Tips for sporting organisations

Duration 00:02:06

Audio described transcript:

Andrew Pope:

Audio description: A man with short brown hair, a black button up shirt and black and purple checked tie. He is standing in a foyer with trees in the background.

Transcript: Sport is important to accessibility and accessibility is important to sport. But in my own lived experience, as a person with disability, having accessible sporting opportunities can open up so many avenues for self-confidence, leadership, it can take you places where you never thought you would go. And the confidence and the friendships that you build, especially that I built, were so vital for my development as a person and development as a professional and I wouldn’t have had some of the opportunities that I now have had if I hadn’t been involved in sport.

Slide that reads: What can sporting organisations do?

Transcript: I think they need to develop the opportunities and the knowledge of how to communicate with people with disabilities and just ask because if you don’t ask, you don’t know what the question is, and what the answer is.

We always think we know and we always think that those sporting organisations think ‘oh we need to do this, this and this’ to include people. But actually, they just need to ask and start developing their conversation with people with disabilities. So within those conversations, the solutions may actually come and these might be innovative because they’re designed with the person, not for the person.

Romeo doesn’t understand a lot of receptive language. Usually, at a new place, we would struggle to get him out of the car because he doesn’t know where he is going. The Cérge Visual Story is amazing for this. Romeo is able to see every single step on the website. The entrance, the pools, the change rooms. No surprises suits him. ~ Romeo’s mum and visitor to Nambour Aquatic Centre.

People with disability have the right to enjoy the many physical, mental and social benefits of sport and physical exercise in welcoming and inclusive environments.

That’s where the Cérge Companion Website & App comes in.

Through the use of the Cérge platform, sports and recreation venues are able to detail the access and inclusion features of their venue. This allows their visitors to ‘know before they go’. Guests can take guided video tours of venues, view a visual story and sensory guide and see the venue’s accessibility features and make requests to personalise their visits.

Belgravia Leisure’s National Disability and Diversity Manager, Dr Jeff Walkley is thrilled the partnership with Cérge is breaking down communication barriers for people living with disability including at Nambour Aquatic Centre and Mackay Aquatic Recreation Complex.

“We’ve seen countless positive stories from app users on how Cérge has made visiting their leisure centre easier. Personalising their visit thanks to the app means the world to them.

“Cérge makes it easy to produce accessible communication materials including visual stories and sensory guides while ensuring our teams are confident welcoming, supporting and inclusive to all,” shares Dr Walkley.

People with disability, their carers, parents and support workers can make specific service, accessibility, sensory and communication requests and book a tour of the venue.

We used the Cérge app to let the staff know we were coming and required a tour of the facilities to see what would be suitable.

After looking around the grounds, we felt comfortable and well accounted for. Staff were helpful and trained in the equipment that is offered for people with a range of disabilities.” ~ Visitor to Mackay Aquatic Recreation Complex.

The power of Cérge to transform the accessibility of sports for people with disabilities was recognised earlier in 2024 when the company received a $100,000 grant from Advance Queensland through the Private Sector Pathways Program Inclusive Sport Technology Challenge. The grant/program called for innovative ways to break down barriers and improve sport participation rates and performance for people with disabilities.

Visit the Cerge website for more information.

All Queenslanders should be able to participate in sport at every age, ability or background.

Making sport accessible is important to everyone. It can also be hard to know where to start.

Check out our top tips and remember—small and simple actions you can take make a big difference to people with communication disability, who are also part of your community.

Check out our top tips and easy-to-implement ideas to make your organisations communication  more accessible.

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