Paralympics GB still too white and suburban?

With the successful Paralympic GB medal winners only days ago returning to the 12th September Celebration the Youth Charter launches the YC 2020 Paralympics GB Race Equality Summary.

 

The Paralympic Games began its journey in post-war Britain with the Stoke Mandeville Games that included 16 injured service men and women taking part in archery on the same day as the London 1948 Olympic Games opened. Since these humble beginnings, the Paralympic Games have grown to become an international sporting event that is held every four years alongside the Olympic Games.

 

People with disabilities have been stigmatised and have faced, and continue to face, discrimination and exclusion. The Paralympics have provided a platform to showcase the abilities of people with disabilities and in doing so promote the inclusion of people with disabilities into mainstream society. However, despite its remarkable successes the Paralympics also demonstrate the global inequalities and disparities faced by people with disabilities from different social and cultural backgrounds.

“It’s been a history-making Games for @ParalympicsGB, who reached the podium in more sports than any other nation. 124 medals, 41 golds and second in the medal count. Thank you for inspiring us. #ImpossibleToIgnore”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Twitter message

Following the Team GB’s Olympic success Sport England’s Board Member, Chris Grant, questioned whether the Team GB Athletes were still “too white and suburban” with “massive underrepresentation” of the UK’s diverse social and cultural communities, which was supported by the YC 2020 Team GB Race Equality Summary Report, which was launched on the eve of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

The Youth Charter has also completed the YC 2020 Paralympics GB Race Equality Summary Report, which provides a longitudinal analysis of Paralympics GB Athletes from Sydney 2000 to Tokyo 2020, covering the post-Atlanta 1996 period and £235m of public investment from the National Lottery and the Treasury. Whilst there has been a huge and welcome haul of medals, we must recognise that out of 822 Paralympics GB Athletes for Sydney 2000 to Tokyo 2020, 95% (783) were white and only 5% (39) were BAME, which is nearly three times less than the UK’s BAME population of 12.9% (2011 Census).

 

Disability Sport can often be difficult to access because of the equipment required, for example, specialised wheelchairs for specific sports, which could be barrier a preventing people with disabilities from low-income backgrounds from having the opportunity to participate in many adapted sports. Thus, the socio-economic, physical and attitudinal barriers, and race inequalities of wider society are not suprisingly reflected in Paralympics GB.

 

The Youth Charter has found that the most racially inclusive Paralympics GB sport was Table Tennis which had 5 (13.9%) BAME Athletes out of 31 between Sydney 2000 and Tokyo 2020, which was 1% above the UK’s BAME population of 12.9%. However, all the other Paralympics GB sports were below 12.9% BAME Athletes in their squads for Sydney 2000 and Tokyo 2020. The Paralympics GB sport with the most athletes between Sydney 2000 and Tokyo 2020 was Swimming, with 128.5 Athletes but 0 BAME Athletes (NB: 0.5 = athlete shared with another sport).

 

The Youth Charter has categorised the potential of Paralympic sports for social impact, please see table 1 and 2. Swimming has been categorised a sport that has a Very High Potential for Social Impact, it is relatively easy to access at local leisure centres but is also a life skill that can save lives and promote an active lifestyle. For many people with disabilities, it can also be a liberating experience to swim through buoyancy. Thus, the fact that Swimming had no BAME Athletes out of 128.5, suggests a very disturbing inequality in access to swimming by BAME people with disabilities. This inequality was also reflected in the Team GB Aquatics (diving, swimming, etc) squads, which had only 2 BAME Athletes out of 228 for Sydney 2000 to Tokyo 2020.

 

The Youth Charter calls on UK Sport, along with Sport England, Sport Wales, Sport Scotland and Sport Northern Ireland, to ensure public investment in sport includes Potential for Social Impact as a key criteria for funding.

 

“I think sometimes the Paralympics is under too much pressure to be responsible for changing behaviour. We should just enjoy it for the wonderful spectacle that it’s been. Our research tells us disabled people are more likely to be inspired and influenced by a member of their family, by a neighbour or by a GP who has thought through the process of actively advocating sports and activity. They’re the real things that actually resonate with a significant number of disabled people who are not traditionally active and don’t see themselves as being a Paralympian.”

Barry Horne, Chief Executive, Activity Alliance

 

Download YC Paralympics GB Race Equality Summary Report
Follow Us
Follow on Facebook
Follow on Instagram
Follow on YouTube
Follow on X (Twitter)

Share on social

Share on FacebookShare on X (Twitter)Share on Pinterest

Visit our website