Blog by Hollie Fullerton, SDS YPSP Administrator
On the 30th of October I was absolutely delighted to attend the 2024 LEAP Sports Conference in Stirling on behalf of Scottish Disability Sport and the Young Persons Sport Panel. LEAP Sports Scotland is a charity dedicated to improving inclusion in sports for all LGBTIQ+ people living in Scotland and breaking down the barriers that queer people face in sports. The acronym ‘LEAP’ represents: Leadership, Equality and Active Participation in Sports. At its core, LEAP’s values greatly align with Scottish Disability Sport, because both organisations want to make sport a better place for those who often experience discrimination, exclusion, and barriers to participation in sport. I have been following LEAP’s work closely since I took part in one of training courses on inclusive sport. They hold a conference every two years, so when the opportunity came up through the panel to attend this conference, I was so excited to be able to go!
The conference was kicked off by Hannah Bardell, who then introduced Maree Todd, the Scottish Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport. After this, the first panel began, focused on lived experience of LGBTIQ+ sport, and entitled ‘Our Community, Our voice’. The speakers included: Colin Arthur, Atlas Martin, Osman, Reuben Jarvis, and Carolina Sousa E Sa. It was a great way to begin the day, giving insight into their very varied experiences with sport and how each had supported other LGBTIA+ individuals to get involved in physical activity. I took away the key message that at its core, sport should be for enjoyment and socialisation through exercise, and so we should really focus on participation over segregation.
The next talk was my favourite of the day, entitled: ‘Breaking down the fear and the barriers’ by Dr. Sheree Bekker and Professor Stephen Mumford, known for their work on the Feminist Sport Lab. They discussed the ways in which sport is historically and structurally patriarchal and explored how equity can be achieved through restorative justice. They concluded that sport must be entirely reconstructed with new values and ethics in order to build a better future for all athletes. You can read more about their work on their site: https://www.feministsportlab.com/
The next talk came from Fergus Guppy who had studied transgender athletes in order to better understand their unique physiology. This work was so interesting to hear about as there is very little scientific data available on transgender athletes, so having more will help future researchers draw more accurate conclusions, as well as allowing key decision makers in sport to be better informed when they are creating inclusive policy.
There were many workshops to choose from, and I got to hear about the great work going on at Scottish Paddle, Scottish Curling, and Live Active Sport in Perth and Kinross. All three organisations mentioned their inclusive offerings, so if you’re interested in getting out on the water, hitting the ice rink, or trying out Floorball with the Perth Parrots, I would definitely recommend them all!
After a delicious lunch from the Stirling Court Hotel, we then heard from Paralympian Robyn Love who is on the GBR Wheelchair Basketball team. I was especially excited to hear all about Robyn’s time at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, having been there myself to watch the thrilling final between the Netherlands and the USA – This was my first time watching Wheelchair basketball live and such an amazing match to witness! Robyn was very funny and personable, answering questions and talking about her experiences leading up to the games with Hannah Bardell. What I hadn’t expected from Robyn’s talk was how eloquently she explored the barriers to sport for parents, discussing how even at such an elite level, it can be very hard to juggle parenting with training – having recently welcomed a new child with her partner Laurie Williams who is also on the same GBR wheelchair basketball team! Their story was so special to hear about and I can’t wait to see what comes next, especially with wheelchair basketball set to feature in Glasgow’s 2026 Commonwealth Games. I just hope I can get tickets!!
The afternoon continued with talks on LBTI+ Women in Sport, followed by speaker Michele Mommi from the EGLSF, before the best panel of the day (not that I am biased!) titled Visible and Proud. This panel discussion included out and proud members of the sports development community, including Alex Johnston, Amy McDonald, Keith MacLeod, Cara Shearer, and SDS’s own Head of Development: Lynne Glen. Hearing such experienced and established members of the sports community talk about the importance of belonging in our environments was very powerful. Lynne made a great contribution relating to tackling funding silos, and how all organisations should have the same core visions of making all sports environments inclusive, accessible, and welcoming places to be.
The final panel of the day answered the question: ‘Moving to LGBTIQ+ Inclusion: How is it Going?’ and featured speakers Lou Englefield, Jess Williams, Macolm Dingwall-Smith, and Hugh Torrance. This panel left me with two key takeaways from the day: don’t be afraid to challenge existing barriers, and focus on participation over regulation.
In conclusion, there was a fantastic range of talks, workshops, and panels on during the day, and I am so grateful to SDS for enabling me to attend this professional learning event. I gained great insight into the current discourse surrounding LGBTIQ+ inclusion in sport and what actions we can take to break down the barriers to accessing equitable sport and physical activity for all. This was actually the first ever professional conference I have attended, and I hope any future events are as welcoming, inclusive and accessible as the LEAP 2024 conference was!
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