Inclusion

Inclusive sport means accepting people with cultural, physical and religious differences, as well as people of different genders, ages, backgrounds and ability.

You can begin measuring how inclusive your club is with this inclusion checklist.

Disabilities

More people with disabilities are recognising the many social and health benefits resulting from involvement in sport. At the same time, sports organisations are increasingly becoming aware of the significant benefits of involving people with disabilities, either as participants, administrators, volunteers, coaches or officials.

There are many existing resources that discuss disability inclusion, such as the following links:

• The Sports CONNECT program,
• The 'Fair Play' strategy,
• The Play by the Rules website, 
• This case study from the Integrated Football League, and
• This case study from The West Australian Sports Federation.

CaLD

Western Australia is one of Australia’s most multicultural states. A quarter of Australians were born overseas. Between 2000 and 2005 more than 55,000 migrants settled in the Perth metropolitan area.

Research suggests that people born in mainly English-speaking countries have the highest participation rate in organised physical activity, such as local and state sporting clubs (69 per cent), compared with only 50 per cent of people born overseas.

Many Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CaLD) groups and individuals, however, participate in sport mainly at a social level – for example, at schools, in local parks, with youth groups, after school and with family and friends from their communities. When comparing structured sports to social physical activity, participation rates by CaLD people are relatively lower than people born in Australia.

There is great potential for sporting associations and clubs to expand their membership by encouraging people of diverse backgrounds to join and participate. This booklet outlines the benefits of becoming an inclusive club as well as practical strategies to assist you.

You can download the DSR "How to be an Inclusive Club" brochure here.

Religion

Sport is an activity that attracts people of all religious beliefs. Yet those beliefs can sometimes pose challenges to established club rules and procedures – challenges that can be met by adopting practical and non-discriminatory strategies.

The Play by the Rules website has lots of information about religious inclusivity.

This page is a work in progress