Making your Club Inclusive

Clubs are an essential link in developing player pathways for disabled people of all ages. Support is available from a range of local and national agencies who can work with you to make your club inclusive. This section includes links to the English Federation of Disability Sports club health check and other key resources they have developed. Within the Humber, support is available from Nicola Massingham, the Humber Disabiltiy Development Officer who can be contacted on nmassingham@goodwin-centre.org. 

A club which is inclusive of people with disabilities is, ‘one which has proactively planned the inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of the club and has taken practical steps to bring about positive change’ (SportNI, 2008)

The Disability Discriminatory Act states that sports clubs may have to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ in relation to the physical features of their premises to overcome physical barriers to access. The adjustments should be made taking into consideration the sport being provided, nature of the service provider and its size and resource, effect of the disability on the individual person. 

In making your club inclusive you need to take into consideration:

• Developing an inclusion aspect in your club development plan with measurable goals
• Ensuring there is access for disabled people to the building, appropriate facilities, and equipment
• What participation will look like within your club setting:

Mainstream Participation (Disabled people participating in mainstream sessions)

Integrated Participation (Disabled and non disabled people participating in sport with some adaptations to rules or equipment)

Disability Specific Participation (Disabled performers competing in completion solely for that particular disability group)