‘We are closer to the genuine inclusion of disabled people across our sports’

To mark National Inclusion Week 2024, Swim England is highlighting key projects which provide equal access and opportunities.

Here, Nicola Hughes, the national governing body’s inclusion and volunteering support co-ordinator, discusses the Ripple Effect project.

Aquatics has been a huge part of my life – but I’m in quite a unique position.

I am above the knee amputee of eight years so have known the aquatic world as both a non-disabled person and a disabled person.

This gives me a valuable insight into some of the difficulties that disabled people face on a daily basis.

Having worked for Swim England since May 2022, I have been able to share that knowledge to help disabled people volunteer at events – and the Ripple Effect played a crucial part in helping us to realise that vision.

What is the Ripple Effect?

The Ripple Effect is a project funded by the Spirit of 2012, to help get disabled people into volunteering. It was not designed to engage with lots of people but to work with a small cohort of disabled people to identify and break down the barriers to volunteering.  

We worked with seven National Disability Sports Organisations (NDSOs) to see if they could source volunteers with different impairments who were interested in being involved in a project like this.

By talking to disabled volunteers, we learned about the support each individual would need.  

Not everyone is the same and levels of impairment vary from one person to another.

By being open and not making assumptions, we discussed reasonable adjustments and found that the volunteers involved were able to achieve more than they anticipated at the start of the project.

How did the project go?

Mistakes were made along the way – we wouldn’t learn otherwise! Mistakes provide an opportunity to discuss how we would do things differently in future.

It is not always easy recognising that you have got something wrong – but committing to learn from these experiences has just as much of an impact as getting something right in the first place.  

It makes you appreciate things differently, gain experience and have more of an understanding of what individuals need to feel included.  

One thing we were committed to from the outset of the project was fun! 

If volunteers are not having fun, they are less likely to feel included and carry on in their role. 

The cohort of volunteers we had have been supported in their clubs – they have had ups and downs along the way but as a rule they have been supported – and in some cases gone beyond what we initially thought possible! 

This support combined with the passion of the volunteers has seen them flourish and grow in confidence. 

Several volunteers been nominated for regional and national awards over the last two years, with two winning awards from the Sport and Recreation Alliance and This Girl Can respectively.  

To say I’m immensely proud is an understatement.

Proud of what all our volunteers have achieved, especially as many of them have had things going on at home and health wise.  

There have been tears along the way on the project, some for the wrong reasons, but also a lot of tears for the right reasons!

What have you learned personally? 

This project has shown me that disabled people are made of strong stuff.  

Our volunteers have been resilient, determined and taken great pride in what they have done.  

Yes, they do things slightly differently and may need that bit of additional help or support – but they are good at what they do and will enhance a team when provided with a community that accepts them for who they are.

What is next?

It is incredibly important that the legacy of the project will encourage others to volunteer. 

Increasing the visibility of disabled people poolside is one way to encourage others to get involved.  

We want to see the project’s ‘ripples’ spread more widely so that people can see for themselves being disabled does not mean that you cannot be involved in aquatics.

We are in the process of rolling out ‘Inclusion 360’, working with clubs in the North East to see how Swim England can encourage and help clubs to become more inclusive to disabled people.

We are not there to criticise, or foster negativity.  We want to encourage interaction with people who have a range of impairments and how to understand and support their needs.  

Yes, access is important but so is interaction with people.  

The Ripple Effect highlighted a lack of interaction and we would like to create opportunities for this within clubs. 

By having a better understanding of how to understand and communicate with people, we are one step closer to the genuine inclusion of disabled people across our sports.

I feel passionately about this project due to my own lived experience, both as the project officer and as someone who completed several officiating courses to have a better understanding of what the volunteers experience. 

Becoming disabled took me on my own journey into the world of volunteering and officiating.  

Being in a wheelchair has created challenges and successes. With the support of my local club and Swim England, I have been able to progress and attend events that I never thought I would be able to.  

With perseverance, determination and pride, I do what I do so I can prove to myself I can do it, to support events in voluntary roles but also to show others that you can do things when you put your mind to something and have the support to do so.

Tofdiscuss volunteering opportunities for disabled people, please feel free to drop me an email at [email protected].