Nowadays it's very rare not to find a sport which can be played by disabled people. Althought this might seem difficult to think, especially for some sports like rugby or tennis, the paralympic sports are a beautiful reality which can be seen by many as an insipiration not to give up in life.
This idea shouldn't be a problem, especially in developed countries, but the right to phisical activity is not guaranteed in many developing countries, in which people with disabilities can't do basically anything. These obstacles have a negative effect on creating activity pathways for disabled people and the use of sport to achieve goals which can be international. But it shouldn't be like this. In fact, sport help reduce the stigma and discrimanation associated with disability because it can transform the perception the society has about these people, by highlighting their skills and talent and reducing the tendecy to see only the disability and not the person.
Yui Kamiji celebrates her Paralympic women's singles gold at Roland Garros
The origin of the paralympics sports can be found at the end of World War 2, when Sir Ludwig Guttmann organised a sport competition for veterans with spinal cord injuries in Stoke Mandeville, England. By 1948, this competition had developed, becoming the first Stoke Mandeville Game, the precursor of the Paralympic Games. In 1960 the first ever Summer Paralympics Games were held in Rome, with 400 athletes from 23 different countries, though only athletes wheelchairs competed. In 1976, the games expanded to include other disability groups and the firts Paralympics Winter Games were held in Sweden. Since the 1970s the concept of organised multi-sport and multi-disability games became popular and a number of regional games for people with a disability also emerged. These include games such as the Parapan American Games and the Far East and South Pacific Games.
In 1988, during the South Korea Summer Paralympics Games, the term "paralympic" came into official use. It derives frome the greek παρά, pará, which means belongside, to refer to a competion held parallel to the Olympic Games, The Paralympics Games.
The first Paralympic Logo (1988)
Sir Ludwig Guttmann
Since the 1970s there has been a dramatic increase in the number of organisations and associations that serves athletes with disabilities. At the local level, in some countries, there are increased opportunities for people with a disability to participate in school based phyisical education, clubs and community associations. Nowadays there are more than 17 international sport competition for disabled people, but the three more important are the Special Olympics, which provide training and competition for people with intellectual disability a all levels; the Paralympic Games, which provide international competition for people with different disabilities, such as amputees, cerebral palsy, visual impairement, spinal cord injuries, intellectual disabilities and les autres (those that don't fit in the other groups); and the Deaflympics, which provide competition for people who are deaf or of hard hearing.
Since 2001 athletes with an intellectual disability have been unable to participate in the Paralympic Games. This is due to the suspension of their representative body, the International Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disability (INAS-FID), from the International Paralympic Committee while the classification system is reviewed.
A research conducted in 2007 highlights the lack of participation from developing countries in international disability sport competition. In total, 23% of developing countries have not participated in either Deaflympic, Paralympic or Special Olympics World Games competition. Oceania is the Continent with the least participants ever at the Paralympics, in all editions, followed by Africa and Asia. Participation in winter games from developing countries is very low, whilst the participation of women in winter sport is even lower and declining with time.
In all these competitions women are allowed and have the right to compete, to coach, to manage, etc. More than two-third of the world's women live in developing countries but the sport participation, from these states, is minimal. Women in developing countries are exposed to toughest barriers for sport participation and they face a double discrimination, becuase they are disabled and because they are women. There are statistically less disabled women than men, and they are less prone to take up a sport. A research from 2005, demonstrated that women make up only one-third of athletes with disabilities in international competitions.
Deaflympics Logo Special Olympics Logo Paralympics Logo
In conclusion, paralympics sports are a beautiful reality which can help not only the athletes, but also the countries for a better inclusion at national and international level. This aspect is really important especially for the developing countries which can start their path in the international politics and policies, by including those parts of the population considered different from their ideal, such as women and disabled people. The strenght of these people should be an incredible insipiration for all of us: they teach us not to give up and that everything is possible if you really want it.