Inclusive Sports

Sports have always been a unifier, empowering people to build confidence and friendships, along with better health.

This issue highlights the profound benefits that everyone gains from sports participation. It also charts the development of inclusive sports, from its early days as physical therapy for injured military personnel to Special Olympics in the 1960s, to more recent developments in Unified Sports and Mixed Ability teams.

What do we mean by inclusive sports? To some, it is athletes with and without disabilities being on a team and playing on the field together. To others, it is adaptive sports, which allow athletes to strive for their best possible athletic performance. Articles in this issue bring context to the role of sports in disability history and demonstrate how inclusion in sports reaches far beyond the playing field.

It is a global movement, and the authors in this issue report how sports can be a spark to develop friendships and leadership opportunities and to further community understanding. We travel to the soccer fields of Brazil, a rugby pitch in the United Kingdom, a badminton court in Bhutan, and an ice arena in North America.

Athletes share personal stories about how participation shapes their lives and about the opportunities it presents. Beyond providing access to play, sports can shift perceptions and be a catalyst for personal and cultural change.

When everyone can be a teammate, it builds a society in which all forms of diversity are seen as adding to the richness of life.

Disability researchers and advocates must adapt to capture the many outcomes that inclusive sports create. Documenting and evaluating results that make a substantial difference in the lives of athletes with and without disabilities is critically important.

Without it, we’re just playing games.