Sport science in the Paralympic movement

Abstract

INTRODUCTION The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is the international governing body of sports for athletes with disabilities and acts as the International Federation for 12 sports. The IPC supervises and coordinates the Paralympic Summer and Winter Games and other multidisability competitions, such as the World Championships. The IPC also supports the recruitment and development of local, national, and international athletes at all performance levels. The vision of the IPC is enable Paralympic athletes to achieve sporting excellence and inspire and excite the world. This vision highlights the road to sporting excellence--the development of all athletes from initiation to elite levels of performance. In this guest editorial, the challenges to sport science are outlined on a continuum, with education and rehabilitation at one end and competition and elite-level excellence at the other. PARTICIPATION: THE FIRST PREREQUISITE FOR SPORTING EXCELLENCE For many people with a disability, participating in the Paralympic Games is simply not possible. People may dream of and aspire to reaching that elite level of athletic competition, but the hard work, dedication, talent, and luck required make it an unrealistic target for most. However, to dream is a great and powerful thing and some people will make it. All of today's Paralympic athletes started somewhere: in the back garden with family and friends, at school with peers and teachers, or in local sports clubs [1]. In this section, I will explore rehabilitation and education as origins of athletic careers. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For many potential athletes, rehabilitation might add a new dimension to their active lifestyles. The question is, however, whether potential athletes at discharge from the rehabilitation center are emotionally and physically prepared for this new dimension. In many cases, unfortunately, the answer is no. Taking the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health model of the World Health Organization as a frame of reference [2], physiotherapy in 2006 could be called old-fashioned because it focuses mainly on function restoration rather than on participation. A recent cohort study of eight spinal cord injury (SCI) units in the Netherlands opened the door to in-depth discussion of rehabilitation outcomes; i.e., the level of physical fitness and wheelchair-handling proficiency of people with SCI leaving the rehabilitation center [3]. Both components will greatly influence an individual's social range of action and therefore quality of life. Furthermore, a poor physical fitness level is obviously not the best starting point on the road to sporting excellence. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Studies of the factors influencing the participation of individuals with disabilities in sports clearly indicate that friends and peers with disabilities are much more influential as initial and continuing socialization agents than are rehabilitation therapists [4]. Therefore, rehabilitation centers should include appropriate strategies in the rehabilitation program that encourage people with disabilities to participate in sports and leisure activities. Furthermore, education programs for rehabilitation therapists should be participation-oriented without minimizing the importance of optimal function restoration. The second approach to recruitment of potential athletes is through the physical education systems. Since the 1970s, children with disabilities have been gradually migrating from noninclusive to inclusive educational environments; this phenomena has been especially apparent in the United States and many European countries. Unfortunately, inclusion of children with disabilities in general physical education settings does not always work, often because general physical educators may not be willing to take on the challenge of working with children with disabilities [5]. …