Guidance on gender and sex diverse individuals for sports federations, clubs and athletes with the aim of ensuring an inclusive sports environment
THEMES
– Participation in sport
– Policies relating to sex and gender
– Representation in management/governance and leadership
– Elite level sport
– Facilities
– Uniforms
– Fighting discrimination
– Communication
– Diversity education and training
– Inclusion guidance
TARGETED OBJECTIVES
Unawareness and prejudices about gender and sex on or along the sports fields and in the changing rooms sometimes result in insensitivity and undesirable situations. It is the NOCNSF priority that each and every athlete can be themselves. Therefore we, as NOCNSF, aim for sports clubs to be accessible and to offer a home for everyone regardless of someones sex or gender. This practice has been therefore to develop and share guidance which includes:
– An explanation about frequently used terminology
– Recommendations on leadership and education
– Practical advice for developing an inclusive sports environment
– An inclusion checklist
– Explanation of the regulations in national and international elite sports
– References for more information
This guidance is based on the experiences of gender and sex diverse individuals, and references other national and international guidance advice from stakeholder organizations and scientific research, and is exemplified with practical experiences.. The starting point is that sport should include everyone. Every human being is entitled to equal and respectful treatment and should be given an equal opportunity to benefit from the advantages in sport.
MAIN INITIATIVE
Development and promotion of guidance which supports sport organisations to develop environments where everyone feels welcome. The development began in 2021. Expert groups, national federations and athletes were consulted in the development of the guidance.
Club directors will find specific steps they can undertake in the Leadership chapter. Furthermore, the guidance is addressed to trainers, coaches, referees and officials, parents, supporters, athletes and volunteers who are searching for practical tools to better include gender and sex diverse individuals. In addition, the guidance is also drafted for athletes themselves to help them to get support from their own sports too.
BENEFICIARIES
– Sports federations.
– Clubs.
– Athletes.
– Sex and gender diverse people.
– Elite athletes.
– Grassroots athletes.
IMPACT OF THE INITIATIVE
The guidelines were released at an online (because of corona) symposium at the beginning of 2021. In this symposium, the main themes were inclusion and diversity. There were more than 150 participants from different sport organisations.
This guideline document was the beginning for sport federations to start making action plans on the themes inclusion and diversity. There are now 45 federations who signed a charter, in which is stated that they are going to work on this plan of action. At the moment, there are 29 (of the 45) federations who handed in their plan of action and are now executing their plan. 16 (of the 45) federations are still working on their plan of action.
SUSTAINABILITY AND TRANSFERABILITY
The guidance is primarily made for national federations and sport clubs. It is very transferable to specific federations who are required to tailor it to their specific sport. However it could also be used for example in the cultural sector as well, in music, dance, exhibitions and so on.
The most difficult challenge is that the guideline is a generic document, not a federation specific document. Questions therefore arise from different sports federations considering how they should interpret the guidelines for their federation.
It is important when transferring to specific sports or other sectors that language used is appropriate for the specific target group the guidelines are intended for. This must be developed in conjunction with experts from the community.
The guidance will be constantly reviewed to reflect new legislation, new information, new guidelines from IOC, new practical examples in the field that result in the need for modifications.
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