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This study compared balance and peak oxygen consumption (peak VO₂) among hearing, congenital nonhearing, and acquired nonhearing female intercollegiate athletes. Twenty-seven subjects completed two measures of peak VO₂ and two measures of balance (static and dynamic). Two pieces of exercise equipment requiring different levels of balance were used: the bicycle ergometer (minimal balance) and the bench-step (maximal balance). Significant differences were found for dynamic balance and for peak VO₂ for all subject groups. The significant difference remained among the groups for peak VO₂ using the bicycle ergometer when dynamic balance was used as a covariate. There was no significant difference for peak VO₂ dependent on type of test when dynamic balance was controlled. The results indicated that dynamic balance affected peak VO₂ performance on the bench-step, but not on the bicycle ergometer. These findings suggest that if dynamic balance is required for an assessment of peak VO₂, balance should be tested in nonhearing populations.

The twofold purpose of this study was (a) to determine the perspectives held by athletes with mental retardation relative to competitiveness, winning, and setting goals in competitive team sports situations and (b) to explore differences between male and female athletes with mental retardation and their counterparts without disabilities regarding their perceptions of competitiveness, winning, and setting goals in team sports environments. Of the 402 subjects who completed the Sport Orientation Questionnaire-Form B (Gill & Deeter, 1988), 288 were male and female athletes with mental retardation who participated in team sports at the 1991 International Special Olympic Games. They were compared with 114 university team sports athletes without disabilities. Analyses of variance revealed that, regardless of disability status, young men viewed themselves to be more competitive than their female counterparts. The findings also indicated that male athletes with mental retardation were more competitive than other athletes and that male athletes without disabilities perceived winning to be more important than did athletes with mental retardation.

This study analyzed newspaper coverage of the 2012 London Paralympic Games by 8 Malaysian newspapers. Articles and photographs from 4 English-language and 4 Malay-language newspapers were examined from August 28 (1 day before the Games) to September 10, 2012 (1 day after the Games closing). Tables, graphs, letters, fact boxes, and lists of events were excluded from analysis. A total of 132 articles and 131 photographs were analyzed. Content analysis of the newspaper articles revealed that most (62.8%) of the articles contained positive reference to the athletes with a disability. There were equal numbers (39.1%) of action and static shots of athletes. More articles and photographs of Malaysian (58%) than non-Malaysian (42%) athletes with a disability were identified. Only 14.9% of the articles and photographs were related to female athletes with a disability.

The inclusion of able-bodied athletes within disability sport, a phenomenon known as reverse integration, has sparked significant debate within adapted physical activity. Although researchers and practitioners have taken up positions for or against reverse integration, there is a lack of supporting research on the experiences of athletes who already play in such settings. In this study, we explore how competitive female athletes who have a disability experience reverse integration in Canadian wheelchair basketball. Athletic identity was used as the initial conceptual framework to guide semistructured interviews with nine participants. The results suggest that participation in this context contributed to positive athletic identities. Interviews also pointed to the unexpected theme of “what’s the difference?” that this sporting context provided a space for the questioning and creative negotiation of the categories of disability and able-bodiedness. Methodologically, this paper also explores the possibilities and challenges of inter- worldview and insider-outsider research collaboration.

This study analyzed British newspaper coverage of the 2000 Sydney Paralympics. Sixty-two articles from 4 British newspapers were examined for the terminology used to describe athletes’ disabilities and the language and images used to portray athletes’ performances. The results suggest a tendency to convey the achievements of Paralympic athletes using medicalized descriptions of disability and to compare them to athletes without disabilities. Photographic coverage tended to hide the athletes’ impairments, and female athletes were less likely to be photographed in active poses. Although coverage emphasized the sporting achievement of athletes with disabilities by comparing them to Olympic athletes and by deemphasizing disability, it may have inadvertently reinforced stereotypical perceptions of disability and reaffirmed a preoccupation with able-bodiedness.

This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the National Wheelchair Athletic Association (NWAA) classification system in swimming events. The NWAA records of freestyle, butterfly, and backstroke in nine classifications of both male and female athletes were used (N=1,256). Each athlete’s speed was calculated from the reported time and distance. There was a significant difference in classification for all events except the paraplegic 50- and 100-m backstroke events. Post hoc data analyses within classification for the 50- and 100-m freestyle events indicated significant differences among all paraplegic classifications. Post hoc data analyses within classifications for the 50-m butterfly event indicated significant differences among all paraplegic classes except Class V and Class VI athletes. Tetraplegic within classification post hoc data analyses indicated significant differences between 1A and both Classes 1B and 1C. Gender differences were statistically indicated for all events. The logic of the medical classification system of the NWAA cannot be totally supported by these data. However, the results do not offer clear direction for any combination of classes.