“Strapping myself into my sports chair. I look around and there are lots of people just like me”: An exploration of pathways and participation in wheelchair basketball

Wheelchair basketball is one of the most popular and widely played disability sports worldwide. It is also viewed as being a fully inclusive sport, allowing players with and without disabilities to participate through reverse integration. Previous research has shown that participation in wheelchair basketball can positively impact players’ physical and mental health. Namely, wheelchair basketball provides players with disabilities with a sense of belonging and can enable them to be more independent in their daily life. While participation rates in wheelchair basketball are high, overall sports participation among individuals with disabilities remains significantly lower compared to those without a disability. This highlights the need to further explore participation in wheelchair basketball, and to suggest areas for promoting inclusion and growth in the sport.

This thesis aimed to examine pathways into wheelchair basketball, focusing on the sport’s inclusivity, and to identify the successful and unsuccessful aspects of pathways into the sport. These aims were addressed through various qualitative methods framed by interpretivism, including: (1) an evocative autoethnography of my journey into and through participation in wheelchair basketball (Chapter Four), (2) a meta-synthesis of qualitative literature to identify the barriers, benefits, and facilitators to participation in wheelchair basketball (Chapter Three), (3) an examination of players’ pathways into wheelchair basketball using dialogical narrative analysis (Chapter Five), and (4) employing reflexive thematic analysis, an exploration of players perceptions and experiences of wheelchair basketball as being inclusive (Chapter Six).

Overall, this thesis has made an original and significant contribution to the literature by revealing a deep understanding of the factors that limit and facilitate participation in wheelchair basketball. The research identifies the role of wheelchair basketball in aiding the acceptance of a disability identity. This thesis further suggests that, despite education and healthcare professionals playing key roles in promoting and facilitating participation, they often lack knowledge of the sport, leading to missed opportunities for early engagement. This thesis also offers unique insights into the declassification process for elite Para athletes, demonstrating the negative impact this has on mental wellbeing. Furthermore, this thesis identifies issues with the quality of coaching in UK-based wheelchair basketball, the impact this can have on players, and the need for improved player welfare and mental wellbeing across all levels of participation. Finally, regarding inclusivity, while players view reverse integration as beneficial for facilitating growth and promoting inclusion, they also identify the need for greater promotion of diversity across the playing cohort and coaching workforce.

Based on these findings, several practical recommendations are proposed for National Governing Bodies (NGBs), as well as education and healthcare professionals. Such recommendations centre around increasing promotion and awareness of wheelchair basketball. Promotion of wheelchair basketball also needs to consider the diverse range of players eligible to participate in the sport, as there is a greater need for representation of different disabilities as well as in terms of gender and ethnicity. In addition, more opportunities for participation should be provided, such as the development of the junior pathway, additional competitions for players without disabilities, and funding athletes participating in the highest level of National League structures. Furthermore, coaching quality could be improved, including the provisions of more frequent coaching development courses, and the implementation of interventions aimed at increasing the number of diverse coaches. Finally, NGBs need to ensure that recommendations and procedures are available to better support players’ welfare and wellbeing at all levels, and that information of how to access this support is given to both coaches and players.