Abstract:

Aim of the study:
Previous research identified barriers to participation in the Special Olympics (SO), such as the formal nomination criteria for participating in the competitions and the selection process during the competitions (Bowers et al., 2016). Little research so far has investigated the value of the SO and the perceptions of the role SO has played in their lives from the perspective of the participants.
In order to start working this gap, this qualitative study examined sport participation experiences and motives of five SO athletes who have regularly participated in competitions of the German national games of SO over the past four years.

Methods:
The present study used a qualitative research design. Participants included five male athletes with multiple disabilities between 15 and 19 years of age from a special school based in the metropolitan area of Frankfurt / Main (Germany). This group participated several times from 2012 to 2016 in the German national games in the same sport competition (Judo). The same group of athletes was interviewed in 2016 after their final participation in the games. First, a rating scale was used so that participants could assign a value to selected key motives of participating in the SO (Shapiro, 2003). Second, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the intention of developing understandings of the athletes’ experiences and participation motives. Data were analysed through content analysis.

Results and Discussion:
The results from participant data indicate that the participation in the SO over a four-year period seems to have a positive impact on the athletes’ self-concept. Both, intrinsic factors (improvement of individual skills) and extrinsic motivational factors (to win medals) seem to play an important role from the athletes’ perspective in participating in the SO. Moreover, most athletes expressed significant social reasons to participate in SO competitions. These findings are supported by previous research on athletes with intellectual disabilities (ID) and their motives for participating in SO, that identified social relations and emotional aspects as important motives for athletes to continue their participation in sport (Everett et al., 2019; Shapiro, 2003). Results of this study support the need for evolving training practices in collaboration with sport clubs, as athletes were asking for more frequent training sessions.

Keywords:

Special Olympics, inclusion, ability studies, sports, special educational needs.