Reshaping Sport

LGBTUAphobia in sport presents a significant barrier to LGBTUA+ people engaging in sport, from homophobic language to trans-exclusionary NGB policies.

To combat this we:

• Run trans-inclusive sport workshops for sports clubs annually, to help them run trans-inclusive clubs.
• Run trans inclusion training for Warwick Sport staff, to support them in providing a trans-inclusive service.
• Organise sport taster sessions for the LGBTUA+ communities.
• Distribute pronoun badges to clubs, to help members normalise the non-assumption of pronouns.
• Run a trans sport programme, including swimming sessions & a running group in the new Sports & Wellness Hub.
• Lobby NGBs to update their trans athletes policies to enable trans people to compete in their chosen gender.
• Lobbied and worked with BUCS to review their trans athletes policy, and update the BUCS Play platform in line with best practice.
• Distribute Stonewall's rainbow laces, for a £1 donation, through SU HQ Reception.
• Lobbied the university to include gender-neutral changing facilities in the Sports & Wellness Hub.

Racism both on and off the pitch can make sport an inhospitable environment for ethnic minority students.

To combat this we:

• Run workshops for athletes to tackle racism in sport.
• Distribute red 'Show Racism the Red Card' armbands for athletes to wear whilst training and competing.
• Give spectators a 'Show Racism the Red Card' red card to call out racist language.

Sport can be inaccessible to people with disabilities, from facilities that don't meet people's accessibility needs to a lack of disability sport options.

To combat this we:

• Lobbied for accessible facilities at the new Sports & Wellness Hub.
• Organise disability sport sessions throughout the year, including wheelchair basketball and wheelchair dance.
• Raise funds for disability sport equipment, such as sport wheelchairs.
• Run accessible sport workshops for sports clubs annually, to help them make their clubs more accessible to people with disabilities.
• Support clubs in creating wheelchair and disability-friendly activities.
• Included disability sport in Varsity from 2020.

Club and society execs are key student leaders, so we're supporting them to develop the knowledge, skills, and confidence to make effective interventions to tackle inappropriate behaviour like harassment, sexual violence, racism, and LGBTQUAphobia.

We have therefore:

• Partnered with the Community Values Education Programme at Warwick to develop a version of the Active Bystander Intervention course specifically for club & society execs.
• Made it mandatory for each club & society to register two members of their exec on to the Active Bystander Intervention course.

As part of Warwick SU’s Reshaping Sport campaign, January saw our first interactive talk and Q&A with Paralympian Sam Ruddock. A free event and still in lockdown, it was a great kick start to the new year to connect with one another and talk about all things sport, accessibility, disability, invisible disabilities and how to cope with negativity in the pursuit of your goals. 

• 40 Warwick students participated.
• The event was engaging, thought-provoking and motivational with messages of positivity, hope and belief in oneself.  
• We had a guided tour through Sam's career, starting from an early age and his passion for a range of different sports from a young age. 
• Sam touched on how to deal with setbacks, empathetic to those who had struggled with lockdown throughout the pandemic, something relatable to many Warwick students.

Want to know more about the sports speaker series? Get in touch via campaigns@warwicksu.com.

Participation rates for women in sport are much lower than men's, and women's sport is often not given the same status as men's sport.

To combat this we:

• Support women-only sport sessions, such as women-only swimming.
• Organise women & non-binary people's self-defence classes.
• Raise the profile of women's sport, such as by profiling women athletes and women's sport in the Varsity showcase.
• Support This Girl Can Week (term 1 week 8).
• Invite high-profile women athletes to speak at Warwick, such as Too Fat To Run's Julie Creffield and Warwick Barbell's seminars with Kate Winter and Cat Smith.

We recognise that the cost of sport can be a significant barrier to participation, with costs ranging from memberships to kit, equipment, and transport.

To combat this we:

• Set up a club hardship fund, to support clubs experiencing financial difficulties or unexpected costs.
• Set up the Sports Officer Fund for WP students.

Some of our clubs organise workshops for other clubs' members, raising money for charity and giving students the opportunity to experience new sports at the same time.

Our Classic & Modern Dance club organised a ballet workshop for Rugby League players, focusing on ankle strengthening and injury prevention, raising money for Movember!

To combat the perception that sport at university is exclusively for high-performing athletes, and not welcoming of beginners of casual players, we organise an annual Sports Day.

Sports Day gives students the opportunity to check out the incredible array of sporting options available, meet current #TeamWarwick club members, try out different activities and take part in informal taster sessions throughout the day.

There are all sorts of myths associated with specific sports, and sport in general. Our clubs took on the challenge of #DebunkingTheMyths!

Here's Warwick Wolverines debunking some myths about their sport!

Here's Warwick Devils debunking some myths about their sport!