“Wigan Swimming Club respects the rights, dignity and worth of every person and is committed to treat everyone equally regardless of age, gender, ability, disability, ethnicity, religious belief, sexual orientation, social/economic status or political persuasion.”
Equal Opportunity in Swimming: ‘Equal Opportunity in swimming is about celebrating difference and diversity and as such providing a structure that can respond to this in a proactive and positive manner’.
In addressing equal opportunities, Wigan Swimming Club will ensure that equity (as stated in the club rules) is incorporated into all aspects of its activities, and in doing so, recognises and adopts the following Sport England definition of Sports Equity: “Sports equity is about fairness in sport, equality of access, recognising inequalities and taking steps to address them. It is about changing the culture and structure of sport to ensure it becomes equally accessible to all members of society”
Wigan Swimming Club also supports the following four key principals as being fundamental to ensuring equity in our sport.
Entitlement
Entitlement
People have a right to participate in and access quality and appropriate experiences within swimming.Accessibility
Accessibility
It is the responsibility of the club to adapt provision to fit the needs of the many.Inclusion
Inclusion
Wherever and whenever possible, we will make every effort to ensure all have access to the same quality of provision, and if necessary, we will use positive action to ensure this.Integrity
Integrity
Whatever we do as a club in changing or adopting provision, it must be of equal worth, challenging, relevant and in no way patronising.Equity Policy
- Recognising that swimming is a ‘Sport for all’. They can and should be enjoyed and made accessible to everyone.
- Positively encouraging involvement, membership and participation from all sectors of the community, regardless of their gender, race, disability, age and social background, ensuring that swimming is accessible to the many rather than the few.
- Acknowledging that equal opportunity is about recognising that people are different and therefore require different provision.
- Taking positive action to increase the involvement from underrepresented groups in all aspects of our club.
- Recognising that as a club, we need to adapt and work flexibly in order to respond to the needs of a wide and diverse range of people.
- Promoting an open and honest culture that values diversity and promotes equality of opportunity.
- Ensuring that everyone feels a valued member of our club.
- Opposing discriminatory behaviour and dealing with any incidence of discriminatory behaviour seriously, according to the ASA’s ‘Code of Ethics’ and the Club disciplinary procedures.
Teaching and Coaching
- Adopt, promote and practice the principals and practices of equal opportunities.
- Promote positive images of people with Special needs.
- Are committed 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 their full potential.
- Ensure that participation can be enjoyed by all.
Although we will do our utmost to promote equality and inclusion for all within the club, and will never exclude membership on discriminatory grounds, reluctantly, as primarily a competitive club, we need to recognise that there could be occasions when for whatever reason, we may be unable to cater for someone’s specific special needs and may need to refer them elsewhere. To this end, the club has established strong working links with Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust disability swimming initiatives: www.wlct.org
Disabled Swim Sessions take place on Fridays, 11:15 am – 12:15 pm at Howe Bridge Sports Centre, Atherton. For further information, telephone 01942 870403.
The disabled swim session aims to provide a safe, fun environment where disabled people can come to swim/play and interact with siblings and carers as well as making new friends. The session provides for complete beginners to those who can already swim with a desire to swim competitively.