The Brantford Harlequins Rugby Club is delighted to announce our recent movements toward creating an even more inclusive, equitable and diverse Club. The Executive has recently put policies and procedures in place to help us support and navigate questionable situations, and to ensure members of our Rugby community always feel a sense of welcome and belonging.  The Harlequins Rugby Club has adopted the policies and procedures set forth by Rugby Ontario and can be found HERE.

Maintaining a Rugby Club that supports safe and inclusive actions, language and behaviours, has led us to navigate goals for dealing with potential incidents of harm.  The Club will be launching an online reporting process that will allow members of our Club community to report (anonymously or by name) any unwelcomed behaviour that may have caused another member discomfort.  Upon reception of a report, our IDEA (Inclusivity Diversity Equity Anti-Racism) committee, along with the Executive, will proceed with an inquiry, with the intention of working toward restorative justice.  This will allow involved parties to communicate their needs and repair any intentional and/or unintentional harm.  If needed, a progressive discipline framework will be used.

As we establish our IDEA committee, we want to ensure that there is representation from a wide variety of cultural backgrounds, genders, and sexualities. Click below if you are interested in this opportunity.

Our intention is that our new initiative will help us deal with potential incidents swiftly and with resolve.  We sincerely hope that we have created a needed vehicle for our Rugby Community members to feel supported should an act of racism, discrimination and harassment take place.  Our IDEA Committee will also act proactively by providing professional development for our Executive and Coaching staff, so that we can continue to strive toward maintaining our Club as one of safety, love and support.