Rainbow Laces Roundtable
Freedom Leisure Ashford Attends Rainbow Laces Roundtable Hosted by Dame Kelly Holmes
Emily (Area Healthy Communities Manager) and Nick (Ashford Contracts Manager) proudly attended the Rainbow Laces Rountable, hosted by 2x Olympic gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes, bringing together leaders and advocates from across the sport and physical activity sector to champion LGBTQ+ inclusion.
The roundtable provided a valuable platform for open discussion, collaboration, and sharing best practice to ensure sport and recreation environments are safe, welcoming, and inclusive for all. Key themes included increasing visibility, addressing barriers to participation, and embedding inclusive practice across organisations. Dame Kelly Holmes, a longstanding advocate for equality and inclusion in sport, led inspiring conversations that highlighted both the progress made and the continued work required to create truly inclusive spaces.
Emily said: "It was an incredible opportunity to be part of such an important conversation. The Rainbow Laces campaign continues to play a vital role in raising awareness and driving positive change across sport. Attending the roundtable has strengethened our commitment to ensuring that our local sport and recreation opportunities are inclusive, accessible, and welcoming to everyone, regardless of their background and identity".
Insights gained from the roundtable will help to inform future local initiatives, partnerships, and programming, ensuring that inclusion remains a core priority across health, wellbeing and sport delivery. The Healthy communities team remains committed to supporting inclusive participation and will continue to work with partners to create environements where all residents feel safe, respected and able to take part.