Bachelor thesis

Faculty of Sport studies

BACHELOR THESIS

Brno 2013 Ana Luisa Gil Beras
MASARYK UNIVERSITY

Faculty of Sport studies

Department of Social Sciences in Sport

And

Thesis Supervisor: Prepared by:

Doc. PaedDr. Jitka Kopřivová, CSc.. Ana Luisa Gil Beras

Brno, 2013

I declare that this bachelor thesis developed independently and based on literature and sources listed in the sources used.

In Brno 26. 4. 2013 Signature

Acknowledgements

I would like to express my thanks to my supervisor doc. PaedDr. Jitka Kopřivová, CSc. and to all the staff members of the Sport Faculty for their kind help and valuable advice that they provided me during my studies and my work on the bachelor thesis.

1.1 The Olympic Games role in history…...……………………………………………... 08

1.2 The Paralympics Games a historical event…………………………………………… 10

2. PARALYMPIC GAMES AND DISABILITY……………………………..... 11

2.1 What is a Disability?..................................................................................................... 11

2.2 Paralympic disability categories……………………………………………………… 12

2.2.1 Sports classes………...…………………………………………………….……….. 19

2.2.1.1 Summer sports….……………………………………………………..………….. 20

2.2.1.2 Winter sports…………….…………………………………………..…………… 33

3.1 International Paralympics committee.............................................................................35

3.1.1 The Athletes ………….............................................................................................. 35

3.1.2 Paralympic Games…………….................................................................................. 37

3.1.3 International Paralympic Committee Structure…...................................................... 40

3.1.4 Paralympism and Youth …........................................................................................ 45

3.1.5 International Paralympic Committee Digital Revolution........................................... 47

3.2 International Paralympic Committee Research segments …………............................ 48

3.3 International Paralympic Committee Finance ………………...……………............... 49

4. PROBLEMATIC IN THE MODERN PARALYMPICS GAMES AND

PERSPECTIVES FOR THE PARALYMPICS GAMES IN THE ERA OF

GLOBALIZATION……………………………………………...…………… 55

CONCLUTION……………………………………………………...……………. 58

SUMMARY……………………………………………...………………………... 59

LITERATURE…………………………………………...……………………….. 60

APPENDIX
INTRODUCTION

Olympism is a way of life, promoting and uniting in one piece the potentials of the body, determination and mind. Joining together the sport with culture and education, Olympism pursues to create philosophy of life based on the delight of effort, the educational importance of good example and reverence for universal fundamental ethical principles.

The idea of Olympism can be perceived as similar to the development of social study which involves a dialogue between concepts and evidence. As Ragin (1994, p. 55) noted: “Ideas help social researchers use evidence to extend, revise, and test ideas. The end result of this dialogue is a representation of social life-evidence that has been shaped and reshaped by ideas, presented along with the thinking that guided the construction of representation”

The objective of Olympism is to place sport at the disposition of the pleasant growth of man, with an outlook to encouraging a nonviolent society concerned with the protection of human self-esteem.

As a former professional sportsman I always admired the sportsmen with a disability that are fighting day by day with a big smile in their faces and with a focus aim of progress in their life’s condition. For me is a big example to follow such wonderful people that are living in the maximum each day as a unique and unforgettable day. I think is important for society to get to know these valuable sportsmen and to learn how to admire and respect them as human beings with no difference or restrictions.

The aim of my work is to present some of the problems presented in the sports for an athlete with a disability and also during the organization of the Games. Also where are the Games heading in this time of changes and its perspective.

In the followed text is divided into four parts. The first chapter will cover the history since the beginning of the Olympics till the time where those who also have excellence in sports but also have an impairment got the chance to show it in a special part of the Olympics that is known as the Paralympic Games. In the next part of the chapter will be presented the history of the Paralympics how it all starts and where it’s standing right now. In the second chapter will be a short explanation about disability, what types of disability are and which of those types are included in the Paralympic category; also what are the sports classes according to the type of disability presented by the elite sportsmen. The third chapter is all about the International Paralympic Committee, the structure and all what is connected to them. The fourth chapter will be presented the actual problems that exist in the Paralympic Movement and in the Games; also the perspective that offer the movement, games and the committee for this elite group of sportsmen in this era of globalization. I’ll try to present what are the developments made to improve the Games and the idea of the Paralympic Movement.

1. HISTORY OF PARALYMPICS GAMES

“Olympism is a doctrine of the fraternity between the body and the soul.” (Coubertin, 1936).

"Olympism is not a system it is a state of mind - It can permeate a wide variety of modes of expression and no single race or era can claim to have the monopoly of it." (Coubertin, 1936).

1.1 The Olympic Games role in history.

The Olympic ideal and the Olympic Games stand as symbols of global cooperation, international understanding and the bonding of individuals through the medium of sports (Bloomsbury, 2011).

The first written mention of the name “Olympic” dates back to 776 BC. The Games were dedicated to the Olympian gods. Sports competitions were organized in Olympia, Greece and were named after their locations, hence their name of “Olympic” Games. Since it began, more than two thousand years ago, the Olympic Games have been the competition grounds for the world’s greatest athletes. From its beginning, as a competition for the citizens of ancient Greece and other surrounding countries, the Olympics have developed into a worldwide, commercially oriented event. These Games took place every four years in Greece. The four-year period acquired the name “Olympiad” and was used a date system and time was counted in Olympiads rather than years. The oldest myth which concerns the beginning of the Olympic Games is that of Idaios, Daktylos, and Herakles. According to other myths, Zeus, the father of humanity, fought and defeated Cronus in a struggle for the throne of the gods. Finally, the well-known demigod Herakles is mentioned. He staged games in Olympia in honor of Zeus (Olympics, 1999).

The earliest Olympic Games were originally a one-day event up until the 684 BC, when they were prolonged to three days. In the 5th century B.C., the Games were prolonged once more to cover five days. The ancient Games involved Running, Long jump, Shot put, Javelin, Boxing, Pankration¹, Equestrian events, Pentathlon and Wrestling. According to Segrave (1988, pp. 159): “As in ancient times, Olympism is the manifestation of a fundamental dialectic between body and soul, existence and essence, individual and group, and competition and cooperation. By the seeking to assuage conflict and enhance harmony, Olympism places sport in the service of an enlightened humanity”

The Current Olympics as we know it were the idea of a child today known as the "Father of the Modern Olympics"; a man from France named Baron Pierre de Coubertin. The Baron firstly recommended in 1892 the idea of redoing the glorious cultural and sport festivals of the ancient Greece, mainly the Olympic 'Games'. Formally expressed in 1894, that Olympism was not only unique and whole in terms of the possibility of social change anticipated, but very altruistic, enthusiastic and controversial as well. According to Wamsley and Young (Girgonov, 2010, pp. 9): “judge in terms of global participation, world media coverage, the construction and cost of elaborate facilities, billions of dollars of expenditure, environmental and community disruption, crises, scandals and political intrigue of various sorts, massive popular consumption, and the threat of terrorism, the Games may well be the most consistently compelling cultural phenomenon of modern times”

As Coubertin (Coubertin, 1936, p. 34) expressed: “Olympism it’s a social reform or rather it’s the foundation of a new era that I can see coming and which will have no value or force unless it’s firmly based on the principles of a completely new type of education”

The first Olympic Games of modern times were celebrated in 1896.

The aim of the modern Olympic Games is (Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee, 2010):

"To promote to development of those physical and moral qualities which are the basis of Sport"

"To educate young people through Sport in a spirit of better understanding between each other, thereby helping to build a better and more peaceful world"

"To spread the Olympic Principles throughout the world, thereby creating International Goodwill"

1.2 The Paralympics Games a historical event.

During the Second World War old-fashioned methods of rehabilitation were known as inadequate to come across with the medical and psychological necessities of a large numbers of soldiers and citizens with a disability.

Spinal Cord Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in 1944 presented sporting contribution as a method of therapy and as an encouragement for curative treatment and rehabilitation. This work caused the increased distinction of sporting events for persons with spinal cord-related damages and the first Stoke Mandeville Games in 1948. This event directed to the International Stoke Mandeville Games that took place in 1952. Early enough, multi-disability competitions advanced to become the Paralympic Games - the first Paralympic Summer Games were held in Rome in 1960 and the first Paralympic Winter Games in 1976.

The word “Paralympic” is derived from Greek preposition “Para” (“beside” or “alongside”) and the word “Olympic” the Paralympic being the parallel Games to the Olympic (Depauw, Gavron 1995, p.64).

The international sport for the disable in 1982 designed a new organization named the International Coordinating Committee of the World Sports Organizations (ICC). The goals of this new organization were to bring together sport for the disable internationally and negotiate with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on behalf of athletes with a disability. On March 1987 was decided that the organization would be formed by representatives from all nation that ran sport for the disable programs. Latter in 1989bathing in the success of the 1984 Paralympics Games in Seoul, the ICC announced the establishment of the IPC (International Paralympic Committee) in Düsseldorf, Germany. The first aim for the IPC was to streamline the organization of the international sport and to establish close links with the IOC International Olympic Committee (Girgonov, 2010, pp. 195).

The Paralympic Games in 1984 marked the close of a period that had defended the importance involvement of sports in the lives of individuals with a disability. The winter Games that took part the same year held for first time the skiing events for the disabled.

The IPC is now the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement and is responsible for coordinating the organization of the Paralympic Games, while acting as the International Federation for ten IPC sports. Founded on 22 September 1989, the IPC is an international non-profit organization with an extensive membership base, composed of NPCs, IOSDs, IFs, and Regional Organizations. Since 1999, the Management Team has been located at IPC’s HQ in Bonn, Germany. The IPC is a high performing democratic sporting organization that abides by its values and is dedicated to excellence (International Paralympic Committee, 2006).

2. PARALYMPIC GAMES AND DISABILITY

Individuals who didn’t behave according to certain forms for the time, in the appearance and behavior, have continuously experienced different treatment. This treatment changes according to the cruelty from a humane. The follow definitions defined three aspects of disability:

“A disability is a condition or function judged to be significantly impaired relative to the usual standard of an individual or group. The term is used to refer to individual functioning, including physical impairment, sensory impairment, cognitive impairment, intellectual impairment mental illness, and various types of chronic disease. Disability is conceptualized as being a multidimensional experience for the person involved. There may be effects on organs or body parts and there may be effects on a person's participation in areas of life. Correspondingly, three dimensions of disability are recognized in International Classification of Funding, disability and health (ICF): body structure and function (and impairment thereof), activity (and activity restrictions) and participation (and participation restrictions). The classification also recognizes the role of physical and social environmental factors in affecting disability outcomes.” (Disabled-world, 1999 [online]).

Different terminology has been used through many years to define individuals with a disability. Now, most of the terminology use is one in which the impaired person is stated as “Person with a disability” or “Individual with a physical impairment”

In English they are perceived as being an invalid (a not valid person), as being handicapped (implying a homeless with a cap), or as being disabled (person not able).

"Disability" is allocated into three key groups, in which all of them are divided into sub-categories that later make, it easy for the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to divide the Athletes depending to their impairment that can altered and impact the Athlete’s capability to complete their preformat in a competition. Those key groups and its sub-categories are:

1) Physical disability “A physical disability is any impairment which limits the physical function of one or more limbs or fine or gross motor ability. Other physical disabilities include impairments which limit other facets of daily living, such as respiratory disorders and epilepsy” (Goldstein, 1994).

Into physical disability we can include:

a) Circulatory disorders: Diabetic foot infection or gangrene (the most common reason for non-traumatic amputation), Sepsis with peripheral necrosis.

b) Neoplasm: Cancerous bone or soft tissue tumors (e.g. osteosarcoma, osteochondroma, fibrosarcoma, epithelioid sarcoma, Ewing's sarcoma, synovial sarcoma, sacrococcygeal teratoma, liposarcoma), Melanoma.

c) Trauma: Severe limb injuries in which the limb cannot be spared or attempts to spare the limb have failed, Traumatic amputation (an unwanted amputation that occurs at the scene of an accident, where the limb is partially or wholly severed as a direct result of the accident, for example a fingertip that is cut off by a meat grinder). Amputation in utero (Amniotic band).

d) Deformities: Deformities of digits and/or limbs, Extra digits and/or limbs (e.g. polydactyly).

e) Infection: Bone infection (osteomyelitis).

f) Athletic performance: Sometimes professional athletes may choose to have a non-essential digit amputated to relieve chronic pain and impaired performance.

g) Legal punishment: Amputation is used as a legal punishment in a number of countries.

a) Spastic Hypertonia: this is defined as a velocity dependent resistance to passive movement with a clasp-knife type of resistance.

b) Rigidity: this is defined as a heightened resistance to passive movement of a limb that is independent of the velocity of stretch and relatively uniform throughout the range of motion of that limb.

c) Dystonia: this is resistance to passive movement that may be focal (affecting muscles of one limb or joint) or general (affecting the whole body).

a) Cerebellar ataxia: is used to indicate ataxia that is due to dysfunction of the cerebellum.

b) Sensory ataxia is employed to indicate ataxia due to loss of proprioception, the loss of sensitivity to the positions of joint and body parts.

c) Vestibular ataxia is employed to indicate ataxia due to dysfunction of the vestibular system.

a) Involuntary movement of the fingers or upper extremities despite the person trying to remain still.

b) Involuntary movement of the toes or lower extremities despite the person trying to remain still.

c) Inability to hold the body still – swaying of the body. Swaying should not be due to other neurological deficits such as vestibular or proprioceptive impairments and therefore should not be exacerbated by closing of the eyes.

d) Characteristic athetoid posturing.

Limb deficiency is described in terms of upper and lower limb. Types of Limb deficiency:

a) Limb deficiency – Lower limb: Complete unilateral amputation of half the length of the foot.

b) Limb Deficiency – Upper Limb: Unilateral amputation, through or above elbow; bilateral amputation through or above wrist, Unilateral dysmelia in which the length of the affected arm measured from acromion to wrist is equal in length or shorter than the humerus of the unaffected arm.

2) Sensory disability “Sensory disability is impairment of one of the senses. The term is used primarily to refer to vision and hearing impairment, but other senses can be impaired.” (Du Feu & Fergusson, 2013). In this type of impairment is also including:

a) Partially sighted: indicates some type of visual problem, with a need of person to receive special education in some cases.

b) Low vision: generally refers to a severe visual impairment, not necessarily limited to distance vision. Low vision applies to all individuals with sight who are unable to read the newspaper at a normal viewing distance, even with the aid of eyeglasses or contact lenses. They use a combination of vision and other senses to learn, although they may require adaptations in lighting or the size of print, and, sometimes, Braille.

- Myopic - unable to see distant objects clearly, commonly called near-sighted or short-sighted.

- Hyperopic - unable to see close objects clearly, commonly called far-sighted or long-sighted.

c) Legally blind: indicates that a person has less than 20/200 vision in the better eye after best correction (contact lenses or glasses), or a field of vision of less than 20 degrees in the better eye.

d) Totally blind students learn via Braille or other non-visual media.

The sighted guides for athletes with a visual impairment are such a close and essential part of the competition that the athlete with visual impairment and the guide are considered a team, and both athletes are medal candidates.