The Coaching Department at DRRD has been actively working with the topic of harassment and bullying and how to prevent them for a long time. The Department has, however, been especially active in this regard during the past year, since the study about harassment and bullying (in Finnish. A summary of the key points is available in Swedish and English also) in our sport by SUEK/Luisteluliitto was published.

As one concrete action, all Finnish-speaking members of our Department have now taken or will take the Et ole yksin online training which aims at creating a safe environment for sports and offers guidelines on how to prevent and tackle bullying and harassment. More info: https://etoleyksin.fi/ (in Finnish and Swedish).

The Coaching Department at DRRD used the training as a starting point for a critical discussion about our own activities. We also suggested various concrete actions to other actors within our league. Some examples include surveys on practices and well-being as well as opening a low-threshold feedback channel for our members. All our league activities are guided by our official bylaws, our strong core values as well as the Code of Conduct approved by our membership.

We would like to challenge all derby leagues in Finland to boost their work against bullying and harassment. Let’s share good practices, learn from each other, admit it when we mess up and roll together towards a brighter future!