The structural and human resources support for Brazilian Paralympic athletes

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to describe the importance of structural and human resources support for Brazilian Paralympic athletes. It is characterized as descriptive and qualitative approach. Data collection was conducted through semi-structured interviews. Twenty Paralympians, from both Athletics and Swimming modalities, participated of this research, all of them contemplated by grant Bolsa Atleta Pódio from Bolsa Atleta program of Ministry of Sports in Brazil. The results show that Structural Support (n = 20; 100%) and Human Resources Support (n = 19; 95%) are considered fundamental by the interviewed athletes. Actions focused on improving training conditions and the support of human resources are fundamental for the development of Paralympic sport and can guarantee the emergence of new generations of Paralympic athletes in Brazil.

Brazilian Paralympic sport initiation: The road from Rio to Los Angeles

“…CPB often offers technical qualification courses at different levels and different sports, workshops, workshops to prepare physical educators, physiotherapists, doctors, nutritionists, psychologists, massage therapists, nursing technicians and occupational therapists, among other professionals for Paralympic sport. In addition to theoretical participation, these professionals accompany and act in stages of Paralympic competitions for adults and young people in Brazil (Cardoso et al, 2018).…”

“…The complex is geared towards training, competitions and exchanges of athletes and teams dedicated to the development of Paralympic sport; physical preparation and training of new generations of athletes and training of coaches, functional classifiers, referees, managers and other professionals related to the sport. In addition, it should house a research centre in several scientific and technological areas associated with sport for people with disabilities (Cardoso et al, 2018).…”

Personal characteristics supporting Paralympic athletes’ self-realization in sports

“…Kehn and Kroll (2009), emphasizing the request for new training practices for Paralympic athletes, rightly pointed to the real need for psychologists as well as other specialists (physiotherapists, physicians) to be involved in training. Recently, a positive example of such practice was reported from Brazil by Cardoso et al (2018), who discussed training of physical educators, physiotherapists, physicians, nutritionists, psychologists, massage therapists, nursing technicians and occupational therapists to work with Paralympic teams. However, as we noted above, practitioners' effective work must be based on the results of up-to-date scientific research on various aspects of the Paralympic athletes' training and participation in competitions.…”

“…At the same time, some researchers point out the lack of comparative studies to identify all aspects of sports impact on Paralympic athletes' personal development, in particular, their psychological hardiness and psychological well-being (Hanrahan, 2012;Jefferies et al, 2012). They emphasize the need for targeted assistance to Paralympics athletes in motivation managing and development of necessary psychosocial skills (Cardoso et al, 2018;Swanson et al, 2008). They also indicate that namely sport psychologists can help Paralympic athletes develop their abilities to manage stressful competition factors (Martin, 2012).…”

Exploring the relationship between social support, resilience, and subjective well-being in athletes of adapted sport

“…Recent studies have looked at the social support provided by the best friend and its influence on adolescent’s practical physical activity and perceived benefits ( Martin and Smith, 2002 ; Martin, 2006 ; Stearns et al, 2018 ; Kandola et al, 2020 ; Monteiro et al, 2021 ). On the other hand, in sports for people with disabilities context, social support is also considered to be a positive influence ( Swanson et al, 2008 ; Machida et al, 2013 ; Crawford et al, 2015 ; Fiorilli et al, 2016 ; Haslett et al, 2017 ; Powell and Myers, 2017 ; Cardoso et al, 2018 ; Atkinson and Martin, 2020 ; Aitchison et al, 2021 ; Mira et al, 2022 ; Monton et al, 2022 ).…”