Race, class and gender in SA Ultimate - let's brainstorm and get to work!
Marlise Richter
Dear peeps
I am forwarding Robin’s courageous letter to the SA Disc mailing list in this email. (I didn’t recall seeing an email about the selection of the Wild Dogs coaching squad but found it on Facebook here)
I would like to salute Robin for drafting such an eloquent appeal, and for articulating tactfully two very important challenges facing SA Ultimate at the moment:
i.) rapid transformation of the the people who play and lead Ultimate in terms of race and class; and
ii.) ensuring female representation in all leadership structures.
Robin calls on all of us to work on these issues, and I think it is only right that we as a community come up with concrete suggestions on how to deal with these issues in a frank and constructive manner.
I would like to suggest that we use this forum to brainstorm some recommendations that we can put forward to SAFDA and the SA Ultimate community on how to
1.) ensure that the Wild Dogs campaign is executed in an equitable manner; and
2.) Longer term strategies on making the sport we love more inclusive and welcoming to a cross-section of SA society
Please post your suggestions/comments here and we can then think of ways of drafting something for wider consultation.
I would like to add on a personal note that I have tremendous respect for the people selected to coach and manage the Wild Dogs squad, and for the people who volunteer to take up SAFDA leadership positions, and who invest large amounts of time and energy into our sport. Few people are willing to take this on, and I would like to urge that our brainstorming relates to tackling structural problems, and are not on based on individuals or particularities.
Looking forward to your thoughts!
J
M
From: Robin Willis <rwil...@gmail.com>
Date: 12 December 2016 at 09:43
Subject: [SafDisc] An Open Letter to South African Ultimate
To: SafDisc <saf...@googlegroups.com>
Cc: safda-exec <safda...@googlegroups.com>
Dear South African Ultimate,
As the former Development Manager
for SAFDA, I have had the distinct privilege of being involved in conversations
and projects aimed to grow our sport nationwide. In this past two years, we have seen
incredible growth in our sport, both in established Ultimate communities and in
new, developing communities. SA Ultimate
is now diversifying at an unprecedented rate, with more and more female players
and players of colour joining our community weekly. This is, frankly, wonderful and speaks to the
hard work and dedication of leaders around the country to recruit players and
provide resources to new communities.
However, as South Africa becomes more and more involved in the world Ultimate community, we must pause and assess how the world sees us, as well as how we would like to be viewed.
In 2016, South Africa sent three teams to Worlds. While the emergence of our first Women’s and first Master’s team on the international stage is remarkable, it is also notable that South Africa, a national of incredible diversity, did not send a single player of colour to Worlds in 2016. This is, in all honesty, troubling. While the 2016 Worlds campaign is behind us, the Wild Dogs’ 2018 campaign is before us and we, as a nation, have a new opportunity to define our image.
I strongly urge the coaching
staff of the Wild Dogs to carefully consider the future of our sport in their
selection decisions. I encourage coaches
to look not only at the skills of individual players now, but to imagine the
growth and potential in players over the course of the next year. I urge them to imagine what potential there is
in selecting players from all over South Africa, from all communities. Imagine the Wild Dogs coming back from their
Worlds campaign and spreading their newfound knowledge not only in Cape Town
and Johannesburg, but also in Orange Farm, Soweto, and Zithulele. Worlds campaigns are an opportunity not only
to compete at the international level, but also to grow and develop players
from all around our great and diverse nation.
With so many incredible players of colour in South Africa, it is
embarrassing to take another all-white squad to Worlds.
Additionally, although the
coaching staff chosen to lead the Wild Dogs in their 2018 campaign is comprised
of skilled coaches and leaders, it is deeply troubling that none of these
leaders of this Mixed Ultimate team are women.
In South Africa, we have a wealth of fantastic female players and
coaches. Why are they not represented on
this staff? It is not sufficient to say,
“they did not apply.” How has SAFDA
targeted female ultimate players and sought to grow them as leaders? To have a coaching squad of five men for a
mixed team of men and women is, in all honesty, appalling.
The Wild Dogs campaign is not
only about winning games; it is about representing our country. How do we, as the South African Ultimate
community, want to be viewed? I urge the
members of our community to join me in putting pressure on SAFDA and the Wild
Dogs’ coaches to ensure equity in our leadership and in our national teams. Let us strive to ensure that our sport
represents our Rainbow Nation.
Sincerely,
Robin Willis
Former SAFDA Development Manager
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Katie Huston
1. Provide space for people to speak and then actively listen when they do.
2. Call out and address the microaggressions in your Ultimate communities (and your other communities!).
3. Donate your time, your money, your old cleats / jerseys / discs / gear to help facilitate Ultimate in growing communities.
Please add to this incomplete list. What can we do to create positive change?
"Gender equity is only one aspect of inclusion. And we cannot talk about gender, without also talking about race, class, and sexuality. We call this lens of looking at the world, this framework for solving problems, intersectionality. Think about it this way, the very notion of “inclusion,” can only exist with the practice of “exclusion.” We would not be able to fathom what it means to “include,” if we didn’t have a conceptual understanding of “exclude.”"
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