Sport is for Every Body

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🎬IN THIS EPISODE🎬

In this episode I talk with Ryan Redondo to hear about how he has been bringing tennis to diverse communities in San Diego, in the USA.

🎙️ About our guest

Ryan Redondo is the CEO of Youth Tennis San Diego and the Barnes Tennis Center.

Ryan has spent a career in racket sports, first as an all American tennis player, then as a developer of emerging junior American tennis talent. Ryan is also the tournament director of the WTA San Diego Open, and under Ryan's leadership, the Barnes Tennis Center is helping to educate and train future generations of American tennis talent from diverse backgrounds.

🔎 Highlights

In this chat, we talk about Ryan's lifelong love of tennis and how through his work he is creating opportunities for diverse communities to get involved in tennis through low and no cost programs, community outreach, and opening up pathways in the sport for thousands of kids from diverse backgrounds. We also talk about the influence of his cultural background on the work that he's doing. And we touch on the importance of leadership for inclusion to happen. 00:00 Intro

03:11 Ryan's background

09:28 About YTSD and BTC

12:28 What programs are on offer?

17:31 Dealing with diversity

22:44 Building capacity of coaches

26:03 Wheelchair programs

29:39 Impact of scholarships

33:35 Inclusive leadership

36:57 Encountering resistance

45:10 Quickfire questions

50:30 Ryan's top inclusion tip

53:44 Wrap up 🗒️ Full Show Notes

The Levelling the Deck Podcast aims to promote inclusivity and equity in the world of swim coaching and teaching.

In this episode, our host Michael Woods leads a discussion on inclusion and equity for women in swim coaching.

Our guests Joanne Love, Janelle Pallister, Marty Roberts, and Ash Delaney share their experiences and insights on the challenges faced by women in the swim coaching industry.

Some of the topics covered in the episode include:

• The current landscape for women in sport and swimming coaching ​

• The barriers and biases faced by women in the coaching profession ​

• Strategies for creating a more equitable and inclusive coaching environment

• The role of men in advancing gender equity in swimming

Key takeaways:

1. Self-esteem plays a significant role in the advancement of women coaches. ​ Those with strong self-esteem tend to progress, while those with low self-esteem often struggle to move up the ranks. ​

2. Opportunities and biases also impact the advancement of women coaches. ​ Some women face barriers in terms of employment opportunities and recognition, while biases and stereotypes can limit their growth.

3. Men have a crucial role to play in advancing gender equity in the swimming sector. ​ They can listen, challenge biases, create space for women's voices, and collaborate with women coaches to create a more inclusive and equitable environment. ​

About our guests:

• Joanne Love: Australian Dolphin, elite coach and researcher
• Janelle Pallister: Australian Dolphin and Co-Coach at the Gold Coast High Performance Hub
• Marty Roberts: Australian Dolphin and Head Coach of the Canberra Paralympic High Performance Hub ​
• Ash Delaney: Australian Dolphin and Head Coach  ​

People mentioned: ​

• Anna Walker: Program designer at Swim Coaches and Teachers Australia ​

• Michael Bohl: Coach at the Gold Coast High Performance Hub ​

• Brendan Ward: CEO of Swim Coaches and Teachers Australia

Resources:

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🎬IN THIS EPISODE🎬

This is episode 08 and today I talk with Brendan Aylward who is working hard to make the fitness industry more inclusive for people with disability in the United States and beyond.

🎙️ About our guest

Brendan Aylward is the owner of Unified Health and Performance, President of AdaptX, and Director of The Rick Hoyt Research Lab. His work revolves around making the fitness industry more accessible for individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities.

🔎 Highlights

In today's chat, we discuss how Brendan found his way into this work as well as how he engages clients and adapts his programs and the gym environment. We also learn about some of the amazing work he is doing to educate gym instructors and owners to create inclusive gym environments for people of all abilities. 00:00 Introduction

02:13 Brendan's Backstory

06:29 About Unified Health and Performance

09:05 The need for adaptive equipment in the gym

11:28 People with and without disability in the gym

15:37 Engaging clients

21:22 Networks and partnerships

23:04 Adapting training sessions

29:03 Retaining clients

31:58 How clients are funded

34:27 Accessibility in the gym

39:19 About AdaptX

46:46 Quickfire questions

50:28 Brendan top inclusion tip

52:27 How to connect with Brendan

53:22 Conclusion

🗒️ Full Show Notes

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🎬IN THIS EPISODE🎬

This is episode 07 and today I talk with Ryan Storr to discover how he has been influencing inclusion in sport through research and practice in Australia.

🎙️ About our guest

Dr. Ryan Storr is a multidisciplinary researcher and consultant and is the Founder and Director of the Diversity Storr, a Melbourne-based diversity and inclusion consultancy. His PhD explored how diversity is understood and enacted within organizational contexts and has led several large scale research projects exploring LBTQI+ inclusion within sport and movement settings, and he is helped shape national and international policies and practices through that work. Ryan also founded LGBTQI+ sport charity Proud to Play.

🔎 Highlights

In today's chat, we hear Ryan's insights into what inclusion and diversity looks like inside organizations. Plus we chat about LGBTQI+ inclusion and hear about some of Ryan's groundbreaking work over the last few years. We also shine a light on an often overlooked issue that's faced by people with lived experience working in the inclusion field. 00:00 Introduction

04:12 Ryan's backstory

09:21 Ryan's motivations

12:30 Ryan's research

14:49 Inclusion in sport clubs

20:54 LGBT issues and homophobia

22:05 About Proud2Play

23:52 Ryan's LGBT work

29:15 What work still needs to be done?

34:21 Impacts of inclusion work on practitioners

44:25 About the Diversity Storr

50:44 Quickfire questions

54:36 Ryan's top inclusion tip

56:00 ISD Academy

57:51 Conclusion

🗒️ Full Show Notes

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🎬IN THIS EPISODE🎬

This is episode 06 and today I talk with Emily Ayles to discover how she goes about connecting people with disability to sport through her work at Novita in South Australia.

🎙️ About our guest

Emily Ayles is the connectability project officer at Novita, which is a leading disability service provider in South Australia. Emily has been delivering the Connectability service at Novita for over 12 years, and like me, and hopefully like you Emily loves to see the difference that sport can make in people's lives. In addition to this, Emily is a national classifier for the Paralympic sport of Boccia and is an experienced practitioner in Para-sport and adaptive physical activity.

🔎 Highlights

In today's chat, we talk about how Emily links participants to sport options that meet their needs, and we also discuss some of the barriers and challenges that her clients face, and more importantly, how to overcome those.

00:00 Intro

02:59 About Emily

10:09 About Connectability

17:17 Emily's process

20:35 Barriers

27:35 Success story

34:12 Role of the NDIS

41:35 Sport and rec in day services

48:04 Quick fire questions

53:29 Emily's inclusion tip

55:07 Conclusion

🗒️ Full Show Notes

🎬IN THIS EPISODE🎬

This is episode 05. And today I am with Jessica Scannell to learn how she is making inclusion in sport happen for multicultural communities through her work at Welcoming Australia.

🎙️ About our guest

Jessica Scannell originally from Ireland has played basketball at an elite level, has lived a migrant experience in multiple countries and now calls Melbourne, Australia home. She has experienced first hand the power sport has to heal and develop a sense of belonging for people from migrant backgrounds and people with disabilities and is determined to create more opportunities for more people to access all the benefits she has gained through a life of sport.

🔎 Highlights 00:00 Intro 03:52 About Jessica 13:46 About Jessica' s work 16:11 What ensure success? 21:39 Connecting with the target audience 27:24 Adapting to participants needs 33:46 Funding 36:49 Trauma informed practice 45:47 Quick fire questions 49:08 Jessica's best inclusion tip 50:48 How we make the podcast accessible 53:51 Conclusion

🗒️ Full Show Notes

This is episode 02 and today I talk with Lisa Drennan about how she is helping sport and recreation providers create opportunities for people with diverse abilities across the USA.

Lisa is an innovative inclusion leader. She's committed to building inclusive communities and demonstrated that over 38 years. She's been supporting people with disabilities and diverse abilities in the care, community sport, recreation, summer camps sectors across the USA. Through her business Merge Inclusion Consulting she supports and advises a wide variety of community organisations including YMCA, Boys and Girls Clubs, sports teams, leagues, scouts, schools. You name it, she's done it. She's also the Adjunct Professor of Adaptive Physical Activity at the University of Massachusetts in Boston.

🔎Highlights

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:51 About Lisa 
• 02:08 Welcome
• 03:06 Lisa's Backstory
• 06:09 What is Merge?
• 07:00 Working on both side of the "bridge"
• 09:21 Pathways to Friendship Toolkit
• 13:22 The importance of friendship
• 15:49  What creates successful inclusion?
• 21:35 How to connect with people with disability 
• 28:35 The need for strong relationships
• 30:59 The importance of education
• 35:42 What do inclusive activities look like? 
• 38:51 Building links to pathways
• 43:47 Quickfire questions
• 52:19 Lisa's top inclusion tip
• 54:54 Conclusion

This is episode 01 and today I talk with Jason Webber about how he is kicking goals for inclusion in Welsh Football.

Jason is an expert & leader in inclusion & integrity in sport with over 10 years experience educating & advising a wide range of stakeholders. Currently, Jason is working in the Football Association of Wales & he's been integral in advancing the association's programs & impacts.

🔎Highlights

• 0:00 Introduction
• 3:14 State of inclusion in Welsh sport
• 7:45 PAWB Inclusion Strategy
• 16:30 Partnerships and networks
• 24:50 Tips for clubs
• 30:45 Promoting to new audiences
• 32:25 Importance of education
• 38:34 Quickfire questions
• 41:32 Jason's best inclusion tip

"…the biggest tip I think is make sure you are doing something day in, day out to really make a difference to people's lives. You know, from a practical perspective."

"I think that's so important for anyone, ...to understand different areas of equality, diversity, & inclusion so that you know, whether you are in that Equality Champion lead role or, or a coach or anyone that you can really understand as much as possible."

Hi! I'm Michael Woods, Founder of Inclusive Sport Design (ISD) and your host for the ISD Podcast.

This is Episode 00 where I introduce you to who I am, what I do and what the ISD Podcast is all about. I hope you join me to learn from amazing people who are making inclusion happen in sport.

Remember. Sport is for Every Body!

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:46 What is ISD?
• 4:35 Who is Michael Woods?
• 9:18 Why I do what I do
• 14:49 Goals for the ISD Podcast
• 15:27 Summary and next steps

"...the best way I can summarize this is, is really Inclusive Sport Design is all about taking you from saying, "Yeah, anyone's welcome" to saying, "Hey, this is how we welcome everyone". And I guess that that's probably the best way to sum it up."

"...the things that I really enjoyed while I was, you know, a competitive person, I wasn't an elite athlete by any stretch of the imagination. But you know, being part of the team, building those social connections with friends, being fit and healthy, all those things I think are really important…But, when I was young…I didn't really understand how important, how valuable that that really could be. And certainly I didn't have the concept that my experience wasn't the same experience as everyone else's. That came later. So I guess there's a motivation for me to ensure that what I experienced is something that is available and on offer to everyone."