NADS Disability Policy

Gillingham Football Club NADS Representative: Dave Burgon

Email Dave at dburgon@priestfield.com

Gillingham Football Club

Club Policy for Disabled Supporters

Gillingham Football Club fully supports the principle of equal opportunities and opposes all forms of unlawful or unfair discrimination on the grounds of disability.

The Club operates a concessionary ticketing policy for disabled supporters and will ensure that the scheme does not discriminate between disabled people with differing impairments.

The Club recognises that not all of its facilities are fully accessible to disabled customers and confirms that it is committed to making the necessary reasonable adjustments described by the Disability Discrimination Act and its relevant Codes of Practice to ensure full compliance with the legislation.

The Club also recognises that it is likely to have new duties with effect from 1^st October 2004 to remove permanent barriers that make it difficult or impossible for some disabled customers to access Club facilities. The Club will undertake such additional works as are reasonably required within the timescales set out within the Act.

Definition of Disability

As a fundamental principle the Disability Discrimination Act states that disabled people should not be treated "less favourably, without justification"; and "reasonable adjustments should be made to make goods, facilities and services accessible".Gillingham Football Club aim to fully comply with both the provisions and spirit of the Act.

For the purposes of this Policy only the definition of a disabled supporter is:

"any person who, because of their disability or impairment, is unable to use ordinary stand seating without contravening Health and Safety Regulations, Guidelines or Policy or where the club has provided a "reasonable adjustment" to enable that supporter to attend the venue.Any such person will be considered for use of the "designated areas" of the stadium in line with the procedures set out in this policy."

A "reasonable adjustment" in the context shall include (but is not limited to), the need to use a wheelchair platform, the need to bring a "personal assistant" for either personal care or safety reasons, or the use of an auxiliary service (eg match commentary for visually impaired supporters or "loop systems" for supporters with sensory impairments).

A "designated area" is any area (including specific seats around the stadium bowl) that the club shall, in it's sole discretion determine as being available for the disabled concessionary ticket price.

A person has a "disability" if he/she has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his/her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

Gillingham FC reserves the right to request "proof of a disability" before issuing any concession. Such proof shall include:

• Receipt of the middle or higher rate of the Disability Living Allowance (mobility or care component).
• Receipt of either the Severe Disablement Allowance or Attendance Allowance
• A personal letter from your GP

NB Receipt of an Orange/Blue badge will not be considered sufficient proof of disability for the concessionary ticket price.

Contact with existing Disabled Supporters

Gillingham Football Club has an open dialogue with its disabled supporters and encourages them to contact the club on a regular basis to discuss facilities and improvements etc. Recent initiatives have included appointing a match-day disabled liaison contact and the issue of an end of year questionnaire to all disabled season ticket holders.

The club is a member of the National Association of Disabled Supporters (NADS).

The club has also undertaken a review of its DDA position both internally and via NADS and is putting in place a series of improvements/proposals identified as part of those discussions.

Facilities for Supporters Using Wheelchairs

The club has 67 positions for wheelchair supporters and, if required, a personal assistant. These are situated in the front row of the Rainham End, Gordon Road and Medway stands. Of this 4 are available for away supporters in the Brian Moore Stand

These places are provided at a concessionary price of £19 or £22 (subject to other concessions eg child, pre-game/on-line booking) payable by the disabled person using the wheelchair. Should a Personal Assistant (PA) be required, they will not be charged.

In conjunction with the proof of disability mentioned above, this concession will only be available to those people who meet the eligibility criteria described below.

• wheelchair using applicants must be largely confined to a wheelchair, or not capable of walking a distance further than that required to reasonably and safely access any other part of the stadium.

• wheelchair using applicants should, ideally, also be accompanied by a person who is capable of supporting the disabled person's needs in the event of an emergency.For this reason Gillingham FC strongly recommend that a person is sixteen years of age or over and not be infirm.

The club's Health and Safety policy require that the person using a wheelchair remain in their wheelchair or sit in the row immediately in front of the platform. Any refusal will be deemed to be a contravention of Health and Safety policy and you may be asked to leave the stadium/be declined a ticket.

Facilities for Supporters with Visual Impairments

Visually impaired supporters using the disabled area will be charged £19 or £22 for their tickets. Should a personal assistant be required, they will not be charged for a match ticket.

Eligibility for this concession requires proof of disability as described above or each person can provide a copy of their registration document which certifies they are Registered Blind or Registered Partially Sighted, or provide qualifying documentation from their optician equivalent to registration requirements.

The Club strongly recommends that each visually impaired person attending a match should be accompanied by a person who is fully able to support their needs in the event of an emergency.

Guide Dogs not permitted into the Stadium Bowl, therefore it is essential that a carer is brought in with any person with this disability.

Facilities for Supporters with Ambulatory Disabilities

Gillingham FC recognise that there are considerable numbers of people in the community who use wheelchairs mainly for outdoor mobility purposes but are not necessarily confined to their wheelchair.There are also many people suffering severe walking difficulties who may wish to watch a match.

For the purposes of this policy and the administration of the concessionary ticketing policy both categories of people will be termed 'ambulatory disabled supporters' and those supporters with ambulatory disabilities of a severe nature will qualify for the concessionary treatment and have access to seating nearest the entrances/exists.

Provision will be in "designated areas" only and should the individual not wish to sit here, they forfeit the entitlement to a disability related concession. The designated areas will encompass the A rows of seating in front of the wheelchair platforms.

Eligibility to these areas will be dependent on providing proof of disability (as described above) or will be decided on individual merit based on information provided to Gillingham FC.; this information will assist in determining each individual's suitability for use of the facilities.

Facilities for Supporters with Infirmities

Supporters with physically restricting medical conditions can sometimes have difficulty in reaching seats in some parts of the stadium.

Gillingham FC is conscious of a growing elderly population and wish to consider their needs in order for them to be able to continue watching matches whenever possible.With this in mind it is proposed that those elderly people suffering from an infirmity which prevents them climbing large numbers of steps should be able to request a seat in the most accessible part of the stadium (ie nearest the entrances/exists). Please advise the ticket office of this request at the time of booking.

Should their infirmity be so severe that they cannot manage more than 1 or 2 steps, they may be entitled to the concession offered for ambulatory disabled supporters (see above).

Facilities for Supporters with Learning Difficulties

Supporters with learning difficulties can normally be accommodated in any part of the stadium in normal seating.However, if, for whatever reason, any person with a learning difficulty feels that ordinary stand seating would be unsuitable for them, they will be entitled to sit in the disabled concessionary areas and receive the appropriate concession (including the FREE PA seat). Please contact the ticket office for further information.

Family Seating

Gillingham FC recognise that disabled people have families who may wish to attend matches as a family unit in much the same way as non-disabled people would.Gillingham FC will try and accommodate such requests although this may not always be possible.

Please contact the ticket office for assistance in obtaining tickets as close as possible to the designated areas.

Disabled Persons Toilets

There are at least 2 toilets in each stand with a choice of "sided" transfers. The toilets are not alarmed.

If you experience any problems with use of the disabled toilets (or they are being abused), please contact the nearest steward on the day.

Accessible Websites

The Internet is a useful means of accessing information by disabled people and future development of the club website should provide information in a downloadable format.It is hoped that the increasing use of the internet will allow an increasing number of disabled people access to information which they had previously experienced difficulty in obtaining.A page on the official club website will be dedicated to information specific to disability matters.

A useful website for disabled supporters to find out about facilities at grounds around the country can be found on the NADS website - www.nads.org.uk