European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 3, 18-29 (2010) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2010.002

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MAINSTREAM PARTICIPATION RATES AND ELITE SPORT SUCCESS IN DISABILITY SPORTS

Rinske de Jong1, Bart Vanreusel2, Rita van Driel1
1 NOC*NSF, Arnhem, Netherlands
2 Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

The purpose of this study was to determine relationships between participation rates in mainstream and elite sports for persons with a disability and the  chieved elite sport success. Data on performances of Dutch athletes of 16 of the 2008 summer Paralympic sports in which the Netherlands were active and on mainstream participation of these 16 sports have been obtained by questionnaires and additional interviews. Spearman's correlation or Kendall's tau were used to analyse relationships in all Paralympic sports and in team and individual sports separately, while correcting for gender differences. It can be confirmed that a two-way relationship is partly present in disability sports; on the one hand there is a supply function from mainstream to elite sports, and on the other hand there is an inspirational function from elite to mainstream sports. However, these correlations were different between females and males and between team sports and individual sports. These findings are relevant for policy making towards an increase in participation rates in disability sports at a mainstream level and towards improving Paralympic success.

Keywords: Participation rates, mainstream sports, elite sport success, disability sports, double pyramid theory, sport policy

Prepublished online: February 5, 2011; Published: March 31, 2010  Show citation

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de Jong, R., Vanreusel, B., & van Driel, R. (2010). RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MAINSTREAM PARTICIPATION RATES AND ELITE SPORT SUCCESS IN DISABILITY SPORTS. European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity, 3(1), 18-29. doi: 10.5507/euj.2010.002
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