I don’t think teachers will wanna listen.
What if I lose my regular listeners because they hate sport or physical education?
How am I gonna get new listeners when no-one knows me for sport.
That’s me, chatting with my partner about a new season of my podcast, Pushing The Edge with Greg Curran.
Never keen on repeating myself, I’ve tried to take each season in a different direction, whilst keeping the social justice theme bubbling along.
The sports field had always been a site of tension for me.
Whilst I’d loved watching footy and cricket, participating was another story due to the abuse I’d experienced in Physical Education and Sports at school.
And then there were the myriad of doubts:
- Would anyone wanna listen to a podcast on sport, social justice, diversity and inclusion? I wasn’t so sure.
- And who was I to be talking about sport and physical education? What were my credentials?
Staying with what’s safe, familiar and known however, has never been key to my personal fulfilment.
I had to trust in my capacity to find guests that stirred me and got me thinking, guests that were passionate about shaking up the status quo in Physical Education and Sport.
From here I could construct compelling stories that described and suggested new ways forward in these spaces:
- for those who’d felt excluded and ostracised from Physical Education and Sport, and
- for those who were, or who wanted to be allies (to those who are marginalised in Physical Education and Sport).
I had to take the chance and see what we could create together. And here’s what we did:
We Pushed The Edge for Cultural Diversity
- Exploring the experiences of newly arrived migrants and refugees in footy and soccer.
We Pushed The Edge for Gender and Sexual Diversity
- Exploring how to make Physical Education and Sports environments more safe and welcoming for LGBTIQ people.
We Pushed The Edge for Inclusive Physical Education & Sport in Schools
- Exploring how to make Physical Education classrooms more safe and welcoming – for a diverse mix of students.
We Pushed The Edge for Community in Sport
- Exploring how sports clubs could stand up for – and – provide opportunities for their diverse communities; and
- Exploring how gutsy volunteers were leading the charge in re-making their sports clubs.
We Pushed The Edge for People with Disabilities in Physical Education & Sport
- Exploring how we could make Physical Education and Sports environments more accessible and inclusive for people with disabilities; and
- Exploring why language matters.
We Pushed The Edge for Women in Sport
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- Whether that be women who weren’t recognised, or who felt excluded or discriminated against in footy clubs or other sports clubs;
- refugee women who stood up against the sexism they experienced in their local soccer club, and created their own sports spaces; or
- refugee and migrant women who started to see possibilities for themselves and their children because of inclusive sports clubs.
And What Were the Results?
Turns out my fears were unfounded. Who’d have thought!
Taking a chance, trusting in me, my guests and the importance of the issues – was well worth it.
Through this podcast season, I came to see the importance of not only claiming space in Physical Education and Sports environments to talk about our experiences and the issues impacting on us –
BUT also re-making these spaces so that they’re more supportive of those of us who’ve traditionally been ostracised or excluded within them.
I feel incredibly fortunate to now know a whole raft of passionate individuals who are leading the charge on these fronts, and to have had my knowledge and awareness challenged and expanded.
AND….in terms of listeners?
Well each time I logged in to check listener numbers, I’d half close my eyes and take a breath, fearing the worst.
And each time I was surprised, and more than a little proud.
Turns out people like you do want to hear about social justice, inclusion, access, and diversity in Physical Education and Sport.
This season of Pushing The Edge has been the most successful yet! (YAHOO!!)
Thank You
So thank you for all your support. Thanks for tuning in, for sharing each new episode, and sending me positive feedback.
To my wonderful guests (and your organisations) – thanks for trusting me with your stories and insights. Thanks for teaching me. And thanks for pushing the edge in your respective fields:
- Michelle Hage (Western Bulldogs Football Club);
- Nicole Hayes and Kate Seear (The Outer Sanctum Podcast);
- James Lolicato (Proud2Play);
- Grant O Sullivan and Loretta Konjarski (Victoria University);
- Sam De Leve (“Bard-about-town and wheelchair athlete with Ehlers-Danlos”);
- Sue McGill (The Huddle, North Melbourne Football Club);
- Ryan Storr (PhD student & Proud2Play);
- Angie Greene (Stand Up Events);
- Ramon Spaaij (Victoria University).
More Inclusive Sports Resources
I’ve compiled a list of resources to help make your Physical Education or Sports clubs more inclusive. Check it out here or click on the image below.
Pushing The Edge Podcast Archive
- To listen to earlier episodes of Pushing The Edge, check out Apple iTunes or Libsyn or your favourite podcast app.
- Season 1 (Episodes 1-13) – Thriving as a Teacher
- Season 2 (Episodes 14-20) – Pushing The Edge for Change and Innovation
- Season 3 (Episodes 21-29) – Pushing The Edge for Social Justice in Education
- Season 4 (Episodes 30-38) – Pushing The Edge for Access & Inclusion in Physical Education and Sports Environments
Pushing The Edge Credits
- Pushing The Edge with Greg Curran is hosted, edited, produced, and marketed by yours truly, Greg Curran
- Pushing The Edge theme music and stings (seasons 2-4) were created and performed by Simon Kirsch and Markus Schwaiger.
- Pushing The Edge Lightning Round music/sound effects via Apple Logic Pro
Listen to more Education Podcasts
Pushing The Edge is part of the Education Podcast Network. Listen to more podcasts made by Educators for Educators.
