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The Accessibility of Winter Sports Holidays for People of African Heritage

The Accessibility of Winter Sports Holidays for People of African Heritage
Author: Alistair Cocks
2 Commentries
Abstract

This report discusses the reasons why there are so few people of African heritage going on winter sports holidays. It concludes that, as well as institutional racism, there are motivational, and socio-economic reasons for this and comments on what can be done to make the industry more diverse.

Key words: accessibility, people of African heritage, winter sports holidays, socio-economic, racism, diversity.

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Where is the diversity on the slopes? Motivational factors play a key role in answering this question. Individual interests develop from learning experiences (Buckley et al, 2004), however few people with African heritage have been on a winter sports holiday and therefore it is unlikely that they will be interested in them in later life. In addition to this, many people of African heritage may not want to participate in snow sports because they have rarely seen their demographic perform on a major stage at a professional level. This means that the number of the African heritage population enjoying winter sports holidays will continue to remain low unless some intervention is made by the resorts and organisations marketing their services to attract a more diverse population. A counter argument is that winter sports resorts do not focus their marketing on this demographic because for them they already have a ready market which at times fills their resorts to capacity.

Only 2% of people taking winter sports holidays are of African heritage. There are socio-economic factors as to why the snow sport industry is not diverse. Relevant research suggests that a large percentage of people of this demographic live in urban areas. As winter sports resorts tend to be more rural and long distances from many urban areas, fewer people in this demographic are likely to participate in winter sports. These long distances make travel costs high, therefore people tend to spend more time at the destination to make it worthwhile, further increasing the cost. The cost of winter sports holidays is also estimated to increase in the future because of climate change and this will further affect the lack of diversity within this industry.

Does racism also have an effect on the numbers of people of African heritage taking winter sports holidays? There are social codes and behaviours which are hidden entry requirements acting as a barrier for anyone wanting to participate in winter sports, similar to other sports, such as sailing and golf. But is the winter sports tourism industry inherently racist? The barriers just referred to can show a covert type of racism called inferential racism, often used by people who say that they are not racist. Inferential racism leads to institutional racism (Kilvington, 2013). Any type of racism needs to be eradicated and the measures that are beginning to be taken and that can be taken by the winter sports industry in the future will help address this.

There are things that the industry can do to increase diversity and there are things that they are already doing. As there are few role models that people of African heritage can look up to, social media influencers can help fill the gap. Many summer tourist destinations already employ influencers to increase the amount of people visiting their destination. Therefore, the same promotion technique can be used to promote winter sports resorts to this demographic. Using social media to target a younger population within this demographic is important as, if they enjoy it, they will take their family in the future. In order to reduce any negative experiences and attract this demographic to the snow sports industry (Harrison, 2013), ski clubs have formed in both the US (National Brotherhood of Skiers) and the UK (Nubian Ski Club). Because there is institutional racism in the industry, the organizations overseeing the industry must reform. Many organisations and companies are increasing diversity on their boards and implementing diversity into all aspects of their operations. Many winter sports holiday companies are already promoting diversity but acknowledge that more can be done.

This report concludes that the winter sports tourism industry attracts predominantly white tourists and therefore has a lack of diversity. It has critically discussed the accessibility of snow sports tourism for people of African heritage in order to increase diversity. There are underlying political issues concerning racism within society in general, and within the snow sports industry, which need addressing in order to make snow sports tourism more accessible for this demographic. Socio-economic issues also cause the lack of diversity within the snow sport industry. However, it is equally important to motivate more people of African heritage to participate in winter sports so that they can be role models and inspire future generations.

References

Buckley, S., Hasen, G. and Ainley, M. (2004) Affective engagement: A person-centred approach to understanding the structure of subjective learning experiences. Australian Association for Research in Education, 1, 1-20.

Harrison, A.K. (2013) Black skiing, everyday racism, and the racial spatiality of whiteness. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 37(4) 315-339.

Kilvington, D. (2013) British Asians, covert racism and exclusion in English professional football. Culture Unbound, 5(4) 587-606.
The Accessibility of Winter Sports Holidays for People of African Heritage
Author: Eleanor Cooper-Haggan
'A more inclusive society' is a theme of this paper and the reason why it has been selected for commentary. Inclusivity can begin with identifying structural inequalities within society, considering where these originate and seeking ways to redress this imbalance. Cocks has analysed why these issues are prevalent and solutions that, if implemented, could make winter sports more accessible and desirable for people of African heritage.

This is a contemporary topic in its themes, at the forefront of progressive thinking about diversity and equality. Racial issues have, until recently, often been ignored, silenced, or trivialised. Cocks’ paper discusses how institutionalised racism deprives ethnically African individuals from participating and gaining the social and physical benefits white tourists are privileged to enjoy. Representation makes people feel welcome as it is instrumental in its encouragement of other individuals to participate. Role models advertise and communicate to their audiences the enjoyment and benefits which can be had. This demonstration will make their sport more appealing to their demographic, enhancing inclusion.

Outdoor experiences which have been marketed to people of colour in Britain have had urban backgrounds as their setting, not representing this group in natural environments (Young, 2021). This marketing bias may have stemmed from the Windrush generation. This generation of people were forced to live in urban areas with reduced opportunities to experience rural sports activities where winter sports occur (Young, 2021). The structurally imposed segregation of this community from natural spaces may have caused a popularised misconception that people of colour did not enjoy countryside experiences such as winter sports. This has proved to be inherently false. Many people of African heritage who were given opportunities to experience winter sports found the experience rewarding and enjoyable (Townes, 2018). As mentioned in the discussion, there is always more work to do and progress to be made in the marketing and promotion of diversity.

Additionally, a concern identified is that when an activity or sport is ‘racialised’, those not of the predominant group are viewed as ‘outsiders’ or ‘sneaking in’ (Kroon, 2018). This could then give an observer the notion that new participants from different ethnicities are not welcome. Any participant from a different ethnicity than ‘the norm’ may be seen as an exception. Role models of African descent should be active encouragement to participate in winter sports. They should not be viewed with the ‘outsider’ label, as it may deter others of that ethnicity to participate.

References:

Kroon, Å. (2019) Recontextualizing racism and segregation by ways of “cozification” in a TV sports broadcast. Social Semiotics, 29(1), pp.112-128.

Townes, C. (2018) Why aren't there more black women on the slopes?. [online] ESPN. Available from <https://www.espn.com/espnw/culture/feature/story/_/id/22845259/why-there-more-black-women-slopes> [Accessed 10 June 2021].

Young, P. (2021) Why are there so few BAME skiers and snowboarders?. [online] BBC Sport. Available from <https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/winter-sports/56132030> [Accessed 10 June 2021].
A commentary on: The accessabilty of winter sports holidays for people of african heritage.
Author: Bhes Gurung
This paper was written with the detail, knowledge and understanding of the topic with added value from some great sources about the need for diversity within winter sports holidays.
As a person from a diverse background with an interest in winter sports holiday, it intrigues me about the findings of this topic within this paper. The motivational factors which come into play such as the high cost of winter sports which is picked up within the paper and the fact that it is going to increase within the future due to climate change allow for the reader to get a glance at the barriers which can be seen for people.

Hal Clifford, former Ski magazine editor described skiing as the “ whitest and least integrated popular sport in America” (Harrison, 2013). As the paper focuses on the lack of diversity within the industry and the lack of marketing towards the BAME marketing due to the resorts already having enough of the market to fill their capacity. The forefront of the paper which the author addresses are the forward-thinking ideas which some of the people have come up with such as making organizations make black people with heritage such as African more welcome to the slopes.

As Young (2021) states within his BBC research on why there is a lack of BAME background people who did not take part in winter sports due to many of the older generations from the Windrush generation being more urbanised and thus falling out with nature. Furthermore, the initiative taken by young black people in the 21st century has meant that there are more groups in which people can join to allow them to start taking part in this winter sports holidays. Groups in both US (National Brotherhood of Skiers) and the UK (Nubian Ski Club) have allowed people with little to no experience to take part without the fear of discrimination and having a safe space to get into it.

Due to the lack of BAME representation within winter sports, it can mean that it is not seen as the norm by fellow ski workers who may be in shock when seeing black people on the mountains as the Mount Noire team found out (Kapambwe, 2020). However, as society is evolving constantly the movement of getting more representation of the BAME community on the slopes is increasing gradually.

References:
Harrison, A.K. (2013) Black Skiing, Everyday Racism, and the Racial Spatiality of Whiteness. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 37(4) 315–339. Available from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0193723513498607 [accessed 7 June 2021].

Kapambwe, M. (2020) These Black British Women are Bringing Melanin to the Mountains Available from https://www.powder.com/interview/these-black-british-women-are-bringing-melanin-to-the-mountains/ [accessed 10 June 2021].

Young, P. (2021) Ski Sunday: Why are there so few BAME skiers and snowboarders? BBC Sport, Available from https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/winter-sports/56132030 [accessed 10 June 2021].