EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION POLICY
Please see here for more information specifically about overcoming barriers to female participation.
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Introduction
Ourea Events are committed to ensuring that the events they organise are equally accessible to all members of society, whatever their age, disability, gender, ethnicity, sexuality or social/economic status.
We seek to ensure that we comply with the Equality Act 2010 and the characteristics protected by it (age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership and pregnancy and maternity).
Participation in mountain running events means challenging yourself, achieving big objectives, exploring new places, meeting like-minded people and enjoying the natural world. These activities are all key to feelings of self-worth, confidence, life satisfaction and mental well-being. Ourea Events believes that these experiences should be equally accessible and enjoyed by all.
Note there are special eligibility requirements for events that we designate as “Female Only” - see below for more details.
Bringing together those with a love for mountain running | SILVA Great Lakeland 3Day™ 2019 ©Steve Ashworth
THE CURRENT SITUATION
Low participation in trail, mountain and ultrarunning events from certain sectors of society - such as women and ethnically diverse communities - has been a widely commented on topic in recent years as the popularity of such events has grown.
According to the American Trail Running Association, under-represented groups include “women, various racial and socio-economic groups, youth, LGBTQ and intersex runners, and blind and adaptive runners.”
Examples of low female participation from Ourea Events is shown below:
Judith Wyder winning the women’s race at the 2019 Ring of Steall Skyrace™ - finishing 10th overall ©No Limits Photography
Other examples from outside Ourea Events include:
OUR RESPONSIBILITY
There could be many reasons why particular groups are underrepresented: lack of information, lack of confidence or support, lack of appropriate role models, financial costs, or pregnancy and motherhood.
Some of these barriers to participation are out of our control as race organisers but some are not. Ourea Events recognises that we have a position of leadership with our high-profile races and wish to clearly share our commitments towards growing and sustaining numbers of participants from underrepresented groups.
Event coverage means providing good role models and showcasing a wide range of stories ©No Limits Photography
OUR COMMITMENTS
Collect and share data
We plan to collect data from active participants and share information on participation from underrepresented groups in the Race Director report for each event. This will help us to better understand the current situation on diversity and contribute statistics to help the wider running community to understand the key issues.
Partner organisations
We will invite prominent or influential runners to attend events, in order to increase awareness and provide role models within certain communities. We will actively seek out new partnerships with relevant organisations to understand potential barriers to participation and work together to showcase stories of participation.
Event promotion
This covers everything from photo, film, social media, blog posts and news stories. These are all used to tell the story of the event and can therefore have a powerful impact on our audience. We will consider the following when promoting and reporting on our events:
Showcase a variety of voices, experiences and stories
Highlight participation from underrepresented groups
The goal will be to make participation from underrepresented groups more visible and therefore offer great role models and inspiration, but also emphasise the value of participation from any type of runner.
Reporting
From 2021, we plan to share our progress on this policy with our participants, event team members and stake holders via an annual report.
Event team credit
No matter your financial circumstances, Ourea Events offers an opportunity for anyone to participate - by earning credit towards a future race entry through volunteering.
Volunteering on the 2019 Dragon’s Back Race® and in the process, earning credit towards future race entries ©No Limits Photography
SPECIFIC MEASUERES FOR FEMALE PARTICIPATION:
Kit
All event kit and merchandise will be offered with the option of female specific sizing, therefore avoiding unisex sizes which undoubtably will be too large for many female runners. Any future kit guidance videos or articles will be produced from both a male and female perspective.
Start lines
On our ultrarunning multi-day events, starts are mainly staggered, whereas at Skyline Scotland® they are exciting, closely-watched and highly-photographed moments. To make our start lines, and the resulting photography, more gender equal, we will look to invite female athletes to the front of the field. This couldn’t be more relevant than for the Salomon Ring of Steall Skyrace™ where elite men and women come to race as part of the Golden Trail World Series. We believe that this will give great value to, and really showcase, the female race and experience.
Course Closure and Cut-Offs Times
Not to make courses artificially more difficult than necessary because of harsh Cut-Off and Course Closure Times. Cut-Off and Course Closure Times are driven by logistical and safety planning factors.
Results
We will display male and female results separately, side by side where systems allow.
Pregnancy, IVF and Adoption deferral policy
Our pregnancy, IVF and adoption deferral policy allows females who become pregnant or who are undergoing In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) treatment, or parents who are adopting children, to defer their entry.
Eligibility:
Pregnancy: Females that become pregnant between entering and race day
IVF treatment: Females that commence IVF treatment between entering and race day
Adoption: Parents who are adopting children under 5 years old with an adoption date confirmed after entering, and which falls before race day
Process: Submit a pregnancy, IVF or adoption deferral request in writing via the event website contact page any time after entry and up to one day before race day. Provide official written confirmation of your eligibility, for example:
Pregnancy: Written confirmation signed by a doctor, registered midwife, or another medical professional, such as a Maternity Certificate (MAT B1).
IVF treatment: Written confirmation signed by a medical professional of IVF treatment
Adoption: written documentation supporting the adoption
Deferral terms:
Pregnancy: Granted automatic entry into any one of the following three races (typically the following three years) after the initial deferred race.
IVF treatment: Granted automatic entry into the next race (typically the following year) after the initial deferred race.
Adoption: Granted automatic entry into the next race (typically the following year) after the initial deferred race
In all cases, the participant will not have to pay any additional entry fee should the price of a race entry increase during this time.
Our deferral policies are meant to support and increase opportunities for female participants (and all parents in the case of adoption). If you have any questions or suggestions or would like a friendly conversation about our policy, please get in touch. We’ll always be happy to help.
Breastfeeding
We will accommodate specific breastfeeding requirements so long as they do not compromise the event's logistical and safety plan, and do not provide any additional support to the breastfeeding participant. We would encourage breastfeeding females to contact us at the earliest opportunity so that we can consider how to accommodate their breastfeeding needs.
Podiums and prizes
We offer equal podium spots and prizes to male and female participants in all events.
Toilets and changing facilities
If we provide more than one portable toilet, then we will always provide a female-only toilet.
We will always provide an appropriate pro-rata number of women-only portable toilets at all our overnight camps and start/finish locations.
Female-only toilets will be clearly labelled as such, and the use of female-only facilities by male participants is not allowed.
Menstrual products
There will be a number of women only portable toilets at all of our overnight events - where we will make available a selection of menstrual products.
We are excited to introduce these new measures to support further female participation in our events | 2019 Dragon’s Back Race® finish ©No Limits Photography
SPECIFIC MEASURES FOR TRANSGENDER PARTICIPATION
Ourea Events welcomes participation from Transgender runners – who will be treated with the same respect and dignity as any other participant at any of our mixed gender events (however, see section below regarding “Female Only” events).
We would encourage any Transgender runner to contact us directly with any specific requirements that may ease their participation in the event.
Regarding the competitive participation of Transgender runners, we have always followed, and continue to follow, the lead from UK Athletics. There was a comprehensive update of the UK Athletics Policy following the publication of the World Athletics statement on Transgender and DSD Regulations in March 2023.
The World Athletics statement on Transgender and DSD regulations has this definition of transgender:
Transgender” means a person whose gender identity is different from their biological sex (whether they are pre- or post-puberty and whether or not they have undergone any form of medical intervention). A “Transgender male” is a person whose biological sex is female and whose gender identity is male; and a “Transgender female” is a person whose biological sex is male and whose gender identity is female.
The following description of ‘Transgender’ by UK Athletics is also helpful for understanding the wide scope of athletes that this term potentially encompasses:
An umbrella term to describe people whose gender is not the same as, or does not sit comfortably with, the sex they were assigned at birth. Trans people may describe themselves using one or more of a wide variety of terms, included (but not limited to) transgender, transsexual, gender-queer (GQ), gender-fluid, non-binary, gender-variant, crossdresser, genderless, agender, nongender, third gender, two-spirit, bigender, trans man, trans woman.
There are different regulations for athletes with Differences in Sex Development (DSD).
Based on the work and policy of World Athletics, the position of UK Athletics on transgender athletes is:
It is fair for athletes who have gone through male puberty to be excluded from the female category in Athletics.
Athletics should remain an inclusive sport.
It remains concerned about the ethics of coercing individuals to undergo pharmacological intervention purely for sporting purposes.
UK Athletics has stated that it has, “…received the required assurances from relevant bodies that the sporting exemption in the Equality Act 2010 applies to the Gender Recognition Act 2004”. BBC News helpfully added this explanation, “That [the] exemption states sporting organisations can discriminate on grounds of sex in a "gender-affected activity" and discriminate on grounds of gender reassignment where necessary to secure "fair competition" or "the safety of competitors".
What does this mean in practice for transgender participants wishing to take part in our events?
First, and most importantly, transgender participants are welcome at any of our mixed gender events. However, see section below regarding “Female Only” races.
We are happy to discuss any concerns or questions transgender participants may have on a one-to-one basis.
Transgender female athletes can compete in the female category as ‘Non-Competitive’ participants (except at “Female Only” races). This would mean that they would be ranked in relation to other female participants but without an overall position because of their ‘non-comp’ (shown as N/C in the results) status and would be ineligible for an overall result or prize.
Transgender male and transgender female athletes can choose to compete in a non-binary category, where offered.
Access to female only facilities (e.g. changing rooms, showers, multi-occupancy tents) will be restricted to transgender female athletes who can provide proof of having had Gender Reassignment Surgery (e.g. a hospital discharge notice).
Almost universally, toilet facilities at our events are provided by individual portable toilets. Therefore, there is no restriction on which toilet a transgender athlete can use in these circumstances.
Female Only Races
While most of our events are mixed gender, some events are designated as “Female Only”. Across our whole portfolio of races we want to encourage participation from all members of society, and we respect the diversity of the running community. However, we also recognise the complexities of gender identity and that some individuals are only comfortable participating in more restricted environments (with specific considerations for when on the course and in changing areas).
With this in mind, our “Female Only” races are strictly limited to cisgender women (that is individuals who were assigned female at birth and who continue to identify as female)
At these races we do not permit entries from:
Cisgender men
Transgender men
Transgender women (regardless of whether they have undergone Gender Reassignment Surgery)
Non-binary individuals.
By entering one of these races, participants acknowledge and agree to these eligibility requirements.
We still very much welcome any individuals, regardless of background or identity, to come and support friends and family at Female Only races.
2019 Dragon’s Back Race registration day ©No Limits Photography
ELIMINATING DISCRIMINATION
Ourea Events is committed to confronting and eliminating discrimination by reason of any protected characteristic including age, disability, race, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion and belief, sex or sexual orientation.
We are committed to a policy of equal treatment of all participants and event team members. We require that everyone involved in our events abide to these policies and the requirements of the relevant equalities legislation: Race Relations Act 1976, Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (as well as any amendment to these acts).
In the event that any participant or event team member feels that he or she has suffered discrimination in any way - or that the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy of Ourea Events has been broken - then they should report it directly to the Ourea Events office team.
SOMETHING MISSING?
If there is something missing from this policy, we would encourage you to contact us directly. We would be delighted to hear your thoughts and discuss any needs or requirements that you may have in order to facilitate inclusion. We will always consider what reasonable adjustments we could make to enable participation in our events.
CONCLUSION
We look forward to supporting and encouraging participation from underrepresented groups by following through on the commitments shared here. It is clear that an event full of diversity in participation will only bring more benefits to all involved; as people from different backgrounds come together to share stories and experiences, in turn gaining a greater understanding and appreciation of one another.
We look forward to following through on these commitments to equality, diversity and inclusion - and sharing our progress with you | 2018 Cape Wrath Ultra ©Steve Ashworth