Seeing Red ... and Green. Disabilites discrimination in kit

[JWM]

There's been much talk on this Forum about 'away' colours, dark and light kit, etc.

But how much thinking really goes into the choosing?

On Saturday we had Tigers in our 'home' predominantly Green, and Saracens in their 'away' Red.

Colour blindness (colour vision deficiency, or CVD) affects approximately 1 in 12 men (8%) and 1 in 200 women in the world. In Britain this means that there are approximately 2.7 million colour blind people (about 4.5% of the entire population), most of whom are male.

For the vast majority of those with colour vision deficiency this is genetic, inherited from their mother. But some become colour blind as a result of other diseases such as diabetes and multiple sclerosis, or develop the condition over time with the aging process, medication etc.

The different anomalous conditions are protanomaly, which is a reduced sensitivity to red, deuteranomaly which is a reduced sensitivity to green and is the most common form of colour blindness, and tritanomaly which is a reduced sensitivity to blue and extremely rare.

There is a range of how people experience colour vision deficiency. But typically this includes an inability to distinguish Red and Green. They are broadly the same muddish colour.

I do not have this condition myself, but a colleague of mine has, and from conversations I have some appreciation of how this affects him.

Which takes me back to my opening question(s) - Who does the thinking behind choosing 'away' colours and/or what colours will be worn by teams on any particular occasion. How much thinking really goes into this?

On Saturday we had Tigers in our 'home' predominantly Green, and Saracens in their 'away' Red. To anyone with colour vision deficiency these colours would have rendered the game almost meaningless (think that All Blacks vs Scotland match a few years ago, but even worse).

Under the Equalities Act (which supercedes the Disabilities Discrimination Acts) as service providers Rugby Clubs [and their governing bodies] have a legal responsibility to ensure accessibility for all to their services.

These days we would all find it unacceptable if there was no proper provision for those with, say, restricted mobility or wheelchair users. But there is an equal responsibility to those whose disability is less immediately apparent.

Come on kit colour choosers, put your brains in gear. If 'dark' and 'light' really means 'dark' and 'light' and not 'bright' and 'other bright', then make sure it does.

Those who would like to know more about colour blindness, and see some mock-ups of how the world appears to those with the various forms of the condition can do so at:

http://www.colourblindawareness.org/colour-blindness/

James

[Kinoulton]

Well I have posted elsewhere that the old method was simply to wear white with bits of your colours picked up on collars, cuffs, etc.

That made it easier to pick out your team mates but unfortunately didn't provide immense advertising exposure to "ACME Photocopying" who wanted you to play in a violent yellow which has their name across it.

The richer a sport gets, the more it is cheapened.

[biffer]

In the NFL all teams have to have a white kit as well as their normal colours. Every game has one team in their white kit, one in normal colours. Some of the teams in hotter climates wear white at home in order to make other teams wear a dark colour for five or six hours in 100F+ heat.

[Kinoulton]

On QI they stated that the idea that dark colours attracted heat was an utter myth.

But what does Stephen Fry know about rugby!

[CitizenSmiff]

I sat next to a family member who is colour blind at the game on Saturday and it wasn't in any way a hindrance to enjoyment, indeed it's never been mentioned once during the hundreds of Tigers games we've watched together. I think that if those are the filters you see the entire world through little things like what colour shirts two rugby teams are wearing doesn't register as an issue.

[hiraldos]

James,

I am colour blind and can assure you that I could see the game perfectly well on Saturday.

It was in fact one of the easiest games to watch of the entire season in terms of kit differences. You seem to have forgotten in your analysis of the problem that one team wore stripes and the other a plan colour - easy to see even in black and white (remember those days?). I can happily see enough of a difference in colour to tell between green and red and I can certainly see white stripes in a red and green shirt.

I suggest if this isn't a problem to you, and isn't a problem to me, it is actually a non-issue and probably not worth further comment. I can only think you've stated the thread to start an unnecessary argument!?

[loretta]

As stated by Hiraldos, the stripes and general pattern make our shirt unique, so actual colour becomes a lesser issue.

Another clue would be that Tigers were the winners and SArries the losers, simples!

[daktari]

My nephew is colour blind and as never has a problem.

[ChrisTiger]

I'm short sighted so can we move the pitch closer to the Cat Stand?

[Daveyboy]

And I am one-eyed, like many Tigers fans, apparently.

It doesn't affect my enjoyment of the game.

[old one eye]

I can see better than most refs

[Bill W (2)]

I can see better than most refs

Can't we all!!!

With our one eye!

[G.K]

Well most of the time it's easy to see which players are Tigers, they are the ones going forwards!

[Bill W (2)]

Well most of the time it's easy to see which players are Tigers, they are the ones going forwards!

[JWM]

I am saddened that Forum members should conclude that I began this thread either (a) to be provocative, or (b) as a joke.

I am delighted that there are two people with colour blindness who have reported enjoying the game.

This is additionally refreshing in view of the several complaints made on this Forum subsequent to the Saracens match that people with full colour vision had trouble distinguishing players (teams) in the melee.

This is not a complaint about the new Tigers kit (which I am now coming to like in practise)! But with the great green bibs front and back, green underarms and a reduced area of irregular stripes, the differentiation created by stripes now is rather less than when the jersey was a vriation on the full green red and white hoops.

The fact that some colour blind people could (happily) follow a game with two teams in similar tones does not mean or imply that all could, or that it doesn't matter. Any more than the fact that one person dependent on crutches might be able to get up some steps means or implies that all can.