Sports are for Everyone - The importance of being included

The Importance of Feeling Included.

SPORTS ARE FOR EVERYONE Simply put, sport is for everyone to enjoy. Creating spaces in sport where everyone can feel a sense of belonging will benefit the entire community. The Community Foundation of Canada's Vital Signs report states belonging is about how much we believe we fit into a group or place – and how much that place or group welcomes us.

Belonging is fundamental to our sense of happiness and well-being. It’s the result of connecting with others in rich relationships and engaging in our communities to make them better.

Each of us has a personal connection to the idea of belonging that is influenced by our experiences with the people, places and identities to which we feel connected.

We were honoured to be part of the Proud to Play panel hosted by the Lethbridge Public Library to discuss positive space in sport and answer questions from elementary school students.

Watch the video of the event: https://fb.watch/5-klTYpKYq/

When people feel a strong sense of belonging to a group, they are more willing to contribute and they take ownership of the group’s struggles. They show concern for other members of the group and will try to help them overcome their problems.

– the Kitchener and Waterloo Community Foundation

SPORTS ARE FOR EVERYONE Proud to Play

Lethbridge Sport Council supports positive spaces for all in sport. Integrity, inclusiveness, transparency, equality, and civility in interpersonal relationships are Lethbridge Sport Council's values.

To celebrate the kickoff of Pride Month 2021 the Lethbridge Public Library hosted a “Proud to Play'' virtual panel of guests including Bonnie Provencal (Life, Business, & youth softball & volleyball coach), Erin Silver (author of Proud to Play: Canadian LGBTQ+ athletes who made history), and Shawn Daye-Finley (Lethbridge Sport Council Program & Event Coordinator and former National Team Olympic Wrestler) to discuss and share stories of how important it is to feel included.

The event was a success seeing many classrooms participate from around the province. Teachers were able to pose questions from the kids in the chat to be answered by the panel. The Proud to Play panel has surely made waves, impacting the lives of youth around the province of Alberta. The panel answered questions about injuries incurred in sport, places travelled for competitions, how they may have known they were gay/straight, and if it was hard to complete/fail at their dreams.

ABOUT THE BOOK "PROUD TO PLAY" The 2018 Winter Olympics marked a milestone for LGBTQ+ athletes. Thirteen athletes out of 3,000 competitors were out and proud - nearly double the number who felt comfortable sharing their sexuality four years earlier at the Sochi Games. Many athletes stay closeted for their entire sports careers, often unable to compete at their highest ability because of the shame and self-doubt they feel in not being true to their orientation or identity. But coming out still means facing harassment from fans, teammates, opponents, and the media, as well as fewer sponsorship opportunities.

While organizations like You Can Play, the Canadian | Olympic Committee, and Egale 03 Canada have made progress in recent years in promoting inclusivity at the grassroots

and elite sporting levels, there is still much work to be done to ensure all athletes feel safe being their authentic selves.

Athletes profiled in Erin Silver’s Proud to Play include swimmer Mark Tewksbury, rhythmic gymnast Rose Cossar, professional hockey player Brock McGillis, speed skater Anastasia Bucsis, pairs figure skater Eric Radford, volleyball players Betty Baxter and Christopher Voth, and hockey player Angela James.

Generously illustrated with photographs and given context by an overview of the history of LGBTQ+ athletes in Canada, this book will make all young sports enthusiasts and competitors proud to play.

"TREAT PEOPLE THE WAY YOU WANT TO BE TREATED" Take-aways from the event Using gender-neutral language throughout policies, procedures, and communications is one way for sport organizations to be more inclusive of LGBTQ2+ people and communities.

Phrases like, “he or she” or “both genders,” can easily be updated to “they/them/their '' and “all genders” to become more inclusive.

- SIRC.CA

Olympic Gold medalist Erica Wiebe in Russia for the 2013 Summer Universiade

When it came down to selecting which athletes would be part of her book, Silver said that it was a matter of finding those who were willing to share their stories, willing to be role models to others.

“There are tons of amazing Olympians and professional athletes who really wanted to share their message and talk about diversity and inclusiveness. It took a lot of research and narrowing down the list and finding people who wanted to be a spokesperson, because unfortunately a lot of people are still in the closet” - Erin Silver

Daye-Finley shared that during his stay in Russia for the University World Games some athletes took it upon themselves to advocate for members of the LGBTQ2+ community. He highlighted a fellow Canadian wrestler who had a Canadian flag made of the rainbow colours. She placed it in her window for the entire village to see. She was asked to take it down, but she refused and wore it around her to the closing ceremonies to advocate for inclusion in sport. She“I’ve never felt more patriotic in my life than to stand with a team of people who believe in quality sport experiences for all”.

"TREAT PEOPLE THE WAY YOU WANT TO BE TREATED" Take-aways from the event continued Bonnie Provencal shared her experience with sports by remembering what it was like growing up playing baseball, even though her parents decided to switch her to “girls” softball. When she was about 10 years old, she was the only girl on her baseball team so by age 14 her parents made her stop and start to play softball. “I always remember I felt a sense of belonging and being a member of that baseball team and being good enough to play. That was always the thing that I felt like I could control. I could practice all these things and I could always improve my skills to be good enough to play. But sometimes it doesn’t matter how good you are at something, you might feel like you have to do other things to belong,” said Provencal.

RESOURCES AND LINKS https://sportinclusion.ca/

https://lethlib.bibliocommons. com/v2/record/S40C3082124 http://www.erinsilver.ca/proudto-play

The Sport Inclusion Task Force is a flexible and informal coalition to end LGBTQI2S+ bias through education and promotion of inclusion in Canadian sport.

Place a hold on the book at Lethbridge Public Library (including Proud to Play: Canadian LGBTQ+ athletes who made history) For more info on the book Proud to Play visit Erin’s website

https://lethbridgesportcouncil.ca/s port-directory

Lethbridge Sport Council sport directory to help you find local sport programming

https://sirc.ca/wpcontent/uploads/2020/01/UCCMSv5.1-FINAL-Eng.pdf

Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport (UCCMS)

http://befitforlife.ca/resources/lucky7 http://sportforlife.ca/wpcontent/uploads/2018/01/QualitySport-Checklist.pdf

Lucky 7’s Card Game by Be Fit for Life and Ever Active Schools Quality Sport Checklist by Sport for Life - a great resource for parents and care providers to help make educated decisions about what makes a quality sport program for all