Developmental pathways of Para athletes

Examining the sporting backgrounds of elite Canadian wheelchair basketball players

  • Srdjan Lemez Kinesiology and Health Promotion Department, California State Polytechnic University
  • Nick Wattie Faculty of Health Sciences, Ontario Tech University, Oshawa
  • Nima Dehghansai School of Kinesiology and Health Science, York University, Toronto
  • Joseph Baker School of Kinesiology and Health Science, York University, Toronto

Abstract

This study examines developmental history data to identify common pathways for elite Para sport performance and contextualizes these findings using known models of athlete development (e.g., the Developmental Model of Sport Participation, Côté, 1999). Seventy-three Canadian wheelchair basketball players completed a modified version of the Developmental History of Athletes Questionnaire (Hopwood, 2013). Overall, the results emphasized considerable variability in measures related to ‘other’ organized sport participation regardless of disability status and competition level, including the proportion of participants that participated in at least one other sport, the number of other sports participated in, the age first participated in other sports, and the number of years spent participating in other sports. This variability suggests there may be multiple Para athlete development narratives and highlights a need for more evidence-based models that are sufficiently nuanced for this athlete cohort.

Published
06.04.2020
How to Cite
Lemez, S., Wattie, N., Dehghansai, N., & Baker, J. (2020). Developmental pathways of Para athletes: Examining the sporting backgrounds of elite Canadian wheelchair basketball players. Current Issues in Sport Science (CISS), 5, 002. https://doi.org/10.15203/CISS_2020.002
Section
Movement & Exercise Science