How to promote your sports to ethnic communities?

Every two years, the Olympics Games bring the world together – but how do we increase sports participation by people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds? Let’s take a look at some of the larger CALD groups.

Reaching Chinese and Indian parents

Chinese and Indian parents are often primarily concerned about their children’s academic success. If an activity doesn’t help improve the child’s marks in school, help them get a university scholarship, or advance the child’s future career, the parents don’t think it is important. Exceptions may be made for music, such as playing the piano.

While it is true that many children will never grow up to have a profitable career in sports, participating in sports helps children in other ways:

• • Improving the child’s physical health
• Developing the child’s social interaction skills, especially important for an only child
• Forming friendships that may result in future professional contacts
• Giving the child experience working on a team, which will be important for a future career in management or as a team member
• Contributing to the child becoming more well-rounded, which universities value
• Motivating the child to keep up their school marks, as school coaches insist on minimum grades to stay on the team

Chinese and Indian parents want to see their child be the best in everything, so they will appreciate seeing their child on a top-ranking team. If you are a coach, tell them about your team’s record of wins. Often, universities have athletic scholarships, so that would be of interest to parents.

Many sports – such as golf, cricket, and netball – are popular with adults. Some companies have inter-office teams, so learning sports skills can help in one’s profession. Children who are active in sports often grow up to have leadership positions.

However many Chinese and Indians are not fond of swimming. You might emphasise that learning to swim is a safety issue, and then point out swimming scholarships at university.

Reaching Muslim parents

Muslims are in favour of sports that build their children’s character and physical strength, such as swimming, running, and playing tennis. However, modest clothing must be worn, and males and females should be separated – a separate field for girls, and separate swimming pool hours.

At the 2012 Olympics Games in London, the woman sprinter from Afghanistan ran while wearing a hijab (head covering), long-sleeved top, and long jogging bottoms; only her face and hands were visible. The teen judoka from Saudi Arabia wore a judo outfit and headscarf that tightly covered her hair; only her face, hands, and soles of her feet were visible.

If your sports team has a uniform, you may need to adapt your code similarly to accommodate Muslim females. For example, a girl soccer player might wear long pants, a long-sleeved shirt under your team shirt, and then a matching coloured hijab.

At Multicultural Marketing and Management, we have helped some sports teams successfully understanding the CALD participants and spectators. Are your team ready to be more inclusive?