NUS has been working closely with BUSA this year and supports their diversity in sport agenda. I thought this day might interest some people and if people are able to attend please do- not just sport officers but people with diversity in their remits.

Last year in Southampton, BUSA held their first ever Equity Seminar. The event was co-ordinated with the major sports equity partners; the English Federation of Disability Sport, Sporting Equals and the Women’s Sport Foundation. The event was also given corporate backing by PriceWaterhouseCoopers and proved a resounding success. As a result the event has grown in size and the revamped BUSA Diversity in Sport Conference is due to be held in Bangor in mid August.

This year’s Conference promises to be a dynamic, educational and thought provoking event. The Conference will comprise of keynote presentations and workshops conducted by experts in four fields covering disability (English Federation for Disability Sport), ethnicity (Sporting Equals), gender (Women’s Sports Foundation) and LGBT (Stonewall).

The concept of the event is to raise awareness of the key issues facing educational institutes in maintaining a sporting environment that welcomes diversity and encourages equality. The Conference will equip lead officers and decision makers in education with a sufficient level of knowledge to improve the equity in their sports provision. Delegates will be able to share experiences, gain expert advice and collaboratively work towards a national framework for equity in student sport.

Last year’s event was a resounding success with comments on feedback forms such as:

“Found I got a lot more out of the conference than I was expecting when I applied - good job!”

“An excellent initiative and by far the most informative training of the year.”

“This has been an inspirational and highly motivational event!”

“I wish I’d brought my Executive Officer”

The concerns raised were simply that last year’s event was too short and did not give enough time to fully explore the issues and as a result we have added an additional day to this year’s event.

“Not enough time to fully explore the issues”

“Very worth while couple of days - hope it’s just the start - there’s a lot more that needs to be done!”

“Whole event was too short”

This year’s event will also include an opportunity for delegates to try out a range of disability sports first hand including Wheelchair Basketball, Boccia and Goalball at the renowned Greenbank Sports Academy. For those preferring a more relaxing afternoon there will be an opportunity to enjoy the idyllic and tranquil surroundings at the Snowdonia National Park.

The challenges facing educational institutes in achieving sports equity are significant and varied, but the strength of this BUSA event is that it allows delegates an opportunity to identify some areas of crossover in terms of issues facing the implementation of an equitable sporting programme. Last year’s discussions proved lively and it is envisaged that, with a greater amount of time this year, the debates will prove even more fruitful.

However, the outcomes of the event are not limited to the three days, as a discussion forum will be created after the conference enabling the beneficial networking to continue. In addition to this the organisers are hoping to SportsMatch the generous sponsorship received from PriceWaterhouseCoopers and institutions/organisations sending delegates will get an advanced opportunity to apply for a Small Grant of £250 to help develop the equity of their sports delivery.

The Conference is open to representatives of educational institutes and prices range from £45 for day delegates to £188 (including VAT) for the full three day conference. The dates for the conference are 17th - 19th August and for further details please contact Tiger de Souza on tigerdes@hotmail.com

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