Creating inclusive sport environments
In an inclusive sport environment, no one needs to change who they are to fit in. These tips can help your team, school, or facility welcome people of all abilities, races, cultural backgrounds, and sexual orientations.
SUPPORT AGE-APPROPRIATE CHOICE AND INDEPENDENCE
☐ Encourage athletes to set their own physical and emotional limits. Respect the limits they choose.
☐ Explain to athletes why something is happening and how it will happen. Give them choices when it makes sense to.
☐ Give athletes with disabilities the help they ask for, not the help you assume they need.
COMMUNICATE OPENLY AND WITH RESPECT
☐ Talk with your team often about what you expect from the team atmosphere, including why it's important to respect others.
☐ Encourage athletes to respect each other's cultures and identities. For example, show them how by asking every athlete how to say their name correctly.
☐ Set up clear steps for handling disagreements, conflicts, and harm — whether it was done on purpose or by accident. Remind the team of these steps throughout the season.
☐ Communicate in a way every athlete can understand. You may not always know about an athlete's learning needs. Using clear, simple language helps everyone understand better.
SHOW RESPECT, FAIRNESS, AND HONESTY
☐ Never use your power over an athlete to manipulate or take advantage of them.
☐ Talk openly with athletes, in a way that fits their age, about how racism, homophobia, and ableism (unfair treatment based on disability) might be affecting them.
☐ Get to know each athlete as a person you are helping to learn and grow, not only as a way to win. Value what makes each athlete's contribution unique.