Equity Policy

Teamipswich Swimming Equal Opportunities Policy

‘Equal opportunity is about celebrating difference and diversity and as such providing a swimming structure that can respond to this in a proactive and positive manner’.
Teamipswich Swimming is totally committed to the principles and practice of equal opportunities across all of its aquatic disciplines, both as an employer, provider and as a facilitator of such practices by all its members. In our work with key partners, such as swimmers, clubs, teachers, coaches, officials and administrators, we will advocate our policies make every effort to ensure that all participation has equality at its core.
Swimming is a ‘sport for all’. It can and should be enjoyed and made accessible to everyone and to achieve this:
• teamipswich Swimming is committed to work towards ensuring that swimming is accessible to the many, rather than the few.
• teamipswich Swimming recognises the need to acknowledge the diversity of provision that is required to ensure that all people, regardless of their race, sex/gender, disability, age, sexual orientation, social or economic background can access swimming and develop at a level that is appropriate to them.
• teamipswich Swimming recognises the need to celebrate difference and diversity of provision as a means of creating entitlement and accessibility to our structures.
• teamipswich Swimming recognises that equal opportunity is about recognising that people are different and therefore require different provision.
• teamipswich Swimming recognises the need to consult widely in order to respond to diversity.

Addressing equal opportunities
In addressing equal opportunities, teamipswich Swimming will respond to issues by:
• Recognising that swimming as an organisation - our staff, swimmers, coaches, teachers, officials and administrators need to adapt and work flexibly in order to respond to the needs of a wide and diverse range of people.
• Take positive action to increase the involvement from under represented groups in all aspects of our organisation.

In doing so teamipswich Swimming supports four key principles as being fundamental to ensuring that everyone can participate in our sport and the achievement of equality of opportunity:
Entitlement: People have a right to participate in and access quality and appropriate experiences within swimming.
Accessibility: It is the responsibility of teamipswich Swimming - our teachers, coaches, officials and administrators to adapt provision to fit the needs of the many.
Inclusion: Wherever and whenever possible, all to access the same provision.
Integrity: Whatever we do as a club to change or adapt provision, it must be of equal worth, challenging, relevant and in no way patronising.
Lines of responsibility
Teamipswich Swimming will strive to become an organisation that values diversity and in order to achieve this we recognise that there must be clear lines of responsibility between all segments of the organisation.
Teamipswich Swimming as an employer
Teamipswich Swimming aspires to provide a diverse workforce, a composition of which reflects that of the broader community in terms of gender, ethnicity and disability. In order to bring about this diversity we undertake to:
• Provide full and fair considerations for all job/role and applications.
• Assist all our employees to realise their full potential by ensuring that they receive fair consideration of their training and career development needs and promotion opportunities.
• Wherever possible modify employment practices and procedures to reduce barriers experienced by members of disadvantaged social groups in seeking and during employment with the Association.
• Maintain records in recruitment, training and employment and use this information as a means of identifying areas of inequality.
• Require all our employees to undergo relevant training before taking part in recruitment and selection.
• Regularly review our recruitment, selection, training and promotion procedures to ensure that they are fair and reflect current best practice.
 

Teamipswich Swimming as a Membership organisation
Teamipswich Swimming is committed to encouraging membership from all sectors of the community. To achieve this we undertake to:
• Promote an open and honest culture that values diversity.
• Communicate widely, ensuring that our messages can be understood and appreciated by all.
• Positively encourage the involvement of all people, regardless of their gender, race, disability, age and social background.
• Work to redress the effects of discrimination.
• Change attitudes and working practices to ensure that everyone can feel a valued member of the Association.

Teachers and Coaches
In our training and development of teachers and coaches, we will strive to ensure that they:
• Establish and implement professional and ethical values and practice.
• Promote and apply the principles and practices of equal opportunities.
• Promote positive images of people with special needs.
• Have a commitment to providing entitlement and access to all their professional activities.
• Encourage high expectations and standards of achievement from all they teach.
• Involve everyone in meaningful and appropriate activity to ensure a quality experience.
• Help everyone to achieve his or her full potential.

Officials and administrators
In our involvement of officials and administrators we will expect them to:
• Adopt, promote and practice the values of the Association.
• Ensure that all can enjoy participation.
• Provide meaningful and appropriate experiences, which recognise and value the diversity of the participants.
• Actively encourage the participation and involvement of people from disadvantaged groups of the community.

Policy into Practice
Teamipswich Swimming recognises that to successfully implement our policies will require the commitment of everyone involved in the Association. People’s attitudes, views and working practices may have to change to ensure that an inclusive agenda is accepted by all and throughout the sport.
This will require the club to respond to issues of equality by implementing a comprehensive action plan that will state in detail how the association and all that embrace its structures move towards a swimming structure that is more inclusive and will work towards achieving the appropriate levels of the Equality Standards.

teamipswich Swimming Equity Policy Statement

teamipswich Swimming is committed to treat everyone equally within the context of their activity, regardless of sex, ethnic origin, religion, disability, age, sexual orientation or political persuasion.

teamipswich Swimming will ensure that equity as stated in the club rules is incorporated in all aspects of it’s activities and also recognises and adopts the Sport England definition of Sports Equity:

“Sports Equity is about fairness in sport, equality of access, recognizing inequalities and taking steps to address them. It is about changing the culture and structure of sport to ensure it becomes equally accessible to everyone in society.”

teamipswich swimming is committed to everyone having the right to enjoy their sport in an environment free from threat of discrimination, intimidation, harassment and abuse.

All teamipswich Swimming members have a responsibility to challenge discriminatory behaviour and promote equality of opportunity.

The Club will deal with any incidence of discriminatory behaviour seriously, according to the club disciplinary procedures.

teamipswich Swimming is committed to the principles and practice of equal opportunities as an employer and also towards all its members and others with whom we may come into contact. We will ensure that all our policies have equity at their core.

teamipswich Swimming adopts the Swim 21 Equal Opportunity in Swimming Resource/Information sheet Document (Appendix A)

May 2009