Embracing Privilege: A Path to Inclusive Sport

Understanding Our Privilege in Sports

The awareness of one’s privilege is the bend in the road from which there is no return. It didn’t happen overnight. It was a slow unveiling of a plot twist I hadn’t seen coming. There were warning bells, though, in the deepening sense of failure my old path was delivering.

I embarked on a career in sport participation growth. My inspiration? Enabling others to share in the experiences that sport had delivered to me.

For me, sport was transformative. It enabled me to excel academically by providing an outlet for my ADHD energy. I experienced the benefits of teamwork and practiced leadership skills that propelled me into captaincy roles. I was mentally and physically healthier than most of my peers.

But I didn’t see why I was still competing long after so many others had stopped.

The Reality of Privilege

You see, I had been in the bullseye of the concentric circles of privilege. And I was oblivious to it. I had an able body that could run fast and jump high. Growing up on a farm, I developed physical literacy skills, climbing trees and swimming in creeks. My parents were prepared and able to drive my brothers and me on the merry-go-round of trainings, games, and tournaments. They had the means to pay for uniforms, memberships, and travel. I was naturally driven, resilient, and hungry for success.

So it was that I was consistently selected in representative pathways. I was a ‘chosen one’ in a system designed to exclude those of lesser fortune.

By my mid-30s, I had delivered, authored, and reviewed sport participation strategies in four countries across more than 40 sports. I worked within peak bodies and government agencies.

In every workplace, my privilege was reflected in the eyes of my colleagues. We were the round pegs in the round holes. Sport had been designed for people like us – and we were reinforcing the very system we'd benefited from. Our blind spots meant we couldn’t see the invisible gatekeepers. Us ‘chosen ones’ didn’t know early rejection or what it took to simply get to the start line of opportunity. We hadn't needed to.

We told ourselves predictable stories. If we can just run clever campaigns, organise competitions, build facilities, and develop technically strong coaches… We’ll hit our targets.

The Weight of Failure

As my career progressed, the weight of failure deepened. Today, 70% of Australian youth leave organised sport by their mid-teens. We are living in a global inactivity crisis. Persistent, stubborn inequalities cut across gender, background, age, and ability.

The awareness of one’s privilege is the bend in the road from which there is no return. At first, the road may be shrouded in embarrassment or even shame. But this should not last. Privilege is neither earned nor requested. It simply is. As clarity emerges, so does a new vantage point. From this perspective, new opportunities – and responsibilities – become bright as day.

And the view will never again be the same.

Redesigning Sporting Experiences

My new road feels heavier. It carries the burden of ensuring my advantages are leveraged to open doors for others. But I would not return to the road where I was blinded.

Today, I redesign sporting experiences so inclusion sits at the centre, not the margins. This is how we grow memberships, become sustainable, and elevate sport’s impact on society.

The Beginning of Change

Where does this change begin? With us – the more than 160,000 people working in the Australian sporting system today. It starts with us collectively taking stock of our own vantage points and becoming aware of our blind spots.

Power never gives itself away. But we can learn to lead differently. Instead of making decisions based on our own lived experiences, we can make habits of radically listening. We must design with diverse audiences – instead of for them. We need to evolve beyond our current systems designed to exclude, in favour of ones that value everyone equally.

If we can achieve this, we will inspire even more great performances. We will lift a nation by making sport’s benefits accessible to the masses instead of the few.

A Call to Action

From Now On’s new initiative, the Sports Strategy Lab, exists to help mould the leaders who will build that future. The ones ready to lead sport beyond old patterns, toward something fairer, stronger, and more sustainable.

This initiative will give leaders the insights to become evidence-based and data-driven. It will provide the tools to actively listen and design with diverse audiences. Leaders will gain the confidence and strategies to lead change and build systems that centre inclusion. They will develop the expertise to understand, lead with, and elevate sport’s social impact.

If you’re ready to be part of this movement, I invite you to join our waitlist today.

Together, we can transform the landscape of sport for everyone. Let’s make it a place where everyone feels they belong.