Parasports

At a competitive level, disability sport classifications are applied to allow people of varying abilities to face similar opposition.

Today, Special Olympics provides training and competition in a variety of sports for persons with intellectual disabilities.

[4] Organized sport for persons with physical disabilities existed as early as 1911, when the "Cripples Olympiad" was held in the U.S.A. One of the successful athletes was Walter William Francis, a Welshman, who won both the running and wrestling championships.

Following the Second World War, in response to the needs of large numbers of injured ex-service members and civilians, sport was introduced as a key part of rehabilitation.

In 1948, while the Olympic Games were being held in London, he organized a sports competition for wheelchair athletes at Stoke Mandeville.

[8] In 1970, Hal O'Leary founded the National Sports Center for the Disabled (NSCD) at Winter Park in Colorado.

Disabled Sports USA has become one of the largest national multi-sport, multi-disability organizations in the United States, serving more than 60,000 wounded warriors, youth and adults annually.

An investigation published on a Swiss website has shown that more and more International Sports Federations list disabled athletes than any other sportsmen or sportswomen.

This annual event held in the summer in Orlando, includes competitions in skateboarding, wakeboarding, rock climbing, mountain biking, surfing, moto-x and kayaking.

Also in 2006, The Federation de Internationale Powerchair Football Association and The United States Power Soccer Association were formed to standardize the rules of play and promote one of the few competitive team sports for motorized wheelchair users — powerchair football (or power soccer).

[14] This group – SPORTS for Exceptional Athletes (S4EA) – serves people with developmental disabilities within the age range of 5 years old through adults.

By combining people with and without disabilities, S4EA hopes that participating athletes will interact and form lasting bonds of friendship through shared sports and recreational activities in S4EA's served communities.

Although the organization's focus is primarily San Diego County, S4EA has grown from this base to satellite programs in Ventura and Temecula, California.

[20] Beginning in the late 1980s and early 1990s, work began within several countries and organizations to include athletes with disabilities in the non-disabled sport system.

However, integration of full medal events has not taken place, and the status of athletes with a disability in the Olympic movement remains controversial.

The principle behind unified sports is simple: training together and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding.

The Walt Disney Company, ESPN and Special Olympics are also working on a two-year global initiative that will leverage the power of sports to promote an environment of social inclusion and acceptance.