports inclusion. The logos will be next distributed to signatories during May 2023.
Equality and diversity sports resources
On this page you can find information and guidance to help your organisation become more inclusive:
Equality in Sport
Equality in sport provides a range of equality-related guidance to support sports organisations.
Sport England
Sport England is a governing body supporting sporting organisations in England. They have developed guidance on various aspects of equality and diversity in sport.
Activity Alliance
Activity Alliance is a charity working to promote accessibility in sport. The organisation focuses on promoting inclusion for disabled people. They have developed resources on;
Inclusive marketing and communications
Funding
The or your local active partnership are your recommended first point of contact for sports related enquiries. Other potential avenues of support are listed below;
Crowdfunder is a local initiative, which was set up to support community groups and start-up businesses through a combination of expert crowdfunding coaching, events and grants.
Grantfinder is a database which allows you to search and filter grants to find one that is most appropriate to your organisation. Contact Plymouth Octopus Project for more information on how to access this tool.
Community grants may also be available from ward councillors.
Data that may be useful when completing funding applications can be found in the Plymouth City Survey, which provides information about residents’ experiences of living in Plymouth and the Census breakdown for Plymouth.