About BPC

Here at BPC, we know competitions can be stressful and a lot of hard work.

The last thing anyone needs is feeling unwelcome or out of place.

We see people in the community putting in the work; and it’s a great start. But we need more.

We want to make sure our competitions strive to be as inclusive, safe and

as diverse as possible (and we actually mean it!).

We strongly support SWers and the founders that blessed us with pole.

We have worked hard and consulted with a number of dancers from all backgrounds, to make sure we are fair, clear and concise.

At BPC we truly welcome all types of humans and are passionate about providing an opportunity for ALL.

Our Values

Every Body

We believe everyone should have the opportunity to dance and compete if they wish. ANY one and ANY body are welcome here. Regardless of gender, style, size, religion, race, shape, neuro-type, disability, or sexuality.

We want everyone to have the opportunity to experience a safe, fair, transparent and welcoming competition.

We can’t wait to support you and watch you shine, celebrating your individuality and what makes you, you!

Individuality

The most important thing about our competition? YOU!

When you’re competing on stage, we won’t determine your ‘value’ by the amount of tricks you can do. Instead we want to see your individuality, creativity, your personality or character.

We want to celebrate your movement and what you can deliver to our audience.

There are so many forms of pole and dance; we want to see them all... whatever that means to you.

Our Promise

We want to be the change the UK pole competition scene needs.

We promise to strive and make this competition as safe and inclusive as possible, as we believe everyone deserves a space to be heard and be seen for who they are.

We promise to listen to feedback from our audience, competitors and moderators to keep growing with the pole industries needs.

We promise to strive for better representation, supporting different styles, movements, groups of people and truly making a space to celebrate all.

Inclusion Statement

At BPC, we are passionate about providing a space and experience for all.

This is our first year under new management and we want to make the changes the pole industry needs, starting from our very core.

Our team has been lovingly selected to help represent the industry’s style and identities, ensuring we have a diverse team from all background and styles.

The Team at BPC are made up of queer people, SWers, disabled people and people from different ethnicities.

We are neurodivergent, plus size, and are individuals of different gender identities. Because this is what the pole industry is made up of. Not one single type of individual, but a wonderful world full of variety and experiences.

As well as our awesome judges, we also have our very own EDI Consultant and Moderator, all who have a part to play in how BPC is run - as well as some super star volunteers on the day.

Although we have reached out to a number of people in the industry for guidance on our events, we understand not one person can speak for all, and we may not always get it right. But our main mission is to strive to be better and that includes listening to our community and those affected by it and we will continue to do so, growing with the ever changing needs of our industry.

What have we done so far?

Every thought and decision within this competition has been made with love. Here’s some of the things we’ve done:

Accessible documentation

We have worked with our EDI Consultant to make our imaging and text more user friendly - amending fonts, colours, sizing, line-spacing and creating alternative plain format text documents.

The venue

Picking an accessible venue to meet all our requirements was no easy task, but we believe that 1532 Bristol will be a hit! The venue is fully accessible, with lifts, spaces for wheelchair users, disabled parking access and a hearing loop system is in place.

The venue has a large changing room for competitors with large bright windows and mirrors. We also have a separate smaller changing room dedicated to those who wish to have a quiet space. We are aiming to provide a x-pole stage pole backstage, for the competitors to practise on (as well as the allocated stage rehearsal times).

After speaking with the venue, competitors are able to arrange viewings of the 1532 venue pre-comp, should they feel anxious, nervous or if this would help with neurodiversities.

Photos and descriptions of the venue will be available in a further competitor guide to help set expectations and allow people to familiarise themselves with the area before the big day.

More bits and bobs

We will have dedicated ushers for each performer and a quiet space for each person to refresh and chill post-performance.

Should competitors require silence during their performance, this option will be available.

Our EDI Consultant will be on hand throughout the day should anyone have any reasonable adjustments. We understand each persons needs and adjustments are individual, so please just ask us and we will try our best to work with you - there are no silly questions.

Each member of the team will receive guidance on inclusivity within the pole industry and further training sessions will be provided by our EDI Consultant prior to the comp. This includes things such as biases, the social model disability, anti-racism, and mark inflation.

We strongly support our SWers and the founders that blessed us with pole. Which is why without question, we are offering SWer / Low-income applications and tickets to our live final. Any purchases of this nature will be kept confidential within the admin team and will not be visible on tickets.

We want our competition to be a safe space for all, and that includes our audience too. We will not accept offensive, abusive, discriminatory music or music by artists that have caused harm or hold values that do not align with our own. Explicit language is allowed and music containing racial slurs will only be accepted by black performers.

We have provided the opportunity for all staff and competitors to share pronouns should they wish to disclose this.

Although we have conversed with a number of people from different backgrounds and experiences, we may have missed something that is important to you. If you see something that can be improved or adjusted, please reach out to us. As mentioned before, we will continue striving to be better and that includes listening to our community and those affected by it and we will continue to do so, growing with the ever changing needs of our industry.