For Disability History Month, TeamUCL are spotlighting our sports clubs! Hear from Pole Fitness about their work to support a deaf member.
Pole Fitness
Tell us about what Pole Fitness is doing to support disabled members.
This year, Pole has been working to create a more inclusive environment for our members who are Deaf, deaf or hard of hearing. We have been working on educating our members, committee and instructors on sign language and how to communicate effectively and respectfully with people with different levels of hearing. We have also been creating opportunities for people who have differing levels of hearing to try pole in a specialised environment, alongside other people with similar experiences to them, such as hosting tasters and music-less pole practices.
Why was this important to the club and to you?
Pole, as a sport, prides itself on its diversity and inclusion. It was very important to us to make sure we were taking advantage of the privileges we have as a club at UCL to empower other students, creating accommodations for them if that's required. If we have the facilities to create an increasingly accessible and inclusive environment, so why wouldn't we?
How has the experience been for your members?
Many of our members who have gotten a chance to learn sign language and an opportunity to educate themselves on issues facing the Deaf, deaf and hard of hearing communities. After these experiences, we have had feedback that our instructors feel more prepared as they support more students, and other members have said they felt as though they had learned a great deal.
When we asked Zhara, a member of pole fitness who is deaf, about her experience with pole she stated: 'It really does depend on the instructor if they are able to meet the disabled’s person needs and to make the environment inclusive and accessible. For example, I did pole with an instructor that wasn’t very understanding of my needs and had to stop pole for years. I then found a different instructor, who was very understanding and adapted her communication and teaching, doing things like like tapping my arms/legs when I’m inverting to let me know which one to move.
That really helps to create a positive environment, especially if everyone else is aware of the disabled person’s needs. Sport has empowered me, boosted my confidence and improved my overall wellbeing. It showed that I can do sports just like everyone else as long there’s adaptations and support.'
What have been some of the highlights?
Recently, Pole has been partnering with Sign Language Society for some crossover events. Our members were invited to a specific workshop held by Sign Language Soc to learn some basics of sign language. We learned the alphabet, key question stems (e.g. 'who' or 'where') and animals and colours (our personal favourites were sloth and bear). As part of this collaboration, members of Sign Language Soc came to a free taster that we ran, where they learned a mini routine built of three basic spins!
What can clubs do to be more inclusive for disabled students?
As simple as it sounds: listen and learn. As sports teams we have a duty to create spaces that are welcoming and accessible, and through working with our members and taking on any feedback given we can continue improving our clubs. Practically speaking though, simple things like proving feedback forums and sign posting to your members who to discuss things such as accommodations can really help with educating your committees about these sorts of discussions.