Safe sport for equity-deserving athletes

Research shows that demographic groups including athletes with disabilities and 2SLGBTQI+ athletes are disproportionately affected by maltreatment in sport. This is why researchers are advocating for more organizations to become educated on topics like racism, ableism and sexism in their sport, and incorporate them into Safe Sport initiatives.

Transitioning to inclusive sport:  Understanding barriers to transgender Canadians’ participation in recreational and high-performance sport

Project summary  How and where trans athletes participate in sport is highly contested and inconsistent due to the competing, and often contradictory, policies in force throughout the country in different sport disciplines at a different levels of competition. This study sought to seek out and amplify the voices of people impacted by trans eligibility policies…

Cultivating inclusive sport environments for 2SLGBTQ+ participants

The Rainbow Resource Centre has compiled a resource kit for sport organizations seeking to create inclusive and welcoming environments for 2SLGBTQ+ participants. Some of the recommendations include collaborating with 2SLGBTQ+ organizations, considering how language is used in your sporting space, and ensuring that employees are offered inclusivity training.

Attitudes towards LGBTQ+ inclusion in Canadian figure skating

Sport has historically often been an unsafe space for LGBTQ+ athletes. Recent Canadian research sought to examine attitudes towards LGBTQ+ inclusion in figure skating, to assess whether these attitudes vary by gender, sexual identity, or level of participation in skating, and to examine the impact of contact with LGBTQ+ people on attitudes towards inclusion. Overall,…

Positive sport experiences of gay men

Sport participation has many benefits for one’s well-being. However, sport is not always a welcoming environment for LBGTQ+ people. Research consistently demonstrates that homophobia can be pervasive in sport contexts like gyms, arenas, and locker rooms (Anderson, 2017; Cleland, 2018; Frederick et al., 2022; Hartmann-Tews et al., 2021). In this blog, researchers from Brock University…

Strategies for LGBTQ+ inclusivity in sport

LGBTQ+ youth often feel unsafe in sport environments. Coaches and sport leaders seeking to be inclusive need to recognize that participation alone doesn’t mean inclusion. Engaging in education and self-reflection, partnering with advocacy groups, recruiting and supporting LGBTQ+ individuals in leadership roles and evaluating the inclusivity of organizational policies are all ways that sport leaders…

Supporting the LGBTQ+ community in sports

Sports environments can be unwelcoming for LGBTQ+ youth. According to a national survey, 24.7% of LGBTQ+ youth reported avoiding athletic fields/facilities at school because they felt unsafe and 11.3% reported that they were discouraged from playing sports by faculty members. Promoting safe sports environments for LGBTQ+ youth has been shown to be beneficial for their…

Community sport for all

In 2021, the Government of Canada announced it would invest $80 million to support increased participation in organized community sport, particularly among underrepresented groups including Black, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQQIA+ and new Canadians. Careful planning is required to enhance these groups’ participation opportunities in community sport. Sport leaders can use strategic planning as an important tool for…

Show pride

Research shows that sexual minority youth are less likely to participate in organized sports than their heterosexual peers. Encouraging all sport participants to display the rainbow pride sign, for example, by using pride tape on their hockey sticks or baseball bats, can help LGBTQI2S youth feel included and welcomed in sport environments. 

Trans inclusion

Many transgender youth report feeling unsafe in sport environments. To create safe, welcoming and inclusive spaces for transgender youth in sport, best practices include using inclusive language and ensuring that coaches, volunteers and staff have opportunities to learn about trans issues. Learn more in the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport’s Creating Inclusive Environments for Trans Participants…