The SPORTS Participation Framework: illuminating the pathway for people with disability to enter into, participate in, and excel at sport

Abstract

Background: Sports participation for people with disabilities exists at the intersection of health, sport, and education sectors. However, no common framework and language exist to describe the stages of sports participation.

Objective: To present the background to the SPORTS Participation Framework, and how it can be used to illuminate the path that people with disability may travel to enter into, participate in, and enjoy and excel at all levels of sport.

Method: The SPORTS Participation Framework includes six stages drawn from mainstream sports pathways and models used to classify barriers to sports participation for people with disabilities: (S) Screening, goal setting and individual preparation, (P) Practitioner led, peer-group sports interventions, (O) Organised junior entry-point sports programs, (R) Recreational sport (non-competitive), (T) Team competition (school/club representation), and (S) State, National, and International competition.

Results: For each stage, this paper describes the content of sports activities, the context in which they are performed, key stakeholders, barriers to participation, available evidence, and case studies.

Conclusions: The SPORTS Participation Framework presents a structure to navigate the stages of introducing and promoting lifelong sports participation for people with disabilities. It scaffolds clear communication, governance, and policy across health, sport, and education sectors, and supports clinicians and researchers to address barriers to participation at each stage to improve individual and population-wide participation in sport for people with disabilities.

Keywords: Disability; Paralympic; Parasport; Participation; Physical activity; Sport.

Fig. 1

The SPORTS Participation Framework for people with disabilities. Adapted from. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/au/deed.en; Fig. 1 Long description: A silhouette of a person in a wheelchair throwing a ball. The ball is depicted as a series of six circles with the letters S P O R T S to indicate the stage of sports participation. Each circle includes details of the stage name. (1) Screening, goal setting and individual preparation, (2) Practitioner led, peer-group sports interventions, (3) Organised junior entry-point sports programs, (4) recreational sport (non-competitive), (5) Team competition (school/ club representation), and (6) State, national and international competition. Brackets indicate that all SPORTS stages are health focussed, ORTS stages are wellbeing focussed and TS stages are performance focussed.

Fig. 2

The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF).This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licensehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/au/deed.en;Fig. 2long description: A diagram with three levels. The top level includes one section ‘Health Condition (disorder or disease)’. The second level includes three sections: ‘Body Structure and Function’, ‘Activity’, and ‘Participation. The third level includes two sections: Environmental Factors and Personal Factors. There are bidirectional arrows between each item on a level, and with items on adjacent levels.

Fig. 3

a: Family of Participation-Related Constructs (fPRC) showing interactions with participation-related constructs.; This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licensehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/au/deed.en;Fig. 3aLong description: A diagram shows a shape titled ‘Participation’, within which is a shape titled ‘Attendance’. Inside the ‘Attendance’ shape is a shape titled ‘Involvement’. Beside ‘Participation’ are shapes titled ‘Activity Competence’, ‘Sense of Self’ and ‘Preferences’ which are positioned on an outline of a person. All items sit within a border which is titled ‘Context’ which is within another border titled ‘Environment’ A bidirectional arrow between ‘Activity Competence’ and ‘Sense of Self’ is labelled ‘experiencing’. A bidirectional arrow between ‘Sense of Self’ and ‘Preferences’ is labelled ‘Interpreting’. The arrow from ‘Activity Competence’ to ‘Participation’ is labelled ‘Acting’. The reverse is labelled ‘Learning’. The arrow from ‘Sense of Self’ to ‘Participation’ is labelled ‘Engaging’. The reverse is labelled ‘Perceiving’. The arrow from ‘Preferences’ to ‘Participation’ is labelled ‘Choosing’. The reverse is labelled ‘Complying’. Fig. 3b: Family of Participation-Related Constructs (fPRC) showing interactions with the environment and context.; This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licensehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/au/deed.en;Fig. 3b Long description: A diagram shows a shape titled ‘Participation’, within which is a shape titled ‘Attendance’. Inside the ‘Attendance’ shape is a shape titled ‘Involvement’. Beside ‘Participation’ are shapes titled ‘Activity Competence’, ‘Sense of Self’ and ‘Preferences’ which are positioned on an outline of a person. All items sit within a border which is titled ‘Context’ which is within another border titled ‘Environment’. The arrows from the outline of the person to the environment and context are labelled ‘Responding’ and ‘Influencing’. The arrows from the environment and context to the person are labelled ‘Providing’. The arrows from the environment and context to ‘Participation’ are labelled ‘Regulating’.

Fig. 3

a: Family of Participation-Related Constructs (fPRC) showing interactions with participation-related constructs.; This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licensehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/au/deed.en;Fig. 3aLong description: A diagram shows a shape titled ‘Participation’, within which is a shape titled ‘Attendance’. Inside the ‘Attendance’ shape is a shape titled ‘Involvement’. Beside ‘Participation’ are shapes titled ‘Activity Competence’, ‘Sense of Self’ and ‘Preferences’ which are positioned on an outline of a person. All items sit within a border which is titled ‘Context’ which is within another border titled ‘Environment’ A bidirectional arrow between ‘Activity Competence’ and ‘Sense of Self’ is labelled ‘experiencing’. A bidirectional arrow between ‘Sense of Self’ and ‘Preferences’ is labelled ‘Interpreting’. The arrow from ‘Activity Competence’ to ‘Participation’ is labelled ‘Acting’. The reverse is labelled ‘Learning’. The arrow from ‘Sense of Self’ to ‘Participation’ is labelled ‘Engaging’. The reverse is labelled ‘Perceiving’. The arrow from ‘Preferences’ to ‘Participation’ is labelled ‘Choosing’. The reverse is labelled ‘Complying’. Fig. 3b: Family of Participation-Related Constructs (fPRC) showing interactions with the environment and context.; This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licensehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/au/deed.en;Fig. 3b Long description: A diagram shows a shape titled ‘Participation’, within which is a shape titled ‘Attendance’. Inside the ‘Attendance’ shape is a shape titled ‘Involvement’. Beside ‘Participation’ are shapes titled ‘Activity Competence’, ‘Sense of Self’ and ‘Preferences’ which are positioned on an outline of a person. All items sit within a border which is titled ‘Context’ which is within another border titled ‘Environment’. The arrows from the outline of the person to the environment and context are labelled ‘Responding’ and ‘Influencing’. The arrows from the environment and context to the person are labelled ‘Providing’. The arrows from the environment and context to ‘Participation’ are labelled ‘Regulating’.

Fig. 4

Australian Physical Literacy Framework; This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/au/deed.en; Fig. 4 long description: A circle with the word ‘physical’ with an image of a hand weight, ‘cognitive’ with an image of a head with a cog where the brain would sit, ‘social’ with an image of two hands high fiving and ‘psychological’ with an image of a love heart in a circle around the words ‘individual factors’. This entire circle is surrounded by the words ‘environmental, societal and cultural factors’.

Fig. 5

Australian Physical Literacy Framework Stages of Development; This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/au/deed.en; Fig. 5 long description: Six boxes representing the six stages of development. Each box has a photo above the stage name and description. Stage 0: Pre-Foundational. Photo of a baby sitting in a swing at a park looking at an older man crouching next to them. Text reads ‘at this stage, a person is experiencing, playing or exploring limited forms of movement’. Arrow to stage 1: Foundation & Exploration. Photo of a young child swinging on monkey bars. Text reads ‘At this stage a person is learning and exploring their capabilities for movement’. Arrow to stage 2: Acquisition & accumulation. Photo of a middle-aged man in a wheelchair hitting a tennis ball over a net with his racquet. Text reads ‘at this stage a person is frequently practicing and refining their capabilities for movement’. Arrow to stage 3: Photo of a young man holding a football under their arm as they avoid being tackled. Text reads ‘consolidation & mastery. Text reads ‘at this stage a person is able to perform and analyse their capabilities for movement’. Arrow to stage 4: Transfer & empowerment. Photo of an adult in a wetsuit running through thigh-high water at the beach with a smile. Text reads ‘at this stage a person transfers their capabilities for movement to new and different situations’.