No Sidelines

Trans+Sport is a documentary short that highlights many of the barriers trans and genderqueer youth face in accessing sport and physical activity.

Through interviews with youth and adult leaders, viewers will gain a better understanding of why it is important to challenge these barriers, how individuals can create change, and the impact creating safer spaces will have for everyone in your community. This documentary was created by The 519, with support from The Toronto Community Foundation.

There Are No Sidelines In Sport Inclusion

The #NoSidelines campaign and education program is part of our ongoing efforts to make recreational sport and sporting spaces more inclusive to members of the LGBTQ community.

Sport and recreation is something most people are exposed to – from gym class as children, to swim class as seniors – it has the potential to lift people up and bring us together. For many though, recreational sport can also be the first time they experience exclusion and discrimination. It’s for this reason that it’s vital we work to make these early experiences in sport supportive, inclusive and free from discriminatory language or behaviour – whether in the gym, the change room, on the playground or in the stands.

Our workshops speak to Ontario Human Rights Code obligations, explore practical strategies through case study discussion, and will recommend resources to create spaces where LGBTQ people can engage fully in the benefits of sport and recreation.

Workshops are intended to:

• challenge homophobic and transphobic language and behaviour in sport and recreation
• build capacity to foster safe and LGBTQ inclusive environments in sport and recreation
• develop measurable actions to foster a safe and LGBTQ inclusive environment that protects the dignity of people in the LGBTQ communities within sport and recreation settings

Workshops help participants to:

• identify and discuss the protected grounds in the Ontario Human Rights Code (OHRC) relative to gender and sexual diversity

identify and discuss common words to express sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression in Canada

• identify and discuss examples of homophobic and transphobic language and behaviours in sport and recreation settings – both on individual and systemic levels
• identify and discuss examples of homophobic and transphobic discrimination and harassment in sport and recreation
• demonstrate and share an empathetic understanding of the experiences of the LGBTQ communities
• propose ways to make the sport and recreation environment safe and inclusive for LGBTQ people including recreational sport participants, athletes at all levels, coaches, referees, administrators and spectators
• review sector based and individual practice and write an action plan, which identifies actions to make sport and recreation safe and inclusive