Sefton Park Cricket Club

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Statement and Policy

Updated: June 2025

Introduction

1. Sports equity is about fairness in sport, equality of access, recognising inequalities and taking steps to address them. It is about changing the culture and structure of sport to ensure that it becomes equally accessible to everyone in society.
2. Inclusion means having a welcoming culture for all people where they feel they are valued and respected.  
3. Intersectionality recognises that we all have multiple, overlapping identities that may impact on our experience in different ways.
4. Sefton Park Cricket Club is committed to supporting the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)’s aims to create an environment within cricket in England and Wales in which no individual, group or organisation experiences discrimination or acts in a discriminatory manner on the basis of a Protected Characteristic (as defined in the Equality Act 2010 from time to time – which at the time of writing are age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation).

Policy Statement

1. Sefton Park Cricket Club endorses the principle of sports equality and will strive to ensure that everyone who wishes to be involved in our Club, in any capacity :

1. has a genuine and equal opportunity to participate to the full extent of their own ambitions and abilities, without regard to their age, sex, gender identity, disability, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, religion, race, ethnic origin, socioeconomic status or sexual orientation; and
2. can be assured of an environment in which their rights, dignity and individual worth are respected, and in particular that they are able to enjoy their sport without the threat of intimidation, victimisation, harassment or abuse.

Legal obligations

Sefton Park Cricket Club is committed to avoid and eliminate unfair discrimination of any kind in our sports, and will under no circumstances condone unlawful discriminatory practices. The organisation takes a zero tolerance approach to harassment. Examples of the relevant legislation and the behaviours in question are given in the Appendix.

Positive action

The principle of sports equality goes further than simply complying with legislation. It entails taking positive steps to counteract the effects of physical or cultural barriers – whether real or perceived – that restrict the opportunity for all sections of the community to participate equally and fully.

Sefton Park Cricket Club will therefore seek to institute, support or contribute to appropriate measures or initiatives that enable access to our club and participation in associated activities by people from any group that is under-represented in the sport or has difficulty accessing it.

Implementation 

The following steps will be taken to publicise this policy and promote equality in our sports:-

1. A copy of this document will be published on the Sefton Park Cricket Club Website.
2. The Sefton Park Cricket Club Chair will take overall responsibility for ensuring that the policy is observed.
3. The Committee will take full account of the policy in arriving at all decisions in relation to activities of Sefton Park Cricket Club.
4. Sefton Park Cricket Club will collaborate fully with any surveys or other initiatives designed to assess the level of participation of different sections of the community in our sports and will take account of the findings in developing measures to promote and enhance sports equality in our sports.
5. Sefton Park Cricket Club will provide access to training for all of its Executive Committee Members to raise awareness of both collective and individual responsibilities. All Sefton Park Cricket Club coaches will be equality and diversity trained.
6. It will be a condition of Sefton Park Cricket Club membership that members commit to act in accordance with this policy; and to support such measures and initiatives that Sefton Park Cricket Club may institute or take part in to advance the aims of this policy.

Responsibility, Monitoring and Evaluation

The SPCC Committee will be responsible for ensuring the implementation of this policy.

The SPCC Committee will review all activities and initiatives against the aims of the policy on an annual basis.

The Committee will review the policy itself at intervals of no more than three years, (or when necessary due to changes in legislation) and will report with recommendations to the AGM.

Complaints and compliance 

Sefton Park Cricket Club regards all of the forms of discriminatory behaviour, including (but not limited to) behaviour described in the Appendix as unacceptable, and is concerned to ensure that individuals feel able to raise any bona fide grievance or complaint related to such behaviour without fear of being penalised for doing so.

Appropriate disciplinary action will be taken against any employee, member or volunteer who violates the Club’s Equality and Diversity Policy.

Any person who believes that he or she has been treated in a way that they consider to be in breach of this policy by a member or employee of the Club, should report to the Club Secretary or Disciplinary Chair

The Disciplinary Chair will investigate the complaint as per the procedures laid out in the Club’s disciplinary procedures.

The outcome of the investigation will be notified to the parties in writing and reported to the Sefton Park Cricket Club Executive Committee. If the investigation reveals unacceptable discriminatory behaviour on the part of an individual member, corporate member, or member Club the Committee may impose sanctions on that person or organisation in line with the Club’s Constitution.

Where the violation of the Equality and Diversity Policy is by way of harassment, victimisation or discrimination amount to a criminal offence, the appropriate authority will be informed.

In the event that an individual or organisation associated with Sefton Park Cricket Club is subject to allegations of unlawful discrimination in a court or tribunal, the Sefton Park Cricket Club Executive Committee will co-operate fully with any investigation carried out by the relevant lawful authorities and, subject to the outcome, may consider taking action as above in relation to the matter concerned.

Update following the Supreme Court Ruling on Biological Sex (2025)

The ECB announced in May 2025 a change to its regulations regarding eligibility for transgender players in women’s and girls’ cricket. This is based on the updated legal position following the recent Supreme Court ruling.

 With immediate effect, only those whose biological sex is female will be eligible to play in women’s cricket and girls’ competitive cricket matches. Transgender women and girls can continue playing in open and mixed cricket.  

We maintain at SPCC that anyone who identifies as a woman is welcome at SPWCC training and that abuse or discrimination has no place in our sport and are committed to ensuring that cricket is played in a spirit of respect and inclusivity.

APPENDIX – Relevant legislation and forms of unacceptable discrimination

Legal rights

Discrimination has been legally defined through a series of legislative acts, including the Race Relations Act, the Sex Discrimination Act, the Disability Discrimination Act and the Equality Act 2006.

In April 2010, the Equality Act 2010 received Royal Assent. The Equality Act 2010 is a new law which harmonises where possible, and in some cases extends, protection from discrimination. It applies throughout the UK and came into force in October 2010.

Discrimination refers to unfavourable treatment on the basis of particular characteristics, which are known as the ‘protected characteristics’. Under the Equality Act 2010, the protected characteristics are defined as age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex (gender) and sexual orientation.

Under the Equality Act 2010, individuals are protected from discrimination ‘on grounds of’ a protected characteristic^[1]. This means that individuals will be protected if they have a characteristic, are assumed to have it, associate with someone who has it or with someone who is assumed to have it.

Forms of discrimination and discriminatory behaviour include the following:

• Direct discrimination

Direct discrimination can be described as less favourable treatment on the grounds of one of the protected characteristics.

• Indirect discrimination

Indirect discrimination occurs when a provision, criterion or practice is applied to an individual or group that would put persons of a particular characteristic at a particular disadvantage compared with other persons.

• Discrimination arising from disability

When a disabled person is treated unfavourably because of something connected with their disability and this unfavourable treatment cannot be justified, this is unlawful. This type of discrimination only relates to disability.

• Harassment

Harassment is defined as unwanted conduct relating to a protected characteristic that has the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity, or which creates an intimidating or hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that person.

• Victimisation

It is unlawful to treat a person less favourably because he or she has made allegations or brought proceedings under the anti-discrimination legislation, or because they have helped another person to do so. To do so would constitute victimisation.

• Bullying

Bullying is defined as a form of personal harassment involving the misuse of power, influence or position to persistently criticise, humiliate or undermine an individual.

Sefton Park Cricket Club Management Board