Last Friday I along with Khembe Clarke senior consultant, attend the Sport England Tackling Race and Racial Inequalities in Sport (TRARIIS) ‘Time for Change’ conference held at Leicester Tigers Rugby Stadium.
To put some context to this AKD back in 2021 conducted some research on behalf of UK Sport and Sport England on the lived experiences of people who had experienced and were experiencing racism and racial inequalities in sport. The result of the research was a report called ‘Tell Your Story’. Along with the work of Simon Shibly at Sheffield Hallam University, this was a seminal piece of work within the sport and physical activity sector that for the first time really looked at the lived experiences of people and the effects of racism within sports on them.
The conference was hosted by the four home sports Councils (Sport England, Sport Wales, SportScotland, Sport Northern Ireland) and UK Sports as an update on what has happened with the agenda since the report and recommendations had been published and the opportunity to discuss the whole topic amongst senior leaders in National Governing Bodies of Sports, Active Partnerships, and other organisations within the sports ecosystems.
This was a full day and was filled with great hosts, speakers, and presentations. The morning sessions started out with Chris Grant, ex Sport England Board Member opening the conference with some real stark and encouraging observations over the last 2 years which really put into context what everyone was present to address. Then the chairs of the five Sports Councils then shared their reflections on their own journeys towards becoming anti-racist and give tangible examples of how their organisations were being bold, gaining buy in and diversifying talent. Followed by Hayley Bennett, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Consultant and Campaigner giving a presentation on understanding more about the complexities of talking about race and racism in sport and become empowered to have honest, constructive, and respectful discussions about race so you can influence change.
Following this, delegates got the choice of join ging one of the breakout sessions delivered by the sports councils and UK Sport.
- Breaking barriers: unveiling the individual actions and behaviours of the Active Partnership’s journey to tackling racism (Sport England)
- Working towards anti-racist leadership in sport (sportscotland)
- World Class Programme athlete diversity: a future-focused conversation with action in mind (UK Sport)
Following lunch there was another panel that shared case studies of the positive work contributing to help promote an anti-racist sporting sector. After this breakout sessions again with the remaining sports councils each delivering things that they were doing in their own countries to tackle challenges in this space.
- Race representation and diversifying talent with the Leaderboard Academy (Sport England and sportscotland)
- Community engagement and our investment framework (Sport Wales and Sport England)
- Creating an inclusive culture in sport with Cricket Ireland (Sport Northern Ireland)
Some of the take aways from the conference that I observed are as follows;
There are some really good intentioned people working in this space who are really trying to understand, be empathetic and offer allyship. My issue is for those senior leaders who weren’t there in person or online. They hold the keys to setting the culture of their organisations and set the tone to the importance of this. If they are not present it makes this so much harder to tackle and the timeframes for action are stretched even further.
It is astounding that there are still individuals and organisations that haven’t a grasp on knowledge or understanding where it comes to racism and racism in sport. Language, inclusion and the pursuit of equality sometimes seems to evade them, its like they do not want to see the disparities that occur within their areas of influence and that is very disheartening.
Some people will be brave in this space and will be bold in their commitments and actions as quickly as possible, driving change for their organisations and the sector. However, there are still those who shy away from the subject for fear of ‘getting it wrong’ or not wanting their organisations to look bad. I say to those who feel like this nothing will change unless you embrace the uncomfortable, as leaders you need to get uncomfortable and face the fears you may have when tackling racism. Without you doing this, there is the distinct possibility of you being the barrier or problem to overcome.