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BC Wheelchair Sports Statement on Racism and Discrimination
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massive-dev | June 10, 2020
BC Wheelchair Sports is in solidarity with our Black athletes, staff, officials, board members and community in the movement against racism and discrimination.
We believe in creating an inclusive and supportive community where people of all races, ethnicities, religions, sexes, gender identities, sexual orientations and abilities are welcome, respected and valued. We know that sport has the power to unite people and change lives; however we must confront the fact that sport is not immune from the same racism and discrimination that exists in society as a whole. Racism exists in Canada and racism exists in parasport and we must do our part to eliminate it.
We are committed to putting in the work to addressing racism within our organisation and the broader parasport community. We will work towards creating more opportunities for and amplifying the voices of Black, racialized and Indigenous people within the BCWSA community. We will continue to educate our athletes, staff and coaches on how to create more inclusive spaces and enforce a zero-tolerance policy towards racism, discrimination and harassment in our programs and teams.
We must do better, we must listen and we must take action.
If you have experienced or observed discrimination within our programs and community, please reach out to our senior staff and know that it will be addressed or contact the Canadian Sport Helpline at 1-888-83-SPORT (77678) and www.abuse-free-sport.ca
Additional support is also available to any athlete and/or coach experiencing distress during these times through the BCWSA Athlete Wellness Initiative. To access the Athlete Wellness Initiative, please contact Executive Director Gail Hamamoto by email at gail@bcwheelchairsports.com
