I was privileged to be chosen for the first Scottish Leaderboard Academy. I had read about what the sport related work that Leaderboard was doing in England and eagerly looked forward to their sessions in Scotland. Our group was very well balanced across various characteristics, and all the participants enjoyed the organised sessions. The many speakers talked about the how their National Governing Boards (NGB) operated, their functions, their membership, their processes and their outcomes. Whilst their Boards functioned well, when questioned about the diversity of their Board and how they tackled racism in their sport, some of the answers illustrated that the boards needed to have deeper conversations about these relevant issues. Every sport has a dimension of racism that may not be overt and may be subversive and invisible – except to those that experience it and more importantly report it. We know that NGBs can make a difference in tackling racism provided they acknowledge it can happen. Many of the group agreed that it is the action that NGBs take that is necessary and that staying silent is not an option.
The Leaderboard sessions did make the group think that we should apply for Board membership on Scotland’s Sporting Governing Bodies. We were all realistic that the diversity of Boards would not alter immediately and would take some time. From our lived experiences, we were in no doubt, that we would need to be resilient and persistent if there was going to be any note of success. NGBs need to reflect on their membership and be less bureaucratic by not only providing equality of opportunity but equality of success if they want to be institutional antiracist.
I could relate the board sessions to my role as the Chairperson of Scottish Squash Rackets Club (SSRC) one of the oldest squash clubs in Scotland. Our discussions and sessions made we reflect about the way that the SSRC committee worked. Our committee is very diverse in many ways with young and old members, with women and men across different ethnic groups and as such it produces a great working ethos with humour and seriousness with no egos pushing particular agendas. Everyone respects each other and it is a pleasure to be the chairperson. So, listening to the speakers helped to reassure me that the way our SSRC committee operates was natural and effective. We obviously do continue to ask ourselves how things can be better for the club and members -– ‘ do not change things for the sake of change’.
For myself, an opportunity arose for me to be a Board member of the Scottish Squash Governing Body and I am extremely happy to say that I was appointed as the President of Scottish Squash and the Chairperson of the Board. It is an honour to be part of Scottish Squash and to work with a group of like-minded people who want to promote and to develop the sport for all groups and ages.
There is no doubt in my mind that the hard work starts now and that I will endeavour to ensure that the SSL Board tackles diversity with commitment, sensitivity and compassion. The challenge will always be how do know it is working at club level and that everyone understands the reality and are active participants in tackling inequalities in all its forms.
I will end with a quote from Muhammed Ali –
‘ Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”
