During this time of cultural reflection, WRRR like the rest of the world community, has taken time to reflect on diversity and inclusion in our club and the whitewater sport we love. We acknowledge that whitewater, like many outdoor sports, has a limited number of people of color participants. Our club wants to be a part of improving the diversity of the sport we love and making WRRR a more inclusive space. As part of the larger conversation we are looking for ways we can take real action to actively amplify diversity in our club and sport. We are committed to taking a critical look at our internal system and process to discuss inequities that keep WRRR from being a place where all people from various backgrounds and life experiences can experience the love of whitewater. Below outlines some of our initial actions and mission.
Actions Taken:
- Assembled a preliminary committee on diversity and inclusion
- Provide an initial response and set of priorities and mission
Top Priorities/Mission
- Reevaluate our brand partnerships
- Moving forward we will be conscience of partnering with brands who share our organizations values
- Formalize our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee
- In our next board meeting we will move to make a diversity and inclusion committee a permanent part of the WRRR board
- The committee will have members from the board, membership, and we will seek out participation from resource experts and organizations that advance diversity and inclusion.
- Work to support and partner with other organizations that facilitate diversity and inclusion in whitewater and/or outdoor sports to underrepresented communities
- Educate ourselves and club members on how to be allies.
- Support and collaborate with organizations doing the work to make positive impact on whitewater or outdoor diversity
- Evaluate all of our club communication and documentation with a lens of equity and inclusivity
We undertake this knowing there are no easy solutions or overnight fixes and that this represents just the start. We also acknowledge that we can’t do this alone and that for it to be successful we will need the breadth of our community voices to participate in the challenging conversations and encourage participation in the committee and in respectful discourse on the topics.