What is the process? Defining and enacting inclusive practice within community sport in Scotland

Research Aim: This article explore perspectives and understanding of inclusion within Scottish community sport and analyses the different ways in which sport organisations, voluntary sports clubs, and the individuals within them define inclusion. The aim is to determine the complexities in defining inclusion and the subsequent challenges of creating an inclusive sporting system.Research Methods: The aim is explored through a comparative case study. The comparative study incorporated two stages: Stage one employed a comparative textual analysis to determine differences and similarities in relation to representations of inclusion across a variety of Scottish sporting organisations. Stage two included two distinct phases: a document analysis and an analysis of qualitative responses from local sports clubs to specific questions within a survey.Findings: Findings highlights several significant challenges including conceptual disparities, funding, training and the disconnect between inclusive intentions and the reality of practice. The concept of policy enactment was employed as a theoretical concept and framework to develop this understanding, placing a focus on how policies are interpreted and translated by individuals in the context of Scottish sport.Implications: We argue that inclusion must be seen as an ongoing, organic and fluid process and that to enhance inclusion within Scottish sport requires specific and collaborative direction, support and guidance from organisations across the Scottish sporting landscape.