Javier Raya is a Spanish Olympian figure skater, DEI advocate, and founder of Compete Proud, a platform focused on LGBTQI+ inclusion in sports. With over 20 years of experience, Javier represented Spain at the European and World Championships, and the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics. He founded Compete Proud to champion diversity, equity, and inclusion within sports and is an IOC Young Leader (2021–2024). Through his work, he aims to empower athletes, advance social impact, and ensure a more inclusive sporting environment.

Compete Proud is the leading voice for LGBTIQ+ representation in sports, advocating for inclusivity, diversity, equity, and visibility at every level—from grassroots initiatives to the Olympic stage. Founded by Olympian Javier Raya and supported by the IOC Young Leaders programme, Compete Proud empowers athletes by sharing their stories, fostering safe spaces, and driving positive change. The platform provides educational tools, workshops, and consultancy to sporting organizations and athletes, addressing critical issues like LGBTQI+ rights, gender equality, and accessibility. Through partnerships like Pride House Paris 2024, Compete Proud is creating a lasting impact by increasing LGBTQIA+ visibility and promoting a more inclusive sporting community.

Links:

Compete Proud: https://competeproud.com/

----

Please subscribe to the Sports for Social Impact Podcast wherever you get your podcast! Leave us a review and a 5 star rating to help bring others in the world of sports into the conversation! The Sports for Social Impact podcast was nominated for a Sports Podcast Award and Canadian Podcast Award.

Send us an email at ⁠⁠sportsforsocialimpact@gmail.com⁠⁠

Linktree: ⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/sportsforsocialimpact⁠⁠

Linkedin: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/sports-for-social-impact⁠⁠

Follow us on Instagram (@SportsSocImpact)

Follow us on Substack: ⁠https://substack.com/@sportssocimpact⁠

Join our bookclub: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfXiczKtPflGv4vaIEw9wJvGZ2RASB5_3-DIPRU0N-T8Io8Zg/viewform?usp=header

Visit our website at ⁠https://www.sportsforsocialimpact.com/⁠

Dan is a Senior Lecturer in Sport Development with a research and teaching focus in sport for development. His work examines issues of inclusion, equity, and social value.

Dan has worked in a range of sport development, community, and young-people focussed occupations. His professional experience led him to pursue doctoral research that explored the empowering potential of community sport development practices in the UK. He is an active researcher and currently leads a number of commissioned national and regional evaluation projects that examine the impact of sport-based programmes for a wide range of social outcomes, supporting partners to develop their monitoring, evaluation and learning practices.

Dan's research expertise covers several aspects of sport for development theory and practice, with a specific focus on community models of delivery, power and governance, qualitative evaluation methodologies and theory-based evaluation. He has provided research and consultancy services for Sport England, The Football Foundation, Positive Futures, and The Lord's Taverners.

Dan is also passionate about physical activity in the outdoors and is currently engaged in research that explores issues of access and inclusion for underrepresented groups, and captures the social value of green space.

The Centre for Social Justice in Sport & Society at Leeds Beckett University offers innovative methods to help sports organisations understand and evidence the true impact of their community programmes. Traditional key performance indicators (KPIs) often fall short in fully capturing the value and social impact of these initiatives. To address this, the Centre uses cutting-edge ripple effect mapping techniques, which involve gathering insights from all programme stakeholders to assess how, where, and why a programme makes a difference. These methods not only provide a deeper, more comprehensive understanding of a programme's impact but also allow organisations to present their achievements in an engaging and informative way. This approach ultimately supports greater programme efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Links:

Centre of Social Justice in Sport and Society: https://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/research/centre-for-social-justice-in-sport-and-society/

----

Please subscribe to the Sports for Social Impact Podcast wherever you get your podcast! Leave us a review and a 5 star rating to help bring others in the world of sports into the conversation! The Sports for Social Impact podcast was nominated for a Sports Podcast Award and Canadian Podcast Award.

Send us an email at ⁠⁠sportsforsocialimpact@gmail.com⁠⁠

Linktree: ⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/sportsforsocialimpact⁠⁠

Linkedin: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/sports-for-social-impact⁠⁠

Follow us on Instagram (@SportsSocImpact)

Follow us on Substack: ⁠https://substack.com/@sportssocimpact⁠

Join our bookclub: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfXiczKtPflGv4vaIEw9wJvGZ2RASB5_3-DIPRU0N-T8Io8Zg/viewform?usp=header

Visit our website at ⁠https://www.sportsforsocialimpact.com/⁠

Brian Torrance is the President and CEO of ParticipACTION. He has over 14 years of experience in the SPAR sector, having contributed in both professional and volunteer capacities from organizing a marathon events to guiding national organizations. Our conversation spans a lot more than just the budget.

ParticipACTION is an organization that has become a cornerstone of Canada’s sport and recreation sector. For more than 50 years, ParticipACTION has encouraged Canadians of all ages and backgrounds to move more, sit less, and build healthier communities through the power of physical activity.

Links:

ParticipACTION: https://www.participaction.com/

Sport England: Children’s activity levels rising but inactivity remains too high: https://www.sportengland.org/news-and-inspiration/childrens-activity-levels-rising-inactivity-remains-too-high

Directly measured physical activity and sedentary time in Canada: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/251017/dq251017b-eng.htm

Transport Statistics Great Britain: 2023 Domestic Travel: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/transport-statistics-great-britain-2024/transport-statistics-great-britain-2023-domestic-travel

Active transportation - How are children getting to school?: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/healthy-living/active-transportation-how-children-getting-school.html

Sport England: Record numbers playing sport and taking part in physical activity: https://www.sportengland.org/news-and-inspiration/record-numbers-playing-sport-and-taking-part-physical-activity

----

Please subscribe to the Sports for Social Impact Podcast wherever you get your podcast! Leave us a review and a 5 star rating to help bring others in the world of sports into the conversation! The Sports for Social Impact podcast was nominated for a Sports Podcast Award and Canadian Podcast Award.

Send us an email at ⁠⁠sportsforsocialimpact@gmail.com⁠⁠

Linktree: ⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/sportsforsocialimpact⁠⁠

Linkedin: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/sports-for-social-impact⁠⁠

Follow us on Instagram (@SportsSocImpact)

Follow us on Substack: ⁠https://substack.com/@sportssocimpact⁠

Join our bookclub: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfXiczKtPflGv4vaIEw9wJvGZ2RASB5_3-DIPRU0N-T8Io8Zg/viewform?usp=header

Visit our website at ⁠https://www.sportsforsocialimpact.com/⁠