1. chapter14 Special Populations and Sport

2. Chapter Outline • Americans with Disabilities Act • American Association of People with Disabilities • Sport Participation for Athletes with Physical Disabilities • Sport Participation for Athletes with Mental Disabilities • Sport Participation for Older Athletes • Issues for Special Populations in Sport • Summary

3. Special Populations in the United States • More than 54 million people have at least one mental or physical disability: • Of these, 3 times as many live in poverty. • Of these, only 34% are very satisfied with life compared to 61% of people without disabilities. • There are 80 million Americans older than 50 years. • These populations are discriminated against and excluded.

4. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) • U.S. law signed by President George H. Bush in 1990 • Eliminates discrimination in several areas: • Employment • Government • Public accommodations • Telecommunications • Transportation • Dramatic change in sport opportunities

5. Paralympics • Games for athletes who have amputations, are visually impaired, or have cerebral palsy, spinal cord injuries, MS, dwarfism, and so on • 1960 inaugural games in Rome, Italy • 400 athletes from 23 countries participated (continued)

6. Paralympics (continued) • Today include more than 5,000 athletes, 120 countries, 21 sports • Division of the U.S. Olympic Committee • State Paralympics held annually for athletes aged 12 to 18 years

7. Special Olympics • Athletes with intellectual disabilities, cognitive delays, significant learning disabilities, or vocational problems • Represent 150 countries and more than 1.7 million athletes • First games in Chicago, with 1,000 athletes participating • Goal is to improve fitness, develop skills, and increase confidence and self-image • 2007 Games to be held in Shanghai, China

8. Sport Participation for Older Adults • Associations • AARP • International Council on Active Aging (ICAA) • Performance sports • Masters, senior tours • In 2005, 10,400 athletes competed in the Summer National Senior Games in Pittsburgh • 2006 National Senior Festivals for Golf, Tennis, and Hockey • Example: Phillipa Raschker (44 Masters world records in track and field) (continued)

9. Sport Participation for Older Adults (continued) • Participation sports • Current trends implicate huge increase in physical activity and sports for the over-50 crowd • Increase in lifetime activities with age: swimming, tennis, walking, golf, yoga • Communities offer free or inexpensive programs • Example: Kids and Kubs (Florida softball league whose age limit is 75 years and older!)

10. Issues for Special Populations • Acceptance • Funding and organizational support • Community program opportunities • Training for coaches, administration, and officials (continued)

11. Issues for Special Populations (continued) • Equipment • Inclusion with other populations • Media support

12. Summary • Recent laws protect special populations with regard to opportunities and discrimination. • Athletes with disabilities are now offered national and international competition. • Older adults are able to compete on senior tours. • An increase in community level funding, acceptance, support, and opportunities for these populations is necessary.

13. On Deck… • Questions and comments • Assignments and readings • Next chapter: Religion and Sport • Prevalence • Reciprocal relationship