Q. Why has the Equality Standard for Sport been developed?
A. Research shows that many sports have low participation rates by women and girls, ethnic minority communities and disabled people at all levels of participation and representation, be it as players, coaches, volunteers, administrators, officials and committee members. Building on the success of the Race Equality Standard, the Equality Standard for Sport (the Standard) will contribute to the ongoing modernisation of sports organisations in terms of their structures, policies and operational practice. In addition, the Standard will enhance the quality of services to members and participants.

Q.  How will national governing bodies and national sports organisations benefit from implementing the Standard?
A.  Applying the Standard will enable organisations to:

• Provide a framework for achieving equality in sport
• Ensure democracy and the sound governance of the sport
• Increase the number of participants, members, coaches, officials, spectators and volunteers by reaching new audiences
• Help meet legal duties thereby reducing the likelihood of litigation
• Enhance the skills and knowledge base of staff and volunteers
• Increase active involvement in equality at every level
• Improve equality practices through monitoring, evaluation and review methods
• Improve your chances of accessing funding and sponsorship

And, for those organisations that have started to address equality issues, to:

• Build on existing good practice in equality
• Assess and review current equality policy.
• Assess and review equality performance and achievements.

Q. Who is the Standard aimed at?
A.  Those governing bodies and sports organisations operating at national, regional and county levels. The Standard will assist in the development of business benefits as those outlined above. It is important that the decision makers and gatekeepers for sports and sports services respond to the needs of ALL individuals, groups and communities.

Q. What does the Standard consist of?
A. The Standard is based on two broad areas of activity:

• Developing Your Organisation – what your organisation is. This will be a reflection of the culture, policies, leadership and people.
• Developing Your Services – what your organisation does. This is reflected in the impact that policies, leadership and people have on your organisation’s programmes, communications and customer service.

For each area there are four levels of achievement. All four levels must be supported by relevant evidence, which will be verified through the evaluation process. Each of the four levels has been developed to take account of the different starting points of different sports organisations. The levels are: Foundation, Preliminary, Intermediate and Advanced.

Q. What support will be given to work through the Standard?
A. his is a key element of the roll out. In the first instance support will be targeted at governing bodies. Support provided will be based on a needs analysis. The nature of support will be varied including; information, guidance notes and fact sheets, access to advice, training opportunities and the identification and dissemination of good practice examples.

Q.  Who will provide support?
A. A combination of the following agencies:

• The Equity Partners (English Federation of Disability Sport, Sporting Equals and the Women’s Sports Foundation) have been involved at all stages of the development of the Standard and will support its roll out by overseeing the development of a quality controlled training programme and will provide expert advice.
• Home Countries national governing body lead officers. Each Home Country Sports Council will develop its own implementation plan.
• Consultants appointed on behalf of the CCPR, UK Sport and the Home Countries Sports Councils will develop mechanisms and processes to implement the roll out of the Standard and provide interim support. This support will respond to varying needs.

Q.  Will there be any additional funds to support the roll out of the Standard?
A.  There is an expectation that NGBs and sports organisations in receipt of exchequer funds and funds to support One Stop Plans and Whole Sport Plans will prioritise this work. Even with the input of funding from Modernisation and sports councils, it remains the responsibility of national governing bodies and national sports organisations to provide the necessary human resource, time, energy and commitment to bring about positive change for each sport.

Q. Will your funding awards be linked to the Standard?
A.  For those governing bodies with a UK wide remit UK Sport has linked the achievement of each level within the Standard with models of good governance as outlined in Investing in Change. Equity plans are also to be included in the UK/GB One Stop Plans submitted in November 2004. Progress through the Standard is a mandatory condition within the national funding agreements involving Sport England, national governing bodies of Sport and national and regional sports organisations in England. The other Home Countries would expect sports selected for their pilots to reach the agreed level by March 2006.

Q.  How can you get involved?
A.  In the first instance the chief executive and/or the board should make a positive statement in the form of an announcement at a conference or feature article in your newsletter or publication reflecting your organisation’s commitment to achieving the Equality Standard. This commitment should be communicated to all paid staff, volunteers and existing and potential participants.

Q.  How does the Achieving Racial Equality in Sport Standard contribute?
A. For organisations in England that have achieved the ‘Preliminary or Intermediate levels their achievements can be used as part of the evidence needed for the Equality Standard for Sport. From April2005 this standard will be integrated into the new Equality Standard for Sport.

Q. When do you need to have achieved the Standard?
A. There is an expectation that national and regional governing bodies of sport and sports organisations will be in a state of readiness to achieve the Preliminary Level of the Standard by March 2006. However, targets will be agreed on a case-by-case basis.

Q. How will any achievements be assessed and verified?
A.  In order to make progress through the Equality Standard framework, organisations will have to establish their current position and provide evidence of their achievements. On completion of the Foundation and Preliminary levels, organisations will forward a portfolio to the relevant Sports Council for assessment. Verification of achievement of the Intermediate and Advanced levels will be undertaken by a panel of experts as convened by the relevant Sports Council.

Q. What are the next steps?
A.  Get to know the Standard and complete a needs analysis. This needs analysis will be available by the end of the year (December 2004) and will assist in determining the most appropriate level that you should aim for.

Further information:

For further information please contact the Sport England call centre on 08458 508 508 to be directed to the approriate person.

For other enquiries relating to other home countries please contact the appropriate sports council for that particular country.