Outdoor sports for all?
Much of our work at Open Minds Active aims to promote positive mental health and wellbeing through the great outdoors. Opportunities to access the countryside and activities like wild swimming and hiking might be taken for granted by a lot of us, but for many others the barriers are complex and numerous. During lockdown we kept in touch with our community groups to check in with them and see how they were getting on. The need for people to socialise was the focus of our online chats, and we recognised our collective desire to get outdoors to improve our mental health. We discussed the kind of activities that we could do together, COVID restrictions permitting, and one idea popped up - Golf! Initially we all laughed, perceived as a rich, white, male dominated sport, it was not at the top of our list, coupled with the fact that none of us played! But the more we thought about it we realised that some of the most beautiful green spaces in and around Bristol were in fact Golf courses and many within 15 minutes’ drive of the city centre.
At Open Minds Active we advocate for inclusivity to change perceptions and challenge prejudice. Enabling communities is a key part of our work. We had been in regular contact with our active women’s advisory group, set up to address sport inequity for marginalised women in the city through workforce development initiatives, and they were excited to advise and be involved. We put out some feelers and got in touch with the Kendleshire Golf Club and the amazing female golf coach Emma Brown. We approached Wesport for funding and before we knew it, we were running a taster session with a group of Muslim women from central and east Bristol.
The sun shone for our first session as we all arrived in the car park for an afternoon’s coaching with Emma. There was some initial in-trepidation as most of the clientele at the golf course, albeit friendly, were predominantly white and male. However, as soon as we met Emma, she put us at ease by showing us around and took us to a beautiful quiet spot surrounded by greenery and everyone began to relax. The thrill of trying something new together with Emma’s engaging session meant that the whole group had a positive experience. We were surprised at how physically challenging it was and there were definitely a few sore muscles the next day. Some of the women showed real natural flare for the game and everyone remarked about how nice it was to finally be together outside. None of the women had ever even considered playing golf before as they knew nothing about the sport, where or how to play and had a perception that it ‘wasn’t for them’. All of them found it a positive experience and were keen to come back.
For us this highlighted how so much access to activity, particularly in outdoor sports, is about knowing what is out there, having the opportunity to do it and the confidence to know that wherever you are going you will feel safe and welcomed. There are of course many other barriers to overcome including cultural attitudes, lack of transport, prohibitive cost and the need for childcare. All need to be tackled, but nurturing peoples’ confidence to try these new activities felt like a good place to start. Whether they realise it or not, these women are crucial role models for others in their communities and a vital step in challenging perceived societal and cultural norms.
England Golf are continuing to support the programme so that more women of colour from a range of cultural backgrounds can continue to try the sport and influence others to do the same. We are lucky to have such forward thinking partners like them, the Kendleshire and Wesport to support these kinds of initiatives. This is nothing new, we are just one, tiny project. There are thousands of others like us, across all sports, all over the world doing great things. We are starting to see change, but more is always needed. The hope is that, eventually anyone, no matter their gender, race, ability or background will have the means to not only participate in outdoor sports regularly, but feel confident and welcomed wherever they go.
