Reuben Jarvis: “I understand the fear but I will never accept it.”

Last month, Scottish Rugby followed the lead of their counterparts in the other home nations by banning trans women from playing the sport. It is one of the latest setbacks for those campaigning for inclusion in sport, and came after a long consultation to determine what steps the governing body would take. While much of …

Continue reading Reuben Jarvis: “I understand the fear but I will never accept it.”

Chris Sherwood: “Every time we go out and play a non-inclusive team, we’re changing perceptions, and I love that.”

There was no sport that Chris Sherwood wouldn't turn his hand to growing up. Being in the UK, football was obviously a big part of his life – and he was in Nottingham Forest's system for a while before being released – but Sherwood also has stories of playing basketball, roller skating, volleyball, table tennis, …

Continue reading Chris Sherwood: “Every time we go out and play a non-inclusive team, we’re changing perceptions, and I love that.”

Rally: “Sport is just an incredible force, and especially within our community I think it deserves all the attention.”

Although preferring solo sports, Duncan Campbell still wanted a way to be part of a community in sport. Based in Barcelona, he had no lack of opportunities to go running, cycling, hiking or climbing, and where possible he would invite friends along. One of those occasions turned into a "big gay hike" as numbers reached …

Continue reading Rally: “Sport is just an incredible force, and especially within our community I think it deserves all the attention.”

Seen & Heard: “I find it really powerful when people see my story and my experience as something that has helped them.”

Seen & Heard is a podcast series hosted by Pride of the Terraces, created in association with LEAP Sports Scotland, Scottish Women in Sport and Scottish Disability Sport. Across the five episodes a variety of topics are discussed, from accessibility of sport in the first instance right through to the impact of global events like …

Continue reading Seen & Heard: “I find it really powerful when people see my story and my experience as something that has helped them.”

Steve Gillies: “If it means that more people start playing, then I’m happy to open myself up for whatever.”

The summer of 2021 saw history made in cricket as the first ever match between two inclusive clubs took place – and the effects of that day are still being felt now. Steve Gillies was one of the players lining up for the Birmingham Unicorns against London outfit Graces, who for two decades had been …

Continue reading Steve Gillies: “If it means that more people start playing, then I’m happy to open myself up for whatever.”

Dirk Smith: “As much as sport kind of kicked me out, it was also the thing that saved me.”

When Dirk Smith is coaching athletes, he approaches it from a place of knowing exactly what it is like to lose all motivation. Smith wears many hats. He is a personal trainer, he works with a football team in Germany, he is an avid swimmer and he is also an academic in sports psychology. Dirk …

Continue reading Dirk Smith: “As much as sport kind of kicked me out, it was also the thing that saved me.”

Trans Active: “We can really make it a celebratory space rather than one that’s awkward.”

There seems to be an ever-rising wave of abuse targeted at the transgender community, and sport is not immune. As human rights come under threat and the ability to exist in peace gets "debated" with increasing vitriol, bans have come into place to prevent trans people taking part in sport. In the US, laws have …

Continue reading Trans Active: “We can really make it a celebratory space rather than one that’s awkward.”

Sam Abdulla: “I’d had the best time and I can remember it viscerally, and then I felt like it had been taken away from me.”

Sam Abdulla is proof of the impact inclusive clubs can have on someone’s life. Now chair of the Caledonian Thebans Rugby Club in Edinburgh, the Welshman returned to the sport after over 15 years in Scotland’s capital city having been driven out of the sport as a youngster. Rugby is part of the culture in …

Continue reading Sam Abdulla: “I’d had the best time and I can remember it viscerally, and then I felt like it had been taken away from me.”

Glasgow West FC: “We’re trying to break the mould, but we have to go and jump through these hoops.”

Over the last few years, there has been a shift among clubs targeting the LGBTQIA+ community away from the term ‘LGBT+ clubs’ towards ‘inclusive clubs’. This has happened for a variety of reasons, not in the least because many of the clubs are not exclusively LGBTQIA+. They also cater for straight allies, and there has …

Continue reading Glasgow West FC: “We’re trying to break the mould, but we have to go and jump through these hoops.”

Stuart Bonner: “There are people at the club who credit Saltire with saving their life.”

With the Rainbow Laces campaign once again throwing LGBTQIA+ inclusion in elite sport, specifically men's football, into the spotlight it is only right to give those working for inclusive spaces year-round a platform. At Glasgow's inclusive football club Saltire Thistle, though, the last couple of weeks have been a frustrating time after their players were …

Continue reading Stuart Bonner: “There are people at the club who credit Saltire with saving their life.”