A GB hockey athlete is using her platform to make a real change in promoting diversity and equality within the sport.
Darcy Bourne, 22 from London, has been spending her time coaching and working with hockey clubs ‘Inner City Hockey’ and ‘Spencer Lynx’, which run accessible hockey sessions in the capital.
The aim of these initiatives is to encourage more opportunities for communities from ethnically diverse backgrounds to get involved in the sport.
Reflecting on her own experiences growing up in Surbiton, Bourne said: “I was generally the only person who wasn’t white in most of my hockey teams and that was just what hockey was.
“With equality and diversity being talked about a lot more now, it’s really promising that people are more confident to say what they want and what they are not happy with.”
DARCY BOURNE: Photo Credit – UK Sport
Bourne made her senior international debut for England against Argentina in February 2022 and played in the Women’s World Cup that summer.
She is hoping to make the Team GB squad for the Paris Olympics this summer to showcase her talents and recognises the importance this will have for inspiring the next generation.
She said: “I was six years old watching the Olympics and I thought it was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen.
“That’s why I’ve always wanted to go to the Olympics and that’s been my goal and dream ever since.”
In addition to her work with the two hockey clubs, Bourne also co-founded the diversity initiative ‘Beyond our Game’, with UNC field hockey team captain Courtney Williamson, while she was studying in the USA.
Beyond our Game aims to unite and empower minority communities through sports and has hosted multiple free multi-sport camps.
Given their success with the initiative, it is currently expanding to the UK.
Bourne speaks passionately about the importance of young people having sporting role models that can inspire them to take up sports they find interesting.
She explained: “Having role models is so important and I know when I was younger, when I reflect on who my sporting role models were, they were all Black women.
“I wasn’t conscious of that at the time, but those were the women that I loved and looked up to.
“Those women were in athletics, tennis and other sports that I played but never in hockey, I was lucky that the club I joined had Olympians, so they were my role models.”
Darcy was one of 20 athletes from a range of backgrounds who took part in the ‘Powered by Purpose’ programme, launched by UK Sport in partnership with The True Athlete Project in 2022.
The programme is designed to help funded athletes with the confidence, knowledge, and skills to use their platform for social change.
UK Sport is showcasing social impact stories across high-performance sports and major events in the build up to the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris.
Dame Katherine Grainger, chair of UK Sport, said: “As we enter this Olympic and Paralympic year, it’s crucial to recognise the immense power of sport to drive positive change.
“Sport can inspire and unite our society and this year, more than ever, we have the opportunity as well as the responsibility to provide a platform to brilliant athletes such as Darcy, who want to be a force for good.
“Darcy has been an incredible ambassador for hockey and sport in general.
“She has such a powerful story and impactful voice, it’s important we do what we can to support and amplify that.”
To find out more about the projects run by UK Sport, visit www.uksport.gov.uk
Featured image credit: UK Sport
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