Disabled sports in Australia

Disability sports in Australia is the component of sports in Australia encompasses disabled sports programs for Australians with a disability, including physical and intellectual disabilities, allowing for the full participation in society. As with abled-body sports, these programs include child development, rehabilitation, recreation and competition at all levels.

Australian participation in disability sports is lower than in able bodied sports.[1]

The government created a programme called "Aussie Able" to encourage people with disabilities to become involved in sport.[2]

Public funding for disability sport focuses on the Paralympics and the Australian Paralympic Committee who have a 'Talent Search' program to provide support for potential candidates seeking to enter elite disability sports.[1]

Australia's participation at the Paralympics has included sending delegations to the Summer Paralympics since the first games in 1960, and to the Winter Paralympics since 1980.

Timeline

• 1895: First interstate Deaf cricket match between South Australia and Victoria[3]
• 1954: Deaf Sports Australia was established
• 1960: Australia at the 1960 Summer Paralympics win three gold medals
• 1976: Special Olympics Australia was established to provide opportunities to intellectually disabled Australians to participate in sport as part of the global Special Olympics movement.
• 1977: 2nd FESPIC Games held in Merrylands, Sydney
• 1986: Sport Inclusion Australia was established to assist sporting organisations and clubs with strategies that focus on ability and are based on social inclusion principles to include people with intellectual disability into the mainstream community, using sport as the medium.[4]
• 1988: National Wheelchair Basketball League was established
• 2000: 2000 Summer Paralympics, Sydney
• 2003: Australian Athletes with a Disability (AAWD) established at the request of the Australian Sports Commission[5]
• 2009 Crawford Report, titled The Future of Australian Sport
• 2012: National Disability Insurance Scheme pilot
• 2013: United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Committee review of Australia’s performance[6]

References

1. "Beyond the Paralympics: where to for disability sport in Australia?". theconversation.com. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
2. "Persons with Disability and Sport". ausport.gov.au. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
3. "History". deafsports.org.au. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
4. "Persons with Disability and Sport". Clearinghouse for Sport and Physical Activity. 7 March 2019.
5. "Australian Athletes with a Disability - History". sports.org.au. Archived from the original on 16 December 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
6. "Sport". dircsa.org.au. Archived from the original on 4 January 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2015.