Special Populations and Sport chapter 14 Special Populations and Sport

Chapter Outline Americans with Disabilities Act American Association of People with Disabilities Sport Participation for Athletes with Physical Disabilities Sport Participation for Athletes with Mental Disabilities Sport Participation for Older Athletes Issues for Special Populations in Sport Summary

Special Populations in the United States More than 54 million people have at least one mental or physical disability: Of these, 3 times as many live in poverty. Of these, only 34% are very satisfied with life compared to 61% of people without disabilities. There are 80 million Americans older than 50 years. These populations are discriminated against and excluded.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) U.S. law signed by President George H. Bush in 1990 Eliminates discrimination in several areas: Employment Government Public accommodations Telecommunications Transportation Dramatic change in sport opportunities

Paralympics Games for athletes who have amputations, are visually impaired, or have cerebral palsy, spinal cord injuries, MS, dwarfism, and so on 1960 inaugural games in Rome, Italy 400 athletes from 23 countries participated (continued)

Paralympics (continued) Today include more than 5,000 athletes, 120 countries, 21 sports Division of the U.S. Olympic Committee State Paralympics held annually for athletes aged 12 to 18 years

Special Olympics Athletes with intellectual disabilities, cognitive delays, significant learning disabilities, or vocational problems Represent 150 countries and more than 1.7 million athletes First games in Chicago, with 1,000 athletes participating Goal is to improve fitness, develop skills, and increase confidence and self-image 2007 Games to be held in Shanghai, China

Sport Participation for Older Adults Associations AARP International Council on Active Aging (ICAA) Performance sports Masters, senior tours In 2005, 10,400 athletes competed in the Summer National Senior Games in Pittsburgh 2006 National Senior Festivals for Golf, Tennis, and Hockey Example: Phillipa Raschker (44 Masters world records in track and field) (continued)

Sport Participation for Older Adults (continued) Participation sports Current trends implicate huge increase in physical activity and sports for the over-50 crowd Increase in lifetime activities with age: swimming, tennis, walking, golf, yoga Communities offer free or inexpensive programs Example: Kids and Kubs (Florida softball league whose age limit is 75 years and older!)

Issues for Special Populations Acceptance Funding and organizational support Community program opportunities Training for coaches, administration, and officials (continued)

Issues for Special Populations (continued) Equipment Inclusion with other populations Media support

Summary Recent laws protect special populations with regard to opportunities and discrimination. Athletes with disabilities are now offered national and international competition. Older adults are able to compete on senior tours. An increase in community level funding, acceptance, support, and opportunities for these populations is necessary.

On Deck… Questions and comments Assignments and readings Next chapter: Religion and Sport Prevalence Reciprocal relationship