The Involvement of Athletes with Intellectual Disability in Community Sports Clubs

Abstract

People with intellectual disability lack opportunities to engage in sports, although the benefits of doing so may be even greater for them. One option is to encourage their inclusion in mainstream sports clubs that exist in nearly all European communities. Although there is a growing knowledge base within organisations such as Special Olympics in adjusting sports to meet the needs of people with intellectual disability, inclusion in community clubs raises additional challenges. This exploratory study aimed to garner the experiences of coaches alongside those of clubs members—with and without disabilities—in 12 community sports clubs in three European countries. In all 20 coaches and 51 members took part in semi-structured interviews. A thematic content analysis was used to devise a conceptual model describing an inclusive sports club. The overarching theme was that inclusive clubs require an ongoing balancing between a focus on sporting skills and performance, with managing the needs and characteristics of the players and the inter-relationships among them. Six subthemes were identified that described the core strategies to the effective functioning of the clubs. However, the vision and commitment of coaches was crucial and their recruitment was the main challenge the clubs faced. In addition, new opportunities for training coaches are needed to support the extension of inclusive clubs across a range of sports and locations. Continuing research could usefully identify the benefits to club members and identify sport-specific adaptations required to make clubs more fully inclusive.

Differences in physical activity volume and intensity between Unified and non‐Unified Special Olympics football training: An observational pilot study

“…This could be a possible explanation to favour Unified over traditional training, besides the other effects such as greater social inclusion (Baran et al, 2013; McConkey et al, 2013). Besides these explanations, also the bi‐directional support in the training group can have effects on PA participation (Pochstein et al, 2023). However, motivational aspects related to the training type (Unified or non‐Unified) warrant further examinations (Hutzler & Korsensky, 2010).…”

The Role of Sports Clubs in Promoting Social Integration among People with Disabilities in Saudi Arabia

“…However, people with disabilities in Saudi society did not experience this exceptional phenomenon until a few years ago. Despite advancements in the rights of individuals with disabilities in modern society, prevailing social and cultural stigmas persist, impeding their participation in sports activities (Pochstein et al, 2023), despite international calls and declarations calling for the integration of persons with disabilities in all areas of community life, including sports (Grandisson et al, 2012). The United Nations' standard principles on equal opportunities for persons with disabilities and the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Grandisson et al, 2012;Hammad and Awed, 2020), for example, have pointed out that persons with disabilities have a fundamental right to participate in sports activities (Weston, 2017).…”