Rushden & Diamonds Football Club fully supports the principle of equal opportunities and opposes all forms of unlawful or unfair discrimination on the grounds of disability.
The Club operates a concessionary ticketing policy for disabled supporters and will ensure that the scheme does not discriminate between disabled people with differing impairments.
The Club recognises that not all of its facilities are fully accessible to disabled customers and confirms that it is committed to making the necessary reasonable adjustments described by the Disability Discrimination Act and its relevant Codes of Practice to ensure full compliance with the legislation.
The Club also recognises that it is likely to have new duties with effect from 1st October 2004 to remove permanent barriers that make it difficult or impossible for some disabled customers to access Club facilities. The Club will undertake such additional works as are reasonably required within the timescales set out within the Act.
Definition of Disability
As a fundamental principle the Disability Discrimination Act states that disabled people should not be treated "less favourably, without justification"; and "reasonable adjustments should be made to make goods, facilities and services accessible". Rushden & Diamonds Football Club aim to fully comply with both the provisions and spirit of the Act.
For the purposes of this Policy only the definition of a disabled supporter is:
"any person who, because of their disability or impairment, is unable to use ordinary stand seating without contravening Health and Safety Regulations, Guidelines or Policy or where the club has provided a "reasonable adjustment" to enable that supporter to attend the venue. Any such person will be considered for use of the "designated areas" of the stadium in line with the procedures set out in this policy."
A "reasonable adjustment" in the context shall include (but is not limited to), the need to use a wheelchair platform, the need to bring a "personal assistant" for either personal care or safety reasons, or the use of an auxiliary service (eg match commentary for visually impaired supporters or "loop systems" for supporters with sensory impairments).
A "designated area" is any area (including specific seats around the stadium) that the club shall, in it's sole discretion determine as being available for the disabled concessionary ticket price.
A person has a "disability" if he/she has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his/her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
Rushden & Diamonds FC reserves the right to request "proof of a disability" before issuing any concession. Such proof shall include:
· Receipt of the middle or higher rate of the Disability Living Allowance (mobility or care component).
· Receipt of either the Severe Disablement Allowance or Attendance Allowance
· A personal letter from your GP
NB Receipt of an Orange/Blue badge will not be considered sufficient proof of disability for the concessionary ticket price.
Contact with existing Disabled Supporters
Rushden & Diamonds Football Club has an open dialogue with its disabled supporters and encourages them to contact the club on a regular basis to discuss facilities and improvements etc. Recent initiatives have included appointing a match-day disabled liaison contact and the issue of an end of year questionnaire to all disabled season ticket holders.
The club is a member of the National Association of Disabled Supporters (NADS).
The club has also undertaken a review of its DDA position both internally and via NADS and is putting in place a series of improvements/proposals identified as part of those discussions.
Facilities for Supporters Using Wheelchairs
The club has 69 positions for wheelchair supporters and, if required, a personal assistant. These are situated in the North, South and Airwair Stands. Of this up to 24 are available for away supporters in the Airwair Stand.
These places are provided at a concessionary price of £11.00 (2007/2008 Blue square Premier Prices) (subject to other concessions eg child, payable by the disabled person using the wheelchair. Should a Personal Assistant (PA) be required, they will not be charged. Season Tickets for these areas are available.
In conjunction with the proof of disability mentioned above, this concession will only be available to those people who meet the eligibility criteria described below.
· Wheelchair-using applicants must be largely confined to a wheelchair, or not capable of walking a distance further than that required to reasonably and safely access any other part of the stadium.
· Wheelchair-using applicants should, ideally, also be accompanied by a person who is capable of supporting the disabled person's needs in the event of an emergency. For this reason Rushden & Diamonds strongly recommend that a person is sixteen years of age or over and not be infirm.
The club's Health and Safety policy require that the person using a wheelchair remain in their wheelchair or sit in the row immediately in front of the platform. Any refusal will be deemed to be a contravention of Health and Safety policy and you may be asked to leave the stadium/be declined a ticket.
Facilities for Supporters with Visual Impairments
Unfortunately we do not have any specialist facilities for supporters with visionary impairments. Match commentary is provided by Radio Diamonds, Fans are allowed to bring personal stereos into the ground so they can hear the commentary on 1503am. Radio Diamonds cover all Home League and Major Cup games. The club's tannoy system relays all important notices and messages to supporters before, during and after the game.
Eligibility for this concession requires proof of disability as described above or each person can provide a copy of their registration document which certifies they are Registered Blind or Registered Partially Sighted, or provide qualifying documentation from their optician equivalent to registration requirements.
The Club strongly recommends that each visually impaired person attending a match should be accompanied by a person who is fully able to support their needs in the event of an emergency.
Guide Dogs are allowed into the Stadium but we would recommend that supporters with Guide Dogs contact the club before the match so that we can discuss with them access to the ground, facilities inside the ground and the welfare of the Guide Dog before, during and after the match.
Facilities for Supporters with Hearing Impairments
On matchdays information is included on the scoreboard as well as read out over the tannoy. In the event of an emergency the scoreboard will be used to transmit information as well as the PA system.
Facilities for Supporters with Ambulatory Disabilities
Rushden & Diamonds recognise that there are considerable numbers of people in the community who use wheelchairs mainly for outdoor mobility purposes but are not necessarily confined to their wheelchair. There are also many people suffering severe walking difficulties who may wish to watch a match.
For the purposes of this policy and the administration of the concessionary ticketing policy both categories of people will be termed 'ambulatory disabled supporters' and those supporters with ambulatory disabilities of a severe nature will qualify for the concessionary treatment and have access to seating nearest the entrances/exists.
Provision will be in "designated areas" only and should the individual not wish to sit here, they forfeit the entitlement to a disability related concession. The designated areas will encompass the front two rows of seating in the stadium.
Eligibility to these areas will be dependent on providing proof of disability (as described above) or will be decided on individual merit based on information provided to the Ticket Office this information will assist in determining each individual's suitability for use of the facilities.
Facilities for Supporters with Infirmities
Supporters with physically restricting medical conditions can sometimes have difficulty in reaching seats in some parts of the stadium.
Rushden & Diamonds is conscious of a growing elderly, but not registered disabled, population and wish to consider their needs in order for them to be able to continue watching matches whenever possible. With this in mind it is proposed that those elderly people suffering from an infirmity which prevents them climbing large numbers of steps should be able to request a seat in the most accessible part of the stadium (ie nearest the isles and on the front two rows). Please advise the ticket office of this request at the time of booking.
Facilities for Supporters with Learning Difficulties
Supporters with learning difficulties can normally be accommodated in any part of the stadium in normal seating. However, if, for whatever reason, any person with a learning difficulty feels that ordinary stand seating would be unsuitable for them, they will be entitled to sit in the disabled concessionary areas and receive the appropriate concession (including the FREE Personal Assistant's seat). Please contact The Ticket office on 01933 652936 for further information.
Family Seating
Rushden & Diamonds recognize that disabled people have families who may wish to attend matches as a family unit in much the same way as non-disabled people would. Rushden & Diamonds will try and accommodate such requests although this may not always be possible.
Please contact the ticket office for assistance in obtaining tickets as close as possible to the designated areas.
Car Parking Facilities
Rushden & Diamonds have disabled persons parking places, closest to the stadium, at both De Banke and Airwair ends of the stadium, which are allocated to disabled people with the most severe mobility difficulties. These are charged at the standard car-parking rate. On entry to the car park proof of disability must be made to a car park steward, who will point you to the relevant parking areas.
Rushden & Diamonds would ask that people recognise that there are only a limited number of places available and it will not be possible to accommodate everyone who has a Blue/Orange Badge. Car parks B and C also have parking for Orange/Blue Badge holders on a first come first serves basis. These are also provided free of charge.
Please note that Rushden & Diamonds car park stewards will routinely check that the Orange/Blue Badges are being used correctly - failure to comply will result in a refusal to park in these spaces.
Lines of Sight
Although Nene Park rates very highly for its facilities for wheelchair users, the club appreciates that the view from the wheelchair platforms may be restricted at times of high excitement, or with people walking to and from snack bars and toilets. Other fans are not permitted to stand in the aisles at the fronts of each stand, and will be asked to move along by a steward if found doing so. The wheelchair bays are situated on the front row, therefore minimising the impact of fans standing so as to block a wheelchair user's line of sight.
We would like to remind ALL supporters not to stand in front of/to the side of the wheelchair platforms
Catering Facilities
Match day catering for disabled people is provided in the snack bars. Due to the number of people using the concourses pre-game and at half time, the club's stewards and catering staff will also offer assistance in getting refreshments.
Other facilities which come under the general heading of Catering such as the Diamonds Centre, Strikers Bar and Airwair Concourse are accessible to disabled people. Catering staff will be happy to offer assistance for any supporter with a disability.
Disabled Persons Toilets
The club has disabled toilets for supporters in every stand, along with disabled toilets in the corporate areas in the North and South stands.
Access to Other Facilities
The club has many facilities available on matchdays and non-matchdays which aren't directly linked with actually watching the match. Such facilities include the club shop, lounges/suites, bars, restaurants, and executive boxes, sports centre etc. The club has carried out a DDA Audit of these facilities and whilst most are currently accessible, some improvements are planned.
Accessible Websites
The official Rushden & Diamonds website is provided by PremiumTV and Football League Interactive. Discussions are ongoing between this company and the football authorities to make the site more accessible for visually impaired supporters who use text-based browsers.
The internet is a useful means of accessing information by disabled people and future development of the Rushden & Diamonds and Radio Diamonds website should provide information in a downloadable format. It is hoped that the increasing use of the internet will allow an increasing number of disabled people access to information which they had previously experienced difficulty in obtaining. The Policies page on the official Rushden & Diamonds website will have an article dedicated to information specific to disability matters.
A useful website for disabled supporters to find out about facilities at grounds around the country can be found on the NADS website - www.nads.org.uk
Transport for Home and Away matches
Rushden & Diamonds in conjunction with Rushden & Diamonds Supporters Trust provide a bus transport system to attend home matches for disabled supporters or those who have difficulty walking, further information can be found in the How to Get Here section of the Official Website.
Opportunities for disabled supporters to attend away matches are limited by the allocation received from the away club. R&D Travel provide transport for fans to attend away games, whilst they do not currently have the facilities for disabled supporters, they can be contacted on 07914301594 for details on travel for disabled supporters to away games.
It will be the responsibility of the disabled person who is travelling to ensure that they are accompanied by someone who is fully capable of supporting their needs. Rushden & Diamonds cannot undertake to provide 'personal care' or 'moving & handling' assistance to people travelling because of the Health and Safety implications but will use their best endeavour to assist in whatever way possible.
Steward Training
Rushden & Diamonds stewards are trained in the FSQ modular system, which includes a disability module. Rushden & Diamonds aim to use the same stewards in the disability-designated areas as far as possible but due to the use of agency staff, this sometimes cannot happen.
Staff Training
Elements of staff training which relate to 'disability awareness' and 'disability etiquette' have been identified and a training programme will be instituted to ensure that awareness and etiquette are observed. This training programme will be ongoing. Rushden & Diamonds are forcefully committed to developing a "can do" culture by introducing such training and it will remain the hub to the further development of this policy.
Audit
As part of it's disability awareness, Rushden & Diamonds will undertake to have the Nene Park Stadium audited for accessibility for disabled people. This is a key component of the Disability Discrimination Act and FA Guidelines.
Conclusion
Every reasonable adjustment is being made to all the services provided by the different departments of Rushden & Diamonds. All Department managers and personnel have been made aware and instructed to comply with the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act. Access to goods and services, as well as match day facilities, are being fully assessed and measures are in place to ensure compliance with all associated legislation.
Further information about disability issues can be found by contacting:
Chris Francis - 01933 652000 - chris.francis@rd-fc.co.uk
Rachel Roberts - 01933 652000 - Rachel.Roberts@rd-fc.co.uk
The Ticket Office - 01933 652936 - matthew.banyard@rd-fc.co.uk
Rushden & Diamonds openly welcome comments on this policy and would encourage any person to contact the club with their comments or queries.
Policy updated November 2007
