Inclusion

Policy

Wing Rhythmic Gymnastics club

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Gymnastics resources and samples
Our Mission
The mission of Wings Rhythmic Gymnastics Club is to value
the ability and individuality of people with disabilities by
providing each individual with the opportunities they need to
reach their full potential as participants within an inclusive
ethos/culture. At our club we will achieve disability inclusion
by continually reviewing an approach that is implemented by
the members, staff and management and by working in
partnership with disability services and in consultation with
people with disabilities and their families. This will ensure
that our organisation is inclusive for everyone

Our Commitment
Our organisation welcomes all members of the community,
regardless of their abilities. We will include people with
disabilities in our organisation in both playing and non-playing
roles to the greatest extent that we can. We will endeavor to
make our organisation as inclusive and accessible as possible,
based on our commitment to comply with the Equal Status Acts
2000-2012, the Disability Act 2005 and Article 30.5 of the
United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities. We are also committed to fulfilling the requirement
of the Sports Ireland Policy on Participation in Sport by People
with Disabilities and to signing and engaging with the Sport
Inclusion Disability Charter
Accessibility
We are committed to ensuring that as far as reasonably
practicable, our organisational environment, clubs, training and
education and physical facilities are accessible to people with
disabilities. We are ready to consider all reasonable adjustments
that would, over time, help us to achieve this aim more fully and
effectively.

In our efforts to deliver on this we will:

Improve on the physical layout out of the facilities that we
use
Update our training and education to reflect disability
awareness/inclusion
Adjust how we deliver/promote our information to people
with disabilities
Organise disability awareness/inclusion training for all staff
and members
Ensure that all resources are produced in accessible
formats
Improve accessibility of all programmes
Review all areas in line with health and safety requirements.
Accessibility

Communication:
Communication should be as simple and brief as possible.
Avoid sarcasm, expressions, and hyperbolic comments.
Use visual demonstration and aids
Check the understanding of instructions with participants, never
assume everything has been understood or implied.
Always ask open questions, instead of yes/ no ones. This will
encourage critical thinking and more detailed insights to our
question.
Focus attention before speaking. Control background noise and
address individuals by their first name to gain attention.
Adapting our sessions:

The principles of STEPS provide a framework to assist coaches to adapt

specific elements of coaching and activity sessions. It requires coaches
to consider five elements when planning a task. Elements can be
adapted to the whole class or to a single individual.

S pace
Increase or decrease the training area to suit the group/ gymnast.
Use different parts of the room/ zone to re-enforce learning.
Use distinct stations to develop a skill, instead of progressions all in
one place. Move people to the next area when they are ready to
progress, visual aids can be used to assist with this.
Clearly mark out the areas and highlight rotation routes to help
participants understand the activity.
Beware of participants who may be sensitive to loud noises. Monitors
their signs of stresss level.

T ask
Incorporate certain exercises early into the session. For example,
utilize the warm-up to introduce core exercises that might be
necessary for a new skill they are about to learn.
Change and adapt the task if you see the participants find it too
easy or too hard.
Use clear and concise language to explain the task.
Utilise visual aids or sensory cues for participants to understand the
task.
If possible, do a pre-orientation game walking through the exercises,
and the goals of the exercises.
Accessibility

E equipment
Make sure different equipment options are available.
Utilise available equipment to assist with coaching points. For
example, using bean bags for participants to tuck their chin while
learning a forward roll.
Use props. For instance, put a teddy bear where they are supposed
to do a teddy bear roll so they understand the activity better.
Some participants are susceptible to certain textures. Be aware of
this and change equipment if necessary.

P eople
Remember not every participant has the same learning profile.
Consider what exercises participants respond to well and why.
Spend time getting to know your gymnasts, their goals, and what
they like.
Some activities may require extra staff or volunteers.
Ensure your lesson outcomes are participant-centered. What would
they like to achieve?
Think about their next steps, would they like to compete? Train more
often?

S peed

You may need to slow down activities or incorporate extra

progressions into them.
Some skills may need to be repeated more in order to be retained.
Give gymnasts more time to observe others in group-performing
tasks before they attempt them.
Make sure to emphasise, recap, and reinforce what has been
learned at regular intervals. Always start the session addressing
what has already been learned previously. This helps embed learning
and setting spectations.
Barriers and Solutions
Acknowledging the barriers that people with disabilities face and
possible solutions is the first step toward creating an inclusive and safe
place for people with disabilities. Here are some of the key barriers
and the solutions Wings Rhythmic Gymnastics proposes:

Equipment
There is a lack of adaptive or specialized equipment
that people with disabilities may face. Wings Rhythmic
Gymnastics incorporates yoga balls, stretch-bands,
and balance cushions to assist with gymnastic
exercises, inspired by Progressing Ballet Technique
which improves proprioception and encourages correct
body posture while learning new skills, especially to do
with balance, jumping, and posture. We are intending
to get any available grant to get any equipment
needed.

Facilities
Lack of accessible facilities can be a problem for
people with disabilities. Our club tries to provide two
solutions to this problem:
Make our gym more accessible: We have an
accessible gym with a single level, an accessible
bathroom with extra railing and plenty of space,
and a roller door where people with wheelchairs or
any other medical bulky objects (i.e. Oxygen
trolleys, etc...) can use easily. There is accessible
parking spots a few metres away from our main
door too.
Go to other facilities adapted to the needs of
participants. Our coaches are happy to travel to
other centres as long as their insurance allows for
gymnastic activities to take place.
Transport
Participants may be reliant on the support of others to
travel to the session it may be too far. Our club in
located in the centre of Athlone, close to a popular
supermarket so that parents can multitask and run
errands when driving a participant. We facilitate public
transport links in our confirmation emails. Our club also
travels to other towns to host workshops and camps. If
any participant is facing difficulties traveling to the
location of the session, we encourage contact with us
to find a lift from another peer or parent, and in
certain situations, coaches can drive a participant as
long as there is two garda vetted adults with their
safeguarding certificate up to date.

Finance
The cost of sessions can be unaffordable for families
with people with disabilities, as they may have
additional costs (i.e. physical therapy, psychotherapy,
medical expenses, additional supports, carers, etc...)
that may leave them without expendable income for
sporting activities. Thanks to the GymABLE grant we
received from Gymnastics Ireland in August, which
covers our weekly staffing fees for our special needs
class, and the Gymnastics Ireland membership of all
our disabled members, our term fees are 30.77% lower
than our mainstream recreational classes.

Self Perceptions
Participants with disabilities can experience low
confidence or be reluctant to try new sporting
activities due to negative past experiences which peer
coaches or the environment. Some disabled people
may believe that rhythmic gymnastics isn't for them.
Our club encourages positive self-talk and
incorporates the practice of mental skills to improve
focus and confidence in our training. The language our
coaches use should always be positive and their
feedback should be comprehensive.
Awareness
There may be a lack of awareness that sessions exist or
accessible information may affect the participation of
someone with disabilities in sports. There are posters
and signs about the existence of classes tailored for
people with intellectual disabilities and our willingness
to incorporate anyone with interest in joining our
classes. We often send brochures to organisations
involved with people with disabilities and our website
home page shows our commitment to inclusion.

Communication
Lack of communication can prevent people with
disabilities from participating in mainstream events,
thinking that it may not be for them. That's why our
social media and website clearly show that everybody
is welcome to our events, and show how activities
carried out in the classes can be adapted.
Participation
By developing our capacity and capabilities within our
organisation we will strive to deliver inclusive programmes,
promote and advocate for disability inclusion and increase the
numbers of people with disabilities participating in our sport and
organisation.

In our efforts to deliver on this we will:

Adopt an inclusive approach across all aspects of the entire
organisation by consulting with our members
Consult with and listen to the voices of people with
disabilities in all of our deliberations and programme
development
Work in partnership with other organisations and individuals
who are advocates for the inclusion of people with
disabilities
Promote good governance acrossall members of staff to
ensure that participation of people with disabilities is
delivered
Acknowledge and support the contributions, achievements
and successes of people with disabilities in our organisation
Commit to and adopt the Sport Inclusion Disability Charter
Support
In the development of a Disability Inclusion Policy we understand
that it requires a lot of support across all aspects of our
organisation. We will endeavor to provide supports where they
are needed and where financially and strategically possible.

In our efforts to deliver on this we will:

Increase the capabilities of our management, staff and
members so that they have a better understanding of what is
required to deliver an inclusive environment. We will do this
by providing disability awareness/inclusion training to all our
board members, staff and members
Appoint a Disability Inclusion Officer to monitor, support and
assist in our work to be more inclusive of people with
disabilities
Educate and support management, staff and members to be
accepting of people with disabilities throughout our
organisation .
To ensure that all future policies, strategies and plans are
inclusive of people with disabilities.
 Develop our coaching/training pathway to include
disability awareness training
Develop a standalone disability inclusion workshop
specific to our sport or organisation
Collaborate with external organisations who work in the
area of disability and consult with them and their members
in the development of our programmes

Report
We will endeavour to review and update the club's Disability
Inclusion Policy annually and to review any recommendations and
developments that will have arisen as a result of the
development of the policy.

In our efforts to deliver on this we will:

Review the work that has being completed during the time
frame
Check the list of actions or measurable outcomes that were
set as part of the policy development
Consult with people with disabilities, members and
organisational staff on their views and achievements in
relation to the policy
Update the policy where necessary
Measureable
Outcomes
It is important to set a list of measureable outcomes so that
the organisation can monitor and track that the Disability
Inclusion Policy is being implemented.

In our efforts to deliver on this we will:

Ensure that the Disability Inclusion Policy has being
approved by all board of management and all members of
the organisation
Ensure that the board of management, staff and members
understand the policy
Ensure that the board of management, staff and members
commit to the policy and adopt the Sport Inclusion
Disability Charter
Ensure that the policy is included in the organisations
handbook and is part of induction training of all new staff
Ensure that the policy is displayed publicly within the
organisation
Ensure that the training needs of the organisations board,
staff and members in relation to the Disability Inclusion
Policy has been identified and met
Ensure that all incidents are recorded and dealt with in
line with the policy
Conduct an inclusion survey