Championing Inclusion: Disability in the World of Sport

Dear Colleagues,

Disabled people represent approximately 16% of the global population, yet often have more negative and inconsistent experiences of sport, be it participating, spectating, volunteering, coaching, or working in sport. Furthermore, evidence suggests that disabled people are more likely to be inactive compared to non-disabled people, have less representation and visibility in sporting administrative roles, and face additional barriers when watching live sport. This is despite fair and equal access to sport being recognised by the United Nations as a basic human right for disabled people.

The focus of this Special Issue is on understanding the different ways in which disability is incorporated in the sporting experience for disabled people. Of particular interest is a global perspective of how disability is experienced in sport. Current insights are often derived from a Western and/or developed nation viewpoint. In this Special Issue, we are particularly keen to champion the diversity of disability experiences that exist across the sporting world. Theoretically informed submissions that advance our understanding of how to provide equitable and excellent sporting experiences are welcome. Without theory, the disability sport field will struggle to advance insights and support changes to the existing sporting system. The importance of theory notwithstanding, an applied lens to how disability experiences in sport exist in the field are very much welcome. There is a desperate need to understand practical ways in which best practice has developed and thrived in varying contexts. Authors have scope to submit papers (articles, conceptual papers, or reviews) that address one or more of the following broad aims of this Special Issue:

• A consideration of how disabled people are included in the sporting system;
• Critical reflections on the extent to which disabled people’s needs are being met by the current sporting system;
• An exploration of best-practice examples and findings from the lived experiences of disabled people.

The scope of this Special Issue is deliberately broad to facilitate author innovation and creativity. Papers may focus on the following topic areas:

• Grassroots sport participation experiences of disabled people;
• Policy approaches to including disability in sport;
• Disabled people working in the sporting system in an administrative or voluntary capacity;
• The experiences of disabled sports coaches;
• Disabled people spectating live sport.

The papers in this Special Issue will develop our understanding of the different ways in which disability is experienced in the sporting system, building on work by scholars such as Cottingham et al. (2014), Darcy et al. (2017), Dickson et al. (2016), Kiuppis (2018), and Misener and Darcy (2014).

Contributions have to follow one of the journal’s three categories of papers (article, conceptual paper, or review) and address the topic of the Special Issue.

References

Cottingham, M., Carroll, M. S., Phillips, D., Karadakis, K., Gearity, B. T., & Drane, D. (2014). Development and validation of the motivation scale for disability sport consumption. Sport Management Review, 17(1), 49-64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smr.2013.11.001.

Darcy, S., Lock, D., & Taylor, T. (2017). Enabling Inclusive Sport Participation: Effects of Disability and Support Needs on Constraints to Sport Participation. Leisure Sciences, 39(1), 20-41. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400.2016.1151842.

Dickson, T. J., Darcy, S., Johns, R., Pentifallo, C., & Drane, D. (2016). Inclusive by design: transformative services and sport-event accessibility. The Service Industries Journal, 36(11-12), 532-555. https://doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2016.1255728.

Misener, L., & Darcy, S. (2014). Managing disability sport: From athletes with disabilities to inclusive organisational perspectives. Sport Management Review, 17(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smr.2013.12.003.

Kiuppis, F. (2018). Inclusion in sport: disability and participation. Sport in Society, 21(1), 4-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2016.1225882.

Dr. Christopher Brown
Guest Editor

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• disability sport
• sport participation
• inclusion
• mainstreaming
• policy
• ableism
• sport spectatorship
• accessibility
• workforce development
• disability sport coaching