Membership Agreement

Racing Pride Membership Agreement & Safeguarding Policy

The Racing Pride member community has been created as a safe, supportive, and uplifting environment for LGBTQ+ people and allies. This Membership Agreement & Safeguarding Policy is in place to make sure that it remains so for all members, staff, and volunteers.

As a member of Racing Pride, you agree and understand:

• All registration information you provide to us is true, accurate, current and complete. Please help us to maintain the accuracy of the information and promptly update Racing Pride with changes when necessary.
• You have the legal capacity and will comply with these terms and conditions.
• You will not use your membership privileges for an unauthorised purpose or share your membership privileges with others.
• You don’t have any role in the governance of Racing Pride CIC or the public messaging of Racing Pride and cannot represent yourself as speaking on behalf of Racing Pride in any capacity without explicit permission from the Directors of Racing Pride CIC.
• Invites to in-person events do not guarantee your place. Some events will have a limited capacity, and some venues may have other restrictions on, or requirements for, attendance (for instance regulations to protect the confidentiality of sensitive information from competitors or age restrictions for legal reasons).
  • For events with a limited capacity, a ballot system will be used where necessary to determine the participants. Members will be given a deadline to sign up, after which a draw will occur.
  • Members will be informed of any other potential restrictions on, or requirements for, attendance to the best of Racing Pride’s knowledge.

• Any offered discounts on selected Racing Pride merchandise are subject to item availability.

The expected behaviours and reporting mechanisms detailed below apply to all Racing Pride events and environments whether in-person or online and to all Racing Pride members, staff, and volunteers.

The purpose of this policy is to:

• Demonstrate Racing Pride’s commitment to member welfare and safeguarding.
• Promote good practice which encourages the development of a safe and positive environment for all.

Policy principles:

• The welfare of our members is paramount. Racing Pride has a role to play in protecting our members from physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, neglect, and bullying.
• Everyone, regardless of age, ability, culture, race, language, religious beliefs, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity, has equal protection rights.
• Safeguarding is everybody’s responsibility. All members, staff, and volunteers have a responsibility to act positively, swiftly and appropriately in response to any concerns, suspicions, or disclosures that may suggest a child or adult is at risk of harm.

 

Expected Behaviour

At all in-person and online events, you are representing Racing Pride. To ensure the best possible experience for all members, we expect that you will be considerate and respectful, and will refrain from demeaning, discriminatory, or harassing behaviour, materials, and speech.

Unacceptable behaviour from any member will not be tolerated and will be subject to sanctions.

Unacceptable behaviour includes, but is not limited to:

1. Intimidating, harassing, abusive, discriminatory, derogatory, or demeaning speech, materials, or conduct by any participants of the event and related event activities. Event venues may be shared with members of the public; please be respectful to all patrons of these locations.
2. Violence, threats of violence, or violent language directed against another person.
3. Sexist, racist, homophobic, biphobic, transphobic, ageist, ableist, or otherwise discriminatory jokes and language.
4. Personal insults, particularly those related to gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity or national origin, religion, or disability.
5. Inappropriate photography or recording.
6. Taking of photos within an event environment for use on social media without the permission of the individuals or owners of the content therein.
7. Any boisterous, lewd, or offensive behaviour or language, including but not limited to using sexually explicit or offensive language, materials or conduct, or any language, behaviour, or content that contains profanity, obscene gestures, or racial, religious, or ethnic slurs.
8. Failure to obey any rules or regulations of any event venue.
9. Failure to obey the Community Guidelines displayed within the rules channel (and reproduced below) while using the Racing Pride Discord server.

Discord Server Community Guidelines:

1. Please conduct conversations in English – this will help everyone to be able to participate.
2. Be kind and respectful. Together let’s build a positive, welcoming community where everyone feels safe.
3. Be relevant. Respect the channel topics and use them accordingly.
4. Zero tolerance for harassment. Any posts, comments, or unsolicited DMs to members, moderators, or community figures will be immediately removed. This includes personal attacks, targeted harassment, and/or any other form of abusive behaviour.
5. No hate speech or hateful conduct. Any form of hate speech regarding a person’s race, ethnicity, nationality, sex, gender identity, gender presentation, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, age, disability, and other protected characteristics will not be tolerated.
6. Avoid sharing your personal information. This includes addresses and work/school information.
7. No sharing or threatening to share someone’s personal information. Also known as “doxing”. We must respect that not everyone who is part of our community will be out in their daily lives.
8. No NSFW or offensive material of any kind on any channel.
9. Do not share false or misleading information. These types of posts will be removed to ensure we remain focused on meaningful discussion.
10. Advertising is not permitted. This server is a space for Racing Pride and its members to communicate with each other.
11. Let the moderators do the moderating. We will do our absolute best to apply these guidelines fairly and consistently, and to act swiftly if there are any issues. Please respect the moderators and Racing Pride by accepting their guidance and decisions.

Racing Pride holds the right to remove any messages or users who violate the above guidelines. You will receive a warning for inappropriate behaviour and repeated warnings will result in a ban.

 

Reporting Incidents and Welfare/Safeguarding Concerns

If you believe someone is at immediate risk of harm, contact emergency services.

Speak up if you observe anything at any event, whether online or in person, or on our Discord server, that conflicts with the expected behaviours section above or which you feel might be a welfare or safeguarding issue. If you are being harassed or feel uncomfortable, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please let us know immediately.

If you are at an event and you feel comfortable to, please inform the Event Manager, Member Engagement Officer, and/or any member of the Racing Pride Board present so that immediate action can be taken.

You can report your concerns to one or more of the contacts listed below:

Lucy Ball-Wood (Member Engagement Officer): lucy@racingpride.com

Kade Matthews: kade@racingpride.com

Richard Morris (Chief Executive Officer – in possession of an Accreditation UK Safeguarding training certificate and Enhanced DBS Check certificate for working with children): richard@racingpride.com

All incidents reported to us will initiate the ‘Responding to Reports’ process.

If your concern relates to an event taking place within an environment governed by Motorsport UK and/or involves members of Motorsport UK, you may wish to make use of Motorsport UK’s support and reporting mechanisms. Safeguarding reports can be made directly to the Motorsport UK safeguarding team by emailing safeguarding@motorsportuk.org or by completing the form at www.motorsportuk.org/the-sport/safeguarding/sharing-a-concern/. The Motorsport UK Safeguarding team can be reached by phone on 01753 765056.

Motorsport UK’s Race with Respect initiative may also be applicable. The Respect Code outlines behaviour expected by participants associated with Motorsport UK governed events and members of Motorsport UK. Incidents of disrespectful conduct can be reported directly to Motorsport UK. More information can be found here: https://www.motorsportuk.org/racewithrespect/

 

Sanctions

Failing to adhere to any element of this Membership Agreement & Safeguarding Policy puts a member at risk of any or all of the following sanctions, taking into account both the nature/severity of the incident(s) and whether there have been any previous incidents involving the member:

1. Written warning.
2. Suspension from participating in member activities and privileges.
3. Suspension/removal from the Racing Pride Discord server.
4. Termination of membership without refund.

 

Responding to Reports

General:

1. Incidents may be reported to one of the contacts as described and listed in the ‘Reporting’ section above. Incidents may be reported by Racing Pride’s staff, volunteers, core team, ambassadors, community champions, or directors as well as by members or by any attendees or third parties present at Racing Pride events.
2. The Chief Executive Officer and Member Engagement Officer will be made aware of the incident. Others within Racing Pride’s core team may be informed as necessary to investigate and resolve the incident. No individual within Racing Pride’s team will be part of leading any investigation or determining the outcome of any investigation into any incident which they have been identified as being involved in.
3. Where deemed necessary by the Chief Executive Officer, or if the incident involves the Chief Executive Officer, the Board of Directors will be informed about the incident and any progress in investigating and resolving it.
4. It may be necessary for us to carry out an investigation to establish further details and facts regarding the incident. The amount of any investigation required will depend on the nature of the incident reported and will vary from case to case. It may require contacting those involved or who may have witnessed the incident and/or reviewing any relevant material/evidence available in relation to it.
5. Where possible we will attempt to preserve the anonymity of those involved in raising concerns by removing personal identifiers, however this will not always be possible depending on the nature of the incident.
6. We will review relevant information to make a decision on whether any action or sanction is appropriate and, if so, what the appropriate action or sanction is. Depending on the severity of the incident, the offending party may be subject to either a warning, a suspension, or termination of all member privileges without refund as described in the ‘Sanctions’ section.
7. In the case of more severe incidents warranting a suspension or termination of member privileges, an incident report together with the suggested sanction will be presented to Racing Pride’s Board for review.
8. The final decision will be communicated to those involved.
9. If unlawful behaviour or criminality is suspected, and/or there are reasonable remaining concerns for someone’s safety and/or wellbeing, other relevant law enforcement, health, and/or safeguarding authorities may be informed.
10. As part of our commitment to the wellbeing of our members, we will endeavour to provide appropriate support to anyone affected by an incident and/or to signpost them to where support may be available for them.

Discord:

1. All incidents in the Discord Server will be reviewed by the moderators in the first instance. The moderators are indicated within the Server.
2. At their discretion, the moderators may elevate the matter to the Chief Executive Officer and/or Board of Directors for guidance.
3. Any Discord Server Community Guidelines violated that are displayed within the rules channel (and reproduced above) are subject to either a warning, a suspension, or permanent removal from the server. This will be determined based on the rule broken, the severity of the violation, and the number of violations.
4. Decisions will usually be communicated by the Member Engagement Officer but may be communicated by any member of Racing Pride’s team / Board. All communicated decisions regarding conduct in the Discord server are final.
5. If unlawful behaviour or criminality is suspected, and/or there are reasonable remaining concerns for someone’s safety and/or wellbeing, other relevant law enforcement, health, and/or safeguarding authorities may be informed.
6. As part of our commitment to the wellbeing of our members, we will endeavour to provide appropriate support to anyone affected by an incident and/or to signpost them to where support may be available for them.