Athletes2Coaches: A mentorship program for athletes experiencing disability
Coaching athletes with a disability requires many of the same skills as coaching non-disabled athletes (for example, developing skill progression). However, coaching athletes with impairments often requires coaches to have disability-specific knowledge as well (Fairhurst, Bloom, & Harvey, 2017). Coaches’ understanding of disability is critical, not only to athlete skill development, but also to athletes’…
Para sport pathways
Researchers at Western University are partnering with the Commonwealth Games Federation to identify the factors that drive inclusion in Para sport and to develop a high performance pathway for Para athletes in the Commonwealth region of the Caribbean and the Americas. Preliminary findings show that access to athlete classification is a current limitation to both…
Terry Fox
Today we are celebrating Terry Fox Day. Terry Fox was a Canadian athlete and cancer research activist. After losing his right leg to osteosarcoma, he was inspired to start running across Canada to raise money for cancer research. Fox’s journey was cut short as his cancer progressed, but his “Marathon of Hope” raised $24.17 million…
Enhancing sport and physical activity participation for Canadians with disabilities
Highlights When Jenny Davey first started working at the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) in 2014, she had no idea how much a fledgling research partnership would shape the work she does in the Paralympic sport system 8 years later. “I never would have thought, ‘well, 8 years from now, I’m going to be able to…
Baseline testing for Para athletes
Baseline testing can help to identify when an athlete is ready to return to play following a concussion. However, it’s important that healthcare providers to be aware of the symptoms and signs that can exist in a Para athlete’s non-concussed state. For example, athletes with cognitive impairment may have difficulties with memory and concentration, and…
Powerchair sports
Powerchair sports are played by people with disabilities who use power wheelchairs. Powerchairs make sport accessible to athletes with a range of disabilities and eliminate performance differences usually associated with gender and age. Because of this, powerchair sports are considered some of the most inclusive sports: athletes of diverse abilities, ages and genders compete together on…
Achieving accessibility
People with disabilities face more than 200 barriers to physical activity participation. As a result, children, youth and adults with disabilities are up to 62% less likely to meet the World Health Organizations physical activity guidelines than the general population. While the Paralympic Games have the potential to inspire sport participation, serious action and investments…
Children and youth with intellectual disabilities
Program providers don’t always have the knowledge and resources to meet the needs of children with intellectual disabilities. For this reason, researchers from the Canadian Disability Participation Project partnered with Special Olympics Canada to develop A Blueprint for Building Quality Participation in Sport for Children and Youth with Intellectual Disabilities. The Blueprint offers 30 strategies to…
Athlete development in Para sport
Athlete development pathways in Para sport can be varied and complex, research shows. Different classification systems, disability-specific characteristics, and individual athletes’ histories can all impact development pathways. Researchers conclude that Para sport needs its own development models that account for the complexity of Para athlete experiences.
Project Echo
Project Echo is an online platform dedicated to listening to the lived experiences of persons with disabilities in sport and physical activity. Through online discussions with the Para sport community and key stakeholders, researchers hope to identify opportunities for user-informed decision-making related to programming, services, language, and infrastructure that support persons with disabilities in the…