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“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

Brown, Christopher, Pappous, Athanasios (2018) “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. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 42 (5). pp. 343-368. ISSN 0193-7235. E-ISSN 1552-7638. (doi:10.1177/0193723518781237) (KAR id:67576)

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https://doi.org/10.1177/0193723518781237

Abstract

This article explores why sports participation of people with disabilities in England has declined since the London 2012 Paralympic Games (LPG). Thirty semi-structured interviews were conducted with staff employed in a variety of sports and disability-specific organisations. 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 shows that austerity and negative media coverage of people with disabilities deterred some people from participating in sport.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1177/0193723518781237
Uncontrolled keywords: London 2012 Paralympic Games, disability sport, sport participation legacy, mega sport events
Subjects: G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation. Leisure > Sports sciences
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Natural Sciences > Sport and Exercise Sciences
Depositing User: Athanasios Pappous
Date Deposited: 09 Jul 2018 09:13 UTC
Last Modified: 09 Dec 2022 01:04 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/67576 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)
Pappous, Athanasios: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2162-0239
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