Program design

LGBTIQ+ participants who have positive experiences of sport identify multiple benefits including, being a safe space to affirm their gender and sexuality, opportunities to flourish, and helping to cope with challenges in other parts of their lives. ^{2, 6, 8, 11, 12, 14, 43, 90, 98, 99, 100}

However, when sport and physical activity are not inclusive, they can alienate and exclude LGBTIQ+ participants, increasing feelings of isolation and that they are out of place. ^{2, 6, 14, 22, 28, 33, 40, 41, 43}

Suggestions for practice

While every person is unique – and individual backgrounds, life experiences, and perspectives impact what motivates, facilitates, or discourages participation – some practices have been identified as being more likely to lead to successful programs for LGBTIQ+ participants, including:

• Proactively developing partnerships and relationships with the community. Reach out to local, regional, or national LGBTIQ+ groups to identify resources available and to ensure that programs are appropriate and meet real needs. ^{37, 90, 101}
• Focusing on fun, enjoyment, and socialising (connecting with other likeminded people). ^{2, 6, 17, 37, 98, 102}
• Building physical literacy, such as beginner programs to learn skills in a safe environment. If people have previously stopped participating, especially at young ages, they may lack core skills and will need support to feel comfortable and to build confidence. ^{2, 17, 20, 22, 37}
• Holding LGBTIQ+ specific sessions/programs, for example ‘come and try’ or ‘bring a friend’ events, so people can experience and become more comfortable in the environment with people of similar backgrounds. ^{2, 18, 37}
• Considering the various identities and other factors (age, socio-economic, culture, geographic location) that might also impact on participation. These intersectional factors may mean that an individual or group has different needs, preferences, barriers, and motivators to be addressed to encourage or enable participation. ^{17, 18, 103}
• Providing gender-neutral competition options that allow people to participate together. This can help to expand the pool of available participants, increase participation opportunities, and may help reduce stigma, discrimination, and misconceptions about LGBTIQ+ people more broadly. ^{21, 28, 72, 98}
• Having educated, knowledgeable, empathetic, and skilled staff and volunteers, especially coaches. ^{18, 25, 37, 90}
• Actively recruit and train LGBTIQ+ participants to run programs (but don’t require them to do all work relating to inclusion). ^{15, 18, 21, 37, 90}
• Ensuring that communication, policies, and practices are inclusive and welcoming to diverse communities (look at language and images on websites, marketing, forms, codes of conduct). ^{2, 18, 21, 28, 90}

Much of the existing research focusses on current participants in sport or physical activity. There is a need for future research to engage more with inactive populations, including those who have dropped out of sport at young ages, to better understand what might enable or encourage participation, and to communicate that sport can and should be for everyone. ^{2, 6, 37, 104}

Resources and reading