“The Legacy Element . . . It Just Felt More Woolly”

Exploring the Reasons for the Decline in People With Disabilities’ Sport Participation in England 5 Years After the London 2012 Paralympic Games

Bibliographic Data

ID21067869
AuthorsChristopher Brown (0000-0003-0753-3128, University of Kent, corresponding author), Athanasios Pappous (0000-0002-2162-0239, University of Kent)
Year2018
Volume42
Issue5
Pages343-368
Publication date2018-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Sport and Social Issues (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0193-7235 • E-ISSN: 1552-7638
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0193723518781237
OpenAlexW2807759501
LanguageEN
Citations received14
References cited43

This article explores why sports participation of people with disabilities in England has declined since the London 2012 Paralympic Games (LPG). Thirty semistructured interviews were conducted with staff employed in a variety of sports and disability-specific organizations. Our preliminary findings suggest that the decline is a result of a complex interplay between multiple factors. A competency gap and a lack of relevance between Paralympians and the rest of the community of people with disabilities might have limited the impact of the legacy. In addition, an absence of coordinated leveraging of the LPG, and a decline in the media coverage of disability sport in the aftermath of the LPG, might also have dulled the legacy. Finally, our data show that austerity and negative media coverage of people with disabilities deterred some people from participating in sport

Austerity · Disabled people · Life style · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Sociology · Applied Psychology · Disability Rights and Representation · Inclusion and Disability in Education and Sport · Law · Psychology · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts