For Canoe England, the term Equality is about fairness in sport, equality of access, recognising inequalities and taking steps to address them. It involves changing the culture and structure of sport to ensure it becomes equally accessible to all members of society and ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to realise their talent and full potential.
BCU Equality Policy
Canoe England fully supports the BCU Equality Policy and are committed to the principles of equality of opportunity. Both Canoe England and the BCU aims to ensure that everyone has a genuine and equal opportunity in Paddlesport at all levels and in all roles of the sport.
Canoe England's work towards Equality
To find out more about the work which Canoe England does to achieve Equality, click here.
The Equality Standard for Sport
The Equality Standard was introduced in November 2004 and is a framework to guide sports and community organisations to widen access and reduce inequalities within their sport from under-represented individuals, groups and communities. There are four levels of achievement - Foundation, Preliminary, Intermediate and Advanced.
Canoe England achieved the Foundation level of the standard in 2006 after demonstrating our commitment to Equality. The Preliminary level of the standard was achieved in 2008 which involved demonstrating an understanding of the issues and barriers faced by under-represented groups. Canoe England achieved the Intermediate level of this standard in 2012. This involved furthering our understanding and commitment to equality and working to increase the diversity of people within our sport.
Canoe England are now working towards the Advanced level which involves embedding equality across the whole organisation and ensuring a representative reflection of our community.
To read more about the Equality Standard for Sport, click here.
Equality Policy Updated: updated January 2014
The BCU and Canoe England have updated their Equality Policy in line with the Equality Act 2010 and review the policy annually. A new Club Template is also available to reflect the changes within the Equality Act 2010.
Transgender Policy: added 31st March 2014
To view the Transgender and Transsexual Competition Policy, please click here.
If you would like to know more information about Transgender then a free online course on transgender awareness, created by GIRES, is available by clicking here. Alternatively, click on the GIRES website for more information.
Canoe England sign Government Action Charter: added 31st January 2012
Canoe England is proud to have signed the Government Action Charter 'Tackling Homophobia and Transphobia in Sport'. The Charter, which was launched at a Downing Street reception, aims to champion lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people within sport and allows organisations to pledge their suppor against all forms of discrimination.
Pledge your support against Homphobia and Transphobia: added 31st January 2012
To pledge your support against Homphobia and Transphobia, your organisation can sign up to the charter, click here.
If you need some help and guidance with your Equality Policy a useful website to visit is The Sport and Recreation Alliance who have put together a toolikt which will assist people with requirements of the Equality Act 2010. Please click here to find out more about the toolkit.
Equality - Focus on Sport is also another useful Website that contains lots of information about equality in sport & how it can be promoted.
New Case Study: added 31st January 2012
Learn more about the West Midland's RDT and Birmingham Canoe Club's 50+ and 60+ programme for Paddlesport, click here.