Inclusion In Swimming: What Does It Mean?

Editor’s note: The following originally appeared on Students Producing Allied Community Equality Student (S.P.A.C.E) Alliance blog, and is posted here with the writer’s permission.

By Matt Korman

When people think about inclusion in the athletic world they think about how an athlete feels at home with a team. Whether you belong on a cross-country course or on the court, everyone has the need to feel embraced, including LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) athletes. We are athletes who want to succeed just as much as anyone else would, but for that to happen, the team has to play a part.

Inclusion is very hard to quantify, given its highly individualized repertoire. So, to figure out a little more what inclusion means to athletes around the country, I asked a few fellow swimmers what it means to them. The swimmers that I have asked to help open the dialogue on inclusion range from rising high school seniors to National Team members. Take a look at what being a part of the team means to some swimmers below.

Ryan Murtha, Villanova University ‘16

What does inclusion mean to you as an athlete?
Inclusion is more than just being allowed to participate in a sport. It’s being valued for who you are and what makes you different. Everybody on the team is coming from a different background, and has a unique viewpoint as a result. Inclusion is accepting and fostering what makes each person unique within the structure of the team.

How has being accepted and included influenced your swimming career?
If it wasn’t for my teammates’ acceptance of me, I might not be swimming anymore. And I know for sure I wouldn’t be enjoying it as much as I am, or doing as well as I am. The ability to be honest with my teammates about who I am allows me to lower my guard around them. I can focus on what’s going on in the pool and not have to worry about any of the outside stuff that was weighing on me before I came out. In the few months since, I’ve had more fun with swimming than I’ve had in a long time, and my times have reflected that renewed love of the sport.

Are there any LGBT inclusion policies or non-discrimination statement of support from your athletic department or club you’re associated with?
The athletics website says that it wishes to “establish an atmosphere of diversity, respect, and inclusion.” That said, if there’s any statement or policy on non-discrimination from the athletic department either online or in the student-athlete handbook we’re given, it’s pretty hard to find.

Do you think education and awareness could help organizations draft inclusion policies?
Absolutely! I’d imagine that, most of the time, the lack of there being some sort of inclusion policy is not malicious in nature. I feel like it’s just that, if it hasn’t been made an issue of yet at your specific institution, it’s possible that nobody thought to make one. I think by informing administrators and coaches of the importance of having these types of policies in place, more often than not they’d be very open to drafting one. Or at least I hope they’d be.

Do you think it’s important?
For sure! Even if you’re someone who’s in a great situation, with no sort of anti-LGBT backlash, just knowing that your school or team “officially” has your back has to be such a relief. And if you’re not in that great of a situation and do feel some negative vibes because of who you are, these kind of protective policies become doubly important.

Tom Luchsinger, USA Swimming, ArenaUSA

What does inclusion mean to you as an athlete?
Inclusion to me means the ability to participate in the sport I love, despite the fact that I’m a proud gay man!

How has being accepted and included influenced your swimming career?
I have fallen in love with the sport of swimming all over again since coming out. Even though the workouts are extremely challenging, I always soar and I’m always tired. I feel like the 10-year-old kid who just loved to be in the water. It is no longer a coping mechanism that I have to do — it is something that I want to do, and enjoy doing. It also just so happens to be my job, which is pretty great! My practices are more consistent, I’m able to recover faster from a challenging workout or lifting session, and I’m improving in my events. A huge difference from a year ago when I wasn’t sleeping, was losing weight and was always stressed out about being found out.

Are there any LGBT inclusion policies or non-discrimination statement of support from your athletic department or club you’re associated with?
One certainly existed while I was at the University of North Carolina, swimming and getting my undergraduate degree. Unfortunately, I was a deeply-closeted college athlete and didn’t reach out for support when I probably should have. The way my teammates, coaches and staff members at NBAC reacted was certainly indicative of a policy existing. However, I’m not aware that one does exist. Once I went public, everyone simply gave me a hug, said they were proud of me, and that they loved me. I think that shows how supportive they are of the community. They are an amazing group of people!

Do you think education and awareness could help organizations draft inclusion policies?
I do! Education and awareness are two extremely powerful tools. We are fortunate enough to live in a time where people are much more willing listen and learn than to pass preconceived notions.

Jack Thorne, Loveland Swim Club, Northwestern ‘19

What does inclusion mean to you as an athlete?
To me, Inclusion is when the team environment is not only accepting, but positive. The coach as well as the team treat you as if you were not “different,” because you are not different.

How has being accepted and included influenced your swimming career?
Being accepted has made a huge impact. Before I was out, I was so preoccupied with how my team would treat me once I was out, how recruiting would go, how my coach would interact with me. I think it began to negatively impact my swimming. After I came out to my team, I no longer had to worry about any of those things and I could focus my time and energy on becoming the best swimmer that I could possibly be.

Are there any LGBT inclusion policies or non-discrimination statement of support from your athletic department or club you’re associated with?
At this point I do not think there are any LGBT inclusion policies in place on my club team that I can find. I checked around on the Northwestern University athletics website and I could not find a specific policy but they are partnered with It Gets Better. The article was written in 2011. There are several members of the athletic department who take part in the video.

Do you think education and awareness could help organizations draft inclusion policies?
I think it could. I think that many athletic departments could utilize some education and training in order to figure out how to best create policies that are inclusive and appropriate. I know that many clubs and some athletic departments don’t think that LGBT students and athletes are not an issue, so they haven’t thought about drafting these policies. With education and awareness these issues could be fixed.

Do you think it’s important?
I think that it is incredibly important to have policies in place to make the LGBT athletes feel like part of the team, and to discourage hate among those athletes who may not be as comfortable with the sexuality of the other athletes. I know even though I could not find any policies in place at first look, I know that my future school is supportive of its LGBT population.

Lauren Neidigh, GO! Athletes, University of Arizona ‘15

What does inclusion mean to you as an athlete?
Inclusion means equal treatment of athletes regardless of race, gender identity, or sexual orientation. To me, it meant unconditional love and acceptance from the people around me.

How has being accepted and included influenced your swimming career?
I came to a point in my life where I realized that I couldn’t swim because of the environment I was in. I felt threatened by some language that was used and the treatment of other lgbt athletes even though I was closeted. People probably didn’t mean to hurt me, but they did. When I found a more inclusive environment, I found my love for the sport again and was able to finish my career on a good note.

Are there any LGBT inclusion policies or non-discrimination statement of support from your athletic department or club you’re associated with?
Our athletic department has held meeting to discuss the importance of inclusion and inclusive actions. We have a Step Up program to teach athletes about standing up to inappropriate or offensive actions and to create more inclusive environments. We have also had diversity and inclusion meetings in which coaches, athletes, and administrators shared their thoughts on inclusion.

Do you think education and awareness could help organizations draft inclusion policies?
I think education and awareness are extremely helpful. It would help organizations identify possible issues and solutions to the problems.his is very important because it keeps people active and engaged in incorporation of inclusion policies.

Matt Korman swam for the University of Texas. Follow him on Twitter (@MattKorman) and also follow the Go! Athletes Twitter account (@GO_Athletes).