The Welsh Rugby Union have become the first National Governing Body to achieve the insport Gold standard, recognising their commitment to providing a ‘jersey for all’ across the different formats of the game in Wales. While working through the insport NGB programme, the Welsh Rugby Union have consistently demonstrated a strong commitment and culture throughout the organisation to developing the inclusion of disabled people across their rugby communities.
Tom Rogers (Partnership Manager, Disability Sport Wales)
“Having worked closely with the Welsh Rugby Union over the past 5 years, I’ve seen first-hand the motivation and commitment to the development of inclusive and disability specific provision across the organisation and their partners. There is a genuine approach within the Welsh Rugby Union to ‘get it right’ with a clear commitment for continued development of areas of best inclusive practice.
In successfully achieving the insport NGB Gold award, the Welsh Rugby Union have positively identified the commitment of the organisation to inclusion and as a result have raised the expectation within communities of disabled people interested in rugby and looking to play, coach, and volunteer across all forms of the game in Wales.
I’m looking forward to continuing to work in partnership with the Welsh Rugby Union as they continue to lead, support and grow the number of opportunities for disabled people across Wales.”
Fiona Reid (Chief Executive Officer, Disability Sport Wales)
“The WRU’s achievement of insport NGB Gold is incredibly significant and reflects the great work, shared passion and a genuine determination to ensure that rugby is an opportunity for all disabled people in Wales.
The insport programmes were established as a series of toolkits to support organisations making inclusive cultural change, and the WRU made the disability rugby offer central to their ‘jersey for all’ approach. At DSW, we knew that cultural change would take time, and 10 years after insport programmes started we are incredibly proud to see the WRU become the first recipient of an insport NGB Gold standard.
Achievement of the Gold standard means that an inclusive approach to communities of disabled people is embedded within WRU strategies and programmes, commitments and thinking; it doesn’t mean there is nothing else to do to make rugby accessible to anyone with an impairment, but it does mean that as an organisation they are proactive, supportive and consider disabled people as a core part of the WRU family.”
Disability Sport Wales’ insport programmes
One of Disability Sport Wales’s top strategic priorities is to establish effective partnership for an inclusive sector culture. In order to achieve this, DSW recognise that a partner-led approach is essential to succeed in Wales becoming an active nation where everyone can have a lifelong enjoyment of sport.
Disability Sport Wales cannot achieve significant change alone and they need to bring existing, as well as new partners on the journey with them. They challenge their partners and the wider sporting landscape to accept and embrace inclusion, and in so doing, provide even greater levels of activity for disabled people.
The insport project provides support to clubs, national governing bodies, local authorities and other third sector organisations.
insport is a Disability Sport Wales project delivered with the support of Sport Wales, which aims to support the physical activity, sport, and leisure sectors delivering inclusively of disabled people. The insport NGB programme is part of the broader insport project, which aims to support the physical activity, sport, and leisure sectors delivering inclusively of disabled people.
insport is a toolkit, developed and delivered by Disability Sport Wales, to support the development of inclusive thinking, planning, development and delivery by everyone within the partner organisation so that ultimately they will deliver across the spectrum to disabled and non-disabled people, at whatever level they wish to participate or compete.
The intention is to initiate and then support cultural change with regards to the approaches the sectors have towards disabled people, and to support the identification of an understanding of what inclusion means to them as a collection of organisations. The result will be that opportunity is widened, participation increases, disabled people become more active and engaged (either as players, or officials, coaches, or volunteers), and we collectively achieve the sector vision for a nation who is hooked on sport for life, and one which consists of many champions.
The programme consists of 4 incremental Standards (Ribbon, Bronze, Silver and Gold), against which a series of aims have been identified.
Disability Sport Wales support through an assigned case officer to support each partner, including a range of disability inclusion training courses, guidance, and resources which can help staff, coaches and volunteers create a more inclusive environment for disabled people within sport.
The insport project was initially launched in 2012 to support partners in developing their provision so that it includes people with a disability.
Over the past 10 years the project has continued to develop to work with a broader range of partners including 27 Welsh National Governing Bodies of sport, all 22 local authorities, 8 3rd Sector organisations including the Urdd, and over 500 community clubs.
A number of clubs have successfully achieved the insport Gold standard, in all corners of Wales and across a wide range of sports including gymnastics, squash and football.
These club opportunities can be found through our club finder: https://www.disabilitysportwales.com/en-gb/join-in/clubs
Learn more about the insport programmes and how they can support your organisation: https://www.disabilitysportwales.com/en-gb/programmes/insport
