Over the past two decades, many sport policy makers have increasingly prioritized demographic diversity within recreational sport. This has led to the improved representation of women, people with disabilities and racial minorities within the sporting world.
However, there has been one major blind spot. The needs of 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals have received comparatively limited funding and attention, with this community often being “cast off and separated from norms” within sport.
This gap in accommodation is further complicated by ongoing challenges within sport organizations, where reluctance to engage with 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusion efforts persists, as people often assert that there is a lack of evidence demonstrating that 2SLGBTQIA+ exclusion is a problem in sport.
While UBC is certainly not exempt from this issue, progress is being made. People and groups across campus are working to make sports and recreation more accessible for all, moving inclusion forward and illuminating the barriers that still persist within institutional sports settings.
Helping foster inclusive recreation efforts at UBC is Alex Northey — who serves as the coordinator for physical activity within UBC Recreation — bridging both UBC Recreation and UBC Wellbeing through an emphasis on physical activity as a pillar of well-being.
When it comes to inclusivity, Northey emphasized that UBC Recreation doesn’t take a passive approach.
“We do have a dedicated inclusivity committee … we analyze programs, we go over training. We become trainers to then train staff on how to be inclusive,” said Northey.
One of the most visible examples of this commitment is found in the restructuring of intramural divisions to be more gender-inclusive.
“We did our naming convention change … [from] men, women and co-rec to a broader spectrum,” Northey said. “[Now it’s] open, which is inclusive to everybody … then we have our women and Trans women welcome space … [and a] mixed space, which [has] rules based on the maximum number of self-identifying men that can be on the field.”
In addition to the ongoing efforts at UBC Rec, student-led initiatives like KUS Pride and community organizations like the Bike Kitchen are carving out affirming spaces from within.
KUS Pride is a committee under the Kinesiology Undergraduate Society dedicated to “fostering inclusion and empowerment for 2SLGBTQIA+ students” within the School of Kinesiology.
KUS Pride runs a range of events aimed at representation, education and community-building. As Kyra McKinnon, one of KUS Pride’s volunteer committee members, explained, these include panels featuring “Queer and gender-diverse professionals or athletes or community members,” often organized around specific themes.
“We’ve done one on women in sport and research. So that one would have women — Queer — or not Queer talking about their involvement in athletics or in research around sport,” she said.
The committee’s goal with their events is to not only to uplift underrepresented voices, but also to give students hope for the future.
“It’s … open to everyone … [showcasing] Queer professionals [with] what they’re doing in their respective domains,” she said.
But McKinnon’s connection to this work isn’t just administrative — it’s deeply personal. Identifying as a Queer woman herself, she came into KUS Pride already aware of the social and institutional barriers many 2SLGBTQIA+ students face.
“I [got involved with] it knowing how hard it is for Queer students to exist … and not have a dedicated space.”
However, KUS Pride isn’t the only group trying to change that: the Bike Kitchen, UBC’s community bike shop, continues to create inclusive spaces for 2SLGBTQIA+ communities through its ongoing Access Nights for women, Trans and Queer people.
These events, held regularly over the past few years, offer a welcoming environment for individuals who may feel excluded from the traditionally masculine culture of biking to come in, learn and work on their bikes.
Zoé Kruchten, programs manager at the Bike Kitchen, emphasized that true inclusion begins with representation.
“The main inclusion aspect is having [women, Trans and Queer] mechanics and volunteers running the night,” she explained. “Historically, [that] has sometimes been hard because there is a lack of diversity among mechanics in general.”
For Kruchten, this visibility is essential, not only for those working behind the scenes, but also for those accessing the space.
“A really core part of inclusion is people coming into a space and seeing themselves reflected back in the folks who are running those evenings,” she said.
From an academic perspective, research at UBC also plays a critical role in understanding the nuanced experiences of 2SLGBTQIA+ students in physical activity spaces.
Naomi Maldonado-Rodriguez, a fifth-year PhD candidate at the UBC School of Kinesiology in the Faculty of Education, is contributing directly to this conversation through her research project “Perceptions of and Experiences with Physical Activity in UBC Sexual and Gender Minority Students.” As co-author of this study, alongside fellow PhD candidate Ben Hives, Maldonado-Rodriguez and her research team sought to explore how physical activity spaces on campus can better serve Queer students.
“We did virtual and in-person focus groups with different students, and just [asked] them about their experience of physical activity — the kind of things that make them feel included or not as included, how physical activity makes them feel,” said Maldonado-Rodriguez.
One key issue that emerged from the research was the impact of social norms surrounding appearance and gender. For many Queer students, physical activity environments come with implicit expectations about how a “fit” or “healthy” body should look, or what people should wear in order to belong. These pressures can make movement spaces feel more alienating than inclusive.
“Clothing is so gendered in many different ways,” she said. “What might sometimes be under-appreciated or not even acknowledged as a decision [can] cause significant stress … [it] is how they show up into the spaces and how what they’re wearing maybe signals who they are, [or] expresses their gender and sexual identities.”
Throughout the process of this study, what became increasingly clear was that amidst the plethora of barriers 2SLGBTQIA+ students often face in finding an inclusive recreation space, solutions can be complicated.
“There were so many varied experiences with physical activity and what people want,” said Hives. “Some people wanted more group activity and shared experience and some people are just like, ‘Leave me alone, I just want to do my own thing.’ So, there isn’t really a one-size-fits-all solution. Rather, there are a number of solutions that should be implemented.”
Inclusion is not a one-time fix but a continuous process — one that requires collaboration between institutions, student groups and researchers alike. While a perfect solution to the discriminatory barriers facing 2SLGBTQIA+ students in sport may not be imminently possible, there are still countless groups and people across campus, like McKinnon, who have made a place for themselves.
“By being here and by giving this space to people — that’s doing enough anyways,” said McKinnon. “The events we do and infographics we post, learning things and teaching people, that’s all extra. It’s the fact that we have a designated space. That is enough.”
First online
Share this article
Submit a complaint Report a correction
