Sheffield climbing coach creating safe spaces with her junior athletes

Rachel Carr, 28, from Sheffield, works with both the junior and senior squads, but her time with the juniors has allowed her to have open conversations, she explained: “The junior trips are so entertaining, I find they genuinely want to be spending time with you, they want to be hanging out with you so you can really input into their live and help them grow as people.

“I have had kids asking me stuff they won’t know anywhere else because I am pansexual.

“They are quite comfortable to chat to me and ask, ‘oh what does that actually mean’ or ‘what does this term mean’ and get a bunch of information they wouldn’t usually get if they don’t feel comfortable asking their parents or they aren’t taught it in schools so it is another environment for them to learn in ways other than just climbing.”

This safe environment is something that means a lot to Carr, she said: “It is a huge thing for me, it is really nice to be able to do it, otherwise they may not be able to experience that stuff.

“For me, I was quite singled out, I didn’t come out until I was 24 as when I was a junior athlete I was the only queer athlete I knew around me so I didn’t really feel in a position to come out and say ‘I am also attracted to girls whilst sharing a room with girls’ whereas me actively going into that space and speaking about the reality of the situation to raise awareness.

“I hope that someone sat at the table with me that might feel more comfortable coming out as a result, but if not it is about trying to change quite a narrow perspective.”

Carr works with both junior and senior squads and mentioned the difference in the two, she added: “The senior space is a little bit different, development opportunities is still travelling with the team, hang out with them and help them grow but in the performance space it is a lot more show up on the day, do the job and go home.”

Looking to the summer, Carr has been working with an athlete who will be going to Paris which is one her proudest moments as a coach so far, she said: “They are a really nice athlete and they have made sure I have got the awareness of my contribution to their journey.

“I stuck to my guns and had the confidence in what I was doing and they put loads of trust in me to change their set up.

“At that time they weren’t even a consideration for the Games, but we put loads of work in and by the end they were not only a Paris potential but also a medal potential.

“That has been a huge confidence boost for me to know that I jumped in the deep end and the athlete has had a good experience throughout which has been a real highlight for me.”