The Sport and Recreation Alliance have released a joint statement to tackle racism and inequality in sport with the statement attracting signatories from over 100 sporting bodies. British Skydiving is proud to stand alongside our fellow Governing bodies and Sporting Associations.
Sport and recreation sector commit to tackling inequality
The appalling death of George Floyd, the global protests that have followed and the powerful message of the Black Lives Matter movement has made every section of society take notice and confront an ugly truth.
The Diversity in Sport Governance report (2018/19) identified there is only 5% BAME board representation across Sport England and UK Sport funded organisations.
Constructive work has already been started to address a number of these problems including a committed effort to increase boardroom diversity, additional funding to tackle inequality and an array of inspiring inclusiveness projects from across the sport and recreation sector. This can only be seen as the start.
Systemic change must be made at all levels so that we can become truly reflective of our wonderfully diverse society. We can no longer rely on black role models at the elite level speaking out, we must join together to become better and to support every member of the sport and recreation community.
We must become more inclusive. We must create opportunities which are truly accessible. We must do more.
To help us achieve this, there has to be a commitment for a significant increase in resources and funding, as has been dedicated to address other areas of inequality. We have welcomed the recent news of the Sports Minister’s decision to review the Sports Governance Code.
There is no easy solution and change will require a consolidated approach both from within and outside of our sector. It is time to face awkward questions, to become involved in uncomfortable conversations and to hold ourselves to account.
Mary Barratt, Chair of the Working Group on Inclusivity, Diversity and Equality, added “The statement issued by the Sport and Recreation Alliance is closely aligned with British Skydiving’s values and we are keen to support our members and those of other sporting bodies by putting our name to these values publicly. British Skydiving is determined to openly take positive action in relation to issues of equality, diversity and inclusivity within our sport. The association’s ongoing and proactive commitment to this is reflected in the Equality Policy we set out in 2019 and, more recently, in the configuration of a Working Group concerned specifically with inclusivity, diversity and equality.”
For more on this working group see the MDC update on page 11 of the June issue of Skydive The Mag.
| Activity Alliance | England Korfball |
| Angling Trust | England Lacrosse |
| Archery GB | England Netball |
| Associated Board of Dance | England Squash |
| Association for Physical Education | English Ice Hockey Association |
| Association of British Riding Schools | English Indoor Bowling Association |
| Association of Colleges | English Karate Federation |
| Badminton England | Federation of English Karate Associations |
| BaseballSoftballUK | Goalball UK |
| Basketball England | Golf Club Managers Association |
| Bowls Development Alliance | Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby |
| Boccia England | Ikkaido |
| Bowls England | International Dance Teachers’ Association |
| British American Football | Karate Union of Great Britain |
| British Association for Shooting and Conservation | Kent Sport |
| British Athletes Commission | Lawn Tennis Association |
| British Biathlon | League Managers Association |
| British Blind Sport | Leap |
| British Canoeing | Leicester-Shire and Rutland Sport |
| British Cycling | LimbPower |
| British Dodgeball | London Sports Trust |
| British Dressage | North Yorkshire Sport |
| British Equestrian Federation | Northern Counties Dance Teacher Association |
| British Eventing | Para Dance UK |
| British Fencing | Parkour UK |
| British Gymnastics | Pentathlon GB |
| British Ice Skating | Rounders England |
| British Judo Association | Rugby Football League |
| British Kite Flying Association | Rugby Football Union |
| British Martial Arts and Boxing Association | Skateboard England & Skateboard GB |
| British Mountaineering Council | Snowsport England |
| British Nordic Walking | Sport Across Staffordshire & Stoke-on-Trent |
| British Orienteering | Sport and Recreation Alliance |
| British Para Table Tennis | Swim England |
| British Rowing | Table Tennis England |
| British Shooting | The British Sub-Aqua Club |
| British Showjumping | The Eton Fives Association |
| British Student Taekwondo Federation | The Golf Foundation |
| British Skydiving | The Keep Fit Association |
| British Taekwondo | The Laban Guild for Movement and Dance |
| British Tenpin Bowling Association | The National Association of Karate and Martial Arts Schools |
| British Triathlon | The Professional Golfers’ Association |
| British Universities & Colleges Sport | Trail Riders Fellowship |
| British Water Ski & Wakeboard | Triathlon England |
| British Weight Lifting | UK Athletics |
| British Wrestling | UK Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Association |
| EMD UK | UK Ultimate |
| England and Wales Cricket Board | UKA Dance |
| England Athletics | Volleyball England |
| England Boxing | Women in Sport |
| England Golf | Yorkshire Sport Foundation |
| England Handball | Youth Sport Trust |
| England Hockey |