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DS Blog #10

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The Special Olympics provide all year round sports training and athletic events in various sports for individuals of all ages with intellectual disabilities. There has been ongoing controversy for years regarding whether or not individuals with intellectual disabilities should be integrated into playing in the Paralympic games or if they should just remain a part of the Special Olympics. This controversy is unfortunately due to multiple scandals of athletes faking intellectual disabilities in order to participate in the Paralympic games.  There have been ongoing requests by athletes with intellectual disabilities wanting to qualify to be able to participate in the Paralympic Games rather than just the Special Olympics. Even though the Special Olympics give athletes the opportunity to compete in the sport of their choice, it is not to the same magnitude of the Paralympic Games. The Special Olympics are ongoing year round, while the Paralympics are more exclusive as they run parall...
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DS Blog #9

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Participating in a sport has so many amazing and potentially life changing benefits. Sports give people the opportunity to engage in physical activity which has an extremely positive long term impact on your physical and mental health. According to the CDC , engaging in regular physical activity like participation in sports can improve cognition skills, improve sleep,  and reduce the risk of anxiety and depression. Physical activity also helps people manage their weight which can reduce their risk to other weight related health issues. Although physical activity in general has lifelong positive impacts, participating in organized sport provides individuals with structure and community in a way that independent activity does not. According to the National Institute of Health , organized sports participation has direct links to improved psychological wellbeing, self esteem, emotional stability, stress resilience, and social integration. Sports also force participants to use cognitive...
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DS Blog 8

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The medical model of disability has been widely used throughout society and history and unfortunately this is not the representation of disability that is preferred throughout the community as it pushes a negative message. The American Psychological Association describes the medical model of disability as disability being perceived as an impairment that needs to be fixed or cured. It pushes the message that the goal when you become disabled is to go back to being “normal” and to strive to be able bodied as much as possible. It rejects the idea that disability is a part of life and human existence and it refuses to normalize it.  The biopsychosocial model of disability is the preferred model to use when discussing the concept of disability. According to the National Library of Medicine, the biopsychosocial model includes an individual's health, disability, and environment's influence on their abilities. The biological aspect of the biopsychosocial model includes assessing both...
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DS Blog #7

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  I do believe that athletes with any type of disability should be allowed to be classified for the sport of their choice, and not every sport. I agree with the idea that classification is sport-specific because different types of disabilities affect athletes ability to perform in sports to different extents. I agree with the idea of sport specific eligibility for this reason. Just because an athlete is eligible for one sport does not mean they are eligible for all sports. This would cause extreme unfairness due to the fact that each sport requires a different level of ability, and including all sports under one classification would lead to unfair advantages on the competitive level.  On the other hand, I do think there should be a shift to make Paralympic sports more inclusive   and to allow athletes with any type of disability. This would be quite difficult, because there would need to be updates in classification and there would need to be more sporting events to inc...
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BM Blog 6

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  I do believe that the ban of Russia and Belarus from the last few Paralympic Games, including the current ones in Milano Cortina is fair and in alignment with the IPC values. The invasion of Ukraine was the major factor leading to this decision back in 2022 . The IPC and IOC made this decision because Russia's Olympic Committee violated the Olympic Charter by invading Ukraine and attempting to occupy Ukraine's sports organizations and athletes in the process. I completely agree with this decision that the IPC made because Russia and Belarus broke the rules and regulations that the committees have in place to protect athletes and other competing countries.                                                                           Nikita Filippov, (Russia), AIN...
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BM DS Blog 5

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             I think that the Paralympic media coverage should be similar to the Olympic media coverage because the Paralympics are meant to run “ parallel ” to the Olympic games. This means that the Paralympics are just as equally important and valuable as the Olympic games are. Dr. Rob Shaw , Paralympic wheelchair tennis player, discussed in an interview that Paralympic athletes receive significantly less media coverage than Olympic athletes do. He mentions that from the opening and closing ceremonies of the Paralympic games, there are less in depth interviews of athletes and overall exposure, which decreases visibility for athletes and makes it hard to gain supporters, which so many athletes rely on. Dr. Shaw suggests that to help bridge this gap, the media should share more stories of Paralympians, including their backgrounds and athletic journeys, just the same as they do for Olympians.              ...
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DS Blog #4

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       I certainly do believe that adaptive technology should be allowed in sports since it allows athletes with disabilities to compete in a way that is accessible to them. Without adaptive technology, athletes with disabilities are unable to exercise safely, let alone compete in the sport of their choice. This is extremely harmful since exercise is very beneficial to all people, and can be especially beneficial when it comes to rehabilitation, mental health, or overall wellbeing. Adaptive technology gives all people the opportunity to redeem these benefits in ways that serve their needs.  On the other hand, adaptive technology is not always accessible. According to Shuan Butcher , the communications manager at Move United , adaptive sports equipment is on average 15 times more expensive than non adaptive equipment. This is due to the fact that adaptive equipment must almost always be entirely custom to each athlete, which raises costs and inaccessibility. Th...
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