Principles of Room Allocation

Background:

In previous years the issue of groom accommodation has caused challenges for organisers of FEI Events including Major Championships and Games.

Following consultation with the Board of current and former international grooms, the International Grooms Association (IGA) has developed advice for managing room allocations at FEI Events which takes account of safeguarding concerns, and the preference for single occupancy.

The IGA greatly advocates for international grooms to be accommodated in sole occupancy rooms, as per Officials, Organisers and Riders usually are, to ensure equality of provision across all stakeholders at an FEI Event.

The IGA understands that sometimes infrastructure and costs may make this difficult, however there are often valid reasons for a groom to require their own room.

The suggestions below are aimed to ensure that safeguarding is considered where shared room allocations are necessary, and that a flexible approach to sourcing a solution can be adopted if a groom wishes to be accommodated individually.

Principles of Adherence to Safeguarding:

Safeguarding does not only apply to minors. All stakeholders in equestrian sport should be assured of being accommodated in spaces where they have their own privacy and a feeling of safety and equality.

Simply allocating by gender is not sufficient. Age, gender and sexuality all need to be considered.

The ideal procedure for FEI Events which will be providing shared accommodation spaces would be for consultations to happen with riders or NFs in advance so that grooms could nominate an individual they would be happy to share with.

This could potentially be achieved by including space for such requests on the entry forms.

However, if this is not an achievable solution, individuals should be placed in rooms according to the IGA suggested ‘Principles of Allocation’. Every principle should be considered when allocating shared accommodation.

If it is not possible to allocate rooms according to these principles, there should be communication with the relevant rider or NF.

In some cases, it may be that the employer will need to pay an extra fee for individual accommodation.

The Principles of Allocation:

1. Age

Use the following age bands when allocating rooms:
• Under 18
• 18-23
• 24-30
• 31-40
• 40+

2. Gender

Societal shifts in recent years mean it is no longer appropriate to simply divide rooms by male/female without a check. Gender identity is not a straightforward issue.

For instance, it could be problematic for a female to be allocated a room shared with a transgender female.

There should be a general principle of male and female split, however there should be an opportunity for a rider or NF to submit an awareness of a groom who does not fit within this segmentation.

The IGA recommends that there should be the capacity to house individuals by themselves in circumstances where sharing would have a negative impact on their emotional and mental well-being. This relies on the groom in question disclosing their situation to their employer or NF.

3. Sexuality

The issue of different sexualities makes it more important for the groom to have a voice in who they share a room with.

For instance, a homosexual male might be uncomfortable sharing with another male and prefer to share with a female who has also agreed to that allocation.

Once again, the IGA recommends that entry forms be adapted to allow Organisers to gather this information in advance of the Event; the IGA is happy to advise with this process.

Potential room allocation scenarios

Scenario 1

A rider is bringing a groom to an event who is under 18 years old.

This individual should only share a room with someone else under the age of 18, of the same gender, or be placed in accommodation alone unless prior permission is given by them and their parents for them to share with an adult.

Any adult who is required to share a room with someone under the age of 18 should have completed safeguarding training and have a DBS/CRB check certificate (or worldwide equivalent).

The groom in question should be given the chance to express preferences for who to share with.

Scenario 2

At a Championship an eventing team is comprised of 3 female grooms, all aged 24-40, and 1 male groom who is over 50.

In this situation, rather than placing the ‘spare’ male with another spare male (age 21) from another nation, it might be preferable for all if this groom was given the option to share with one of his female colleagues.

Scenario 3

There is a room of 2 beds available with partitioning for privacy but sharing one bathroom, and 2 ‘spare’ grooms.

One groom is aged 18-23 and identifies as non-binary; the other is a male groom in their 50s.

These grooms should not be placed in shared accommodation without prior consultation with riders and/or NFs.

Scenario 4

A groom who is travelling to the show without a truck with living space has requested via their employer or NF that they would prefer the option of individual accommodation due to issues around previous safeguarding failures resulting in anxiety and PTSD.

Efforts should be made to accommodate this groom alone, or at least to work with them to find a friend they are happy to share with.

In this case it may be that the employer will need to pay an extra fee for individual accommodation.

Flexible Solutions:

Though the IGA understands the constraints of budgets and available space, we feel it is important for Organisers to ensure there are options available if a groom requires or requests single accommodation.

Including information in the Approved Schedule about the cost of purchasing individual accommodation for a groom would allow grooms and riders to make informed decisions before travelling to an FEI Event.