Diversity and Disability

Please note that the guidance notes below do not form part of the UKBGF Tournament Rules, a link to which can be found on the Resources page. However, these notes should be considered in conjunction with Rule 1.2 Etiquette, part(i), GENERAL, which requires all tournament directors and players to show generous sportsmanship and fair and considerate behaviour.

We have put together advice and guidance on a range of subjects that fall under the heading “Diversity and Disability” but this is only meant as the beginning. If you have knowledge or resources that could grow and improve this page please contact us at contact@ukbgf.com

1. Introduction, and advice for wheelchair access
2. Backgammon for the Visually Impaired: rules adaptations
3. Suggestions to help players with Autistic Spectrum Disorders
4. Guidance for Dealing with Epilepsy
5. Gender Issues

Introduction

by Mike Murton

Disabilities is an umbrella term covering impairments, activity limitations and participation restrictions. An impairment is a problem in body function or structure; an activity limitation is a difficulty encountered by an individual in executing a task or action; while a participation restriction is a problem experienced by an individual in involvement in life situations.

Disability is thus not just a health problem. It is a complex phenomenon, reflecting the interaction between features of a person’s body and features of the society in which he or she lives. Overcoming the difficulties faced by people with disabilities requires interventions to remove environmental and social barriers.

The UKBGF promotes strategies to ensure that people with disabilities are supported and that their rights and dignity are protected. We recommend Tournament Directors and Event Organisers openly encourage their participants to make contact before the event, in order that specific needs be accommodated.

With regard to wheelchair users:

1. All venues should be fully accessible, including wheelchair access.
2. Disabled (wheelchair accessible) toilet facilities should also always be available
3. Sufficient room to move between rows to each table should be provided, where possible, so as not to make certain parts of the room inaccessible.

Backgammon for the Visually Impaired: rules adaptations

by Yan Kit Chan

Introduction

This section lays out recommendations for rules adaptation which are applied when a visually impaired person is involved in match play in tournaments. The aim of the adaptation is to provide a fair environment for visually impaired people to participate in all levels of tournament, while making minimal or no impact to sighted opponents.

1. Dice

Physical dice are not readable by visually impaired participants, therefore special arrangement has to be made to accommodate this in such a way that the visually impaired player is able to participate in the fairest possible way especially when matches are played with clocks.

1.1 Physical dice

Visually impaired participants have the option to use physical dice should they wish to, either the opponent or an observer can assist in dice reading. It is the sighted opponent’s sole discretion to assist in dice reading.

1.2 Electronic dice

A visually impaired participant has a preferential option to use talking electronic dice, meaning that should the visually impaired player choose to use such a method, it will be imposed. (see below for specification for electronic dice).

2. Clocks

There are several considerations for clock use during match play for visually impaired participants:

• If physical dice are used, extra time is taken to locate the dice at the end of each move. However this barrier is completely removed when electronic dice is used.
• Some extra time is required to confirm checkers position throughout the match by touch.
• A visually impaired participant should limit physically exploring the Backgammon position during opponent’s turn so as to minimise distraction; this limits the visually impaired person’s ability to make full use of opponent’s clock time.

Based on the above, the recommended clock settings for standard match play is 15 seconds delay, 3 minutes per point, the same as standard double consultation matches; this is regardless of whether the visually impaired participant chooses to use normal dice or electronic dice.

Note: a sighted opponent does not need to spend the extra time that a VI person needs to, therefore has normal clock settings apart from delay time, in order to account for some level of assistance that may be required, therefore 15 seconds is recommended.

3. Legal moves – considerations

During match play, a visually impaired participant may not keep track of the position of the game and may rely on trust that the opponent is making legal moves. A VI participant therefore physically is less able to spot illegal moves. It is recommended that:

• an observer is allowed to point out legal moves
• bystanders are allowed to point out legal moves, but should not intervene in any other way
• The rule that legal moves have to be pointed out before the next roll or cube action (4.2.iii.a) is relaxed

4. Equipment

4.1 Board and checkers

VI participants should be given preference as to the board and checkers used, which may include board and checkers that are physically more suitable for VI users.

4.2 Electronic dice

“Electronic dice” are essentially a random number generator program. To be certain that the program is fair and random:

• History of dice rolls are kept and can be exported to be analysed
• The program should be verified with 99{19fe8604bc4b57db43b770fc7d7084f5684131af52d226911330e6a501ce6cdc} confidence level that the rolls are random
• Every version of the program should be verified

Note that the above requirements are not required for precision dice even if the precision dice are provided by players themselves, therefore the requirements may be waived at the tournament director’s discretion.

Suggestions to help players with Autistic Spectrum Disorders

by Ian Hedges

My name is Ian Hedges and I have Asperger’s Syndrome also known as Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD. I know first-hand how it feels to have every door to society closed in your face because this world is geared for “Normal People” and people like me are left marginalised. Life for an “Aspie” in the 80’s and 90’s was absolutely horrendous. The suicide rate amongst autistic people is significantly higher than those who are neuro-typical and if you were unlucky enough to attend school in the 90’s and you had autism, you would really know why.

My life has been a struggle, for years and years I felt that I didn’t have a place in the world and that I had to go everywhere apologising for my condition and explaining myself to everyone I would meet. The only time I would ever feel perfectly at peace with myself was when I was playing Backgammon. All the struggles of the world would fade away for an hour and the only thing I had to worry about were pieces on a board. Such a simple life, but even I didn’t realise the therapeutic powers of backgammon until I, quite by accident, stumbled across the Bristol club.

After years of thrashing my dad, I made my UKBGF debut against Ian Tarr and it was only then that I realised how deep the game runs and how much I had to learn. I finished 2nd in that match but was determined to get to the bottom of things and develop into a good player.

The fact that Backgammon is a game with a small factor of luck means that it is frustrating. The cube aspect however is not luck and requires concentration, a cool head under pressure and the ability to put aside previous frustrations and disappointments in order to make a decision which could well be the difference between victory and defeat.

But dealing with frustration for someone with ASD is notoriously difficult, and in those early days at Bristol my ability to deal with my condition was very poor both on and off the board. Personally I often had arguments with my family and other people I would come into contact with and wouldn’t know how to avoid confrontation until I was right in the thick of it. When It came to backgammon, if I was trailing in a match I would cube recklessly and in anger, I would drop in fear of what might happen and I would be so affected by what was happening in the moment that I wouldn’t stop to consider the bigger picture about where I was in the match and what I needed to do in order to win.

As I have grown more experienced within the game, I have learned that you need to disconnect your emotions and think in a cold and calculating way. Consider the long game and forget what has gone before. What I didn’t realise until recently was that as my abilities with the cube grew and as my ability to control my emotions on the board became greater my abilities to control my emotions off the board also started to develop. In fact, my life has drastically improved as a result of playing backgammon at club Bristol and that made me think…

If backgammon can have such a positive impact on me, then surely it could similarly impact other people on the spectrum? In which case, should we not be trying to find a way to encourage all people on the spectrum into the game? After all, whilst Backgammon may be therapeutic to the person with autism, they themselves often possess the skills to become extremely talented players if only their talents were not ignored as is so often the case with this neurological condition.

But here lies the number 1 problem!!!

Autistic people almost always suffer from social anxiety as well as having a complete lack of curiosity, preferring instead to stay within their own comfort zones. The reason for this is because considerations for their condition and things that might adversely affect them are, generally speaking, ignored. But what if the UKBGF decided to change all of that, where would they start?

Whilst there is within the Backgammon community, an understanding of common decency, the ability to enforce rules of etiquette doesn’t appear to be in place and as such I have (very occasionally) been sworn at during matches and intimidated by opponents without any tangible ruling to call upon for help. For someone with autism this can be a frightening thing to have happen to them and would certainly break their concentration and give an unfair advantage to their opponent. What if the UKBGF introduced some etiquette standards that could be enforced? For example:-

1. At the start of the match, salutations should be offered with a hand shake.
2. When the match is finished closing courtesies should be observed by saying “thank you for the match” or something similar and offering a shake of hands.
3. When you double, place the cube gently in the centre, and say double. If you take, put it on your side and say “take”. If you drop, be sure to put the cube in its proper place and say “drop” or “pass” clearly.
4. Any contact with or motion with a hand towards the doubling cube constitutes a binding act of cube offering and must be either accepted or dropped. It could be considered cheating if you reach for the cube in order to see if the opponent reaches for the score sheet or reached to take the cube.
5. Always shake your dice at least three times and roll them out, and if you do shake them at all, you are committed to rolling the dice and not using the cube.
6. Do not shake while your opponent is playing or thinking about a play as this could be considered to be a type of gamesmanship, instead be quiet and still while your opponent is thinking or playing.
7. Do not roll until your opponent has clearly picked up his dice. Rolling too soon or just as they are picking up his dice, can only create conflict as to whether or not the roll counted, or whether or not the player had truly finished thinking about their play. And quick rolling unfairly rushes the opponent into playing.
8. An opponent should never point out their opponent’s luck, or lucky rolls, either during or after a match. Whether they mean to or not, pointing out an opponent’s luck suggests that they are winning or have won due to that luck and not due to their skill. In any event, this has the potential to cause ill will and unpleasantness.
9. Do not engage in conversations with spectators or people at the next table. Don’t talk or handle your mobile phone, listen to headphones, or anything else but give your full, polite attention to the match, If you wish to stop and copy a board position for later analysis, ask your opponent if they mind first. Do it quickly and don’t do it too often.
10. No player should direct profanity at their opponent, cursing their luck is one thing but becoming confrontational or overly aggressive is unacceptable.
11. If a player feels that his opponent is failing to uphold these rules they should point this out or ask for a neutral observer to oversee the game. If the infringements continue to a sufficient degree then the director should be informed in order to make a decision as to how the match should continue. The director should have the power to issue a disqualification in extreme cases.

Introducing something like this would really help people like me and certainly help to avoid stressful situations, but the problem isn’t just how people act, often it can be the very environment in which club nights are held.

People who are affected by autism often have light sensitivity issues and loud swirling noises can leave them feeling disorientated and dizzy. I recognise that this is a problem for me so I always find a place to play where the light is slightly lower and the noise is not so much of a factor but when I was in Manchester to play in the UK Clubs Championships, it was virtually impossible to sit anywhere where I could concentrate. The location was a large casino, not dissimilar in size to the casino in Bristol where I play and  I understood that going to a major event would mean hundreds of people all talking at the same time, however there was huge spaces given to very bright flashing lights. I struggled in this situation, sometimes it was possible to sit in such a way where I wasn’t affected by these, and other times not, but is it really necessary to have them on during the event? Had someone asked for them to be turned off, would this have been a problem? If the UKBGF had assessed the location, is this something that they would have been able to fix in advance of the occasion? Casinos often represent a good place to play due to their large playing areas, but does that mean that we have to accept the area we’re given or can we ask for reasonable adjustments to be made in order to help us appeal to a wider audience? It seems like an easy fix for me and this really isn’t about assigning blame. It is a fact that the needs of people with my condition are systematically ignored, not because someone hates people with autism, but because it is not properly understood by most people. We therefore have a huge opportunity to change the world that we live in if we would only show the courage and desire to do so.

But the problems aren’t just how people act or even the environment that we play in, sometimes it can be as simple as feeling socially anxious and not being able to break into the cliques that exist within club life.

I often take a family member or my wife to events because it’s quite a stressful experience for me to walk into a big room where there are huddles of people all talking between themselves even if I do know many people in the room. Those who are affected by autism would very often be put off by this or feel anxious in these situations. Once the matches start, the problems stop but then between matches it becomes a problem all over again. What if the UKBGF appointed someone in each of it’s clubs to arrive early and actively talk to people as they come in. For new or shy members of a club, it would make a world of difference and having a warmer welcome would encourage people to return for events week after week.

A really good example of someone doing this with great effect would be Sean Jones at the Worcester club, he makes himself busy with checking in on players to make sure they’re ok and as someone with autism, I can tell you that this makes me feel far more comfortable with attending club matches there. Having 1 or 2 people with the specific job of making people feel comfortable within their surroundings would enable those who have autism to feel much happier in attending match nights more regularly.

But, remember the number 1 problem? Autistic people almost always suffer from social anxiety as well as having a complete lack of curiosity, preferring instead to stay within their own comfort zones.

What if the UKBGF made a commitment each year to try and change this?

Sunday 2nd April 2017 is National Autism Awareness Day, What if the UKBGF spoke with the National Autistic Society and then together they set up an annual charity event up and down the country?

We have over 40 registered clubs within the UKBGF, so why not get each club to organise an open day for the press, autistic people and their caregivers to come and learn the game in the morning and early afternoon, thus raising awareness of the condition and at the same time allowing autistic people the opportunity to become hooked on a game that may well help them to cope better in the future. In the evening, a charity tournament could take place with at least half of the proceeds going to the NAS. Not only could the UKBGF raise a large amount of money for a good cause, together we could also reduce the daily stress and anxiety caused to some of the 700,000 people living with Autism; I have seen the way my life has been changed and improved by playing backgammon. I have learned how to shrink my problems to pieces on a board, but also Backgammon has given me the life skills to deal with my problems after the dice have been packed away.

People with autistic spectrum disorder need to be directly engaged as they will often not engage in new things by themselves. They need to have a clear understanding of, not only the rules of the game, but the behavioural rules so that they can, with confidence, conform to a set standard. They also need these rules to protect themselves from hostile situations. When people get aggressive whilst playing them, they need to have a system in place that protects them. They need to be able to quote something to an official and feel that the rules are on their side when they are being intimidated, but also, they need to know what side of the board they shake into and how many times is an acceptable amount to shake the dice before throwing their dice.

More than this, people with autistic spectrum disorder need an environment that they will want to play in and continue to play in. Despite having social anxiety, people with autistic spectrum disorder are highly social characters that want to be engaged. By creating a system where they are engaged in conversation and encouraged to get involved in a social capacity within club events before and after matches have taken place, you will also be creating a system that allows people on the spectrum to feel like they genuinely matter.

It is for this reason I would love the UKBGF to consider adopting all of my suggestions as one, they can’t work individually.

If you encourage people with ASD into backgammon events, but don’t provide an environment where they can feel comfortable in playing then there is no point in encouraging them to join. If you have the environment where they can play, but the social networking at events is closed off to them or the actions of someone whilst playing a match made them feel insecure or worried, then they won’t continually return for more events. It’s only by providing the full package for consideration that you will be able to create and maintain the platform to encourage people with ASD into the world of backgammon and expect them to remain for the long term.

The truth is, people with autism are incredible and had diagnosis been available in the 1940’s, they would be credited with breaking the Enigma code. The UKBGF have the opportunity to really change lives in this case so the question is, shouldn’t we be getting as many of these people involved in the game as possible?

This was published separately as www.ukbgf.com/breaking-the-enigma

Guidance for Dealing with Epilepsy

by Ben Owen

Terminology

It is so important to put the focus of the condition on the person rather than the clinical diagnosis.

1. Always describe someone as “a person with epilepsy”. The word epileptic jars me by having derogatory connotations. I ask for this language to be used in all documentation. I realise some people won’t mind being called an epileptic, but to use the term “a person with epilepsy” neutralises any slur that a person with epilepsy may feel.
2. Always use the words “seizure” and “absence” – this is the language of today, not the language of 20 years ago. “Fit”, “grand mal” or “petit mal” are now obsolete.

Environment

Heat and light can be a big contributory factor in triggering epilepsy. Ideally the room should be airy and not too warm. Lighting should not be flashing: instead it should be soft.

Medical aid

1. If a player is having a tonic-clonic seizure (grand mal/fit in old terms) then move them away from anything that could cause injury – such as a hot drink, glass or sharp object. Move them to a quiet corner and put a cushion under their head, loosen any tight clothing (typically a tie or a belt).
2. Move people away. Do not let the person come round to find a huge circle of people staring down on them. They are not watching an exciting shoot out of a BG match.
3. On no account should a player stick a finger, thumb or any other object into their mouth. It will break their teeth.
4. Do not call an ambulance immediately, as they are likely to come round gradually.
5. If a consequence of the seizure is that the board is disturbed then try and reconfigure the position as accurately as possible, with support from observers if available. If no agreement can be made then the players should restart the game. Tournament Directors should allow a reasonable amount of time to allow the affected player to recover and rejoin the match if at all possible. If the player is, however, not well enough to continue they may have to forfeit the match.

Gender Issues

by Anna Clarke

It is a noted fact that there are more men than women playing tournament backgammon and this gender bias persists at club level. TDs and Club Organisers should be mindful of this discrepancy when they plan their events and recruitment strategies.

The reasons behind low attendance by women are complex and include both practical and emotional considerations. We need to help them overcome these perceived barriers if we are to promote backgammon to both sexes alike. In addition, many measures designed to increase female membership will also be successful in boosting membership in general and contribute to growing the game. Individual Clubs and events will be able to tailor their recruitment strategy to suit their own circumstances, but examples might include:

• Increasing the use of social media and linking to female orientated groups. Try to represent your women members prominently when posting on social media, especially photographs
• Women’s meetups
• A buddy system
• A policy to contact new attendees personally after an event and encourage their feedback
• Arrange a talk, interview or blog with a top female player
• Free taster sessions or rewards for returning in future
• Set up a stall at your local fete or community event and make sure you staff it with members of both sexes

In 2010 employment law in the UK changed to allow Positive Action for minority groups but not Positive Discrimination. In the workplace this means that an employer has the right to appoint a woman over a man if their skill set is the same, but not solely on the grounds of sex. If the female applicant is less qualified they cannot take preference merely to correct gender imbalance in the workplace. It is difficult to draw direct comparisons with backgammon, but personally, I think the spirit of this law would suggest that offering women only trophies or other added prizes for which only the ladies are eligible is inappropriate. I would rather see ladies encouraged to excel and compete for the main prizes by measures which promote their enthusiasm and love for the game, such as those above. However, individual Clubs and Directors will know their own members and their views and will plan their prize structure accordingly.

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