Response to help!

Who would benefit from your project? our program specifically is beneficial for people with physical disability the sport of therapeutic horseback riding also can benefit people with mental disabilities however we are not looking at that stream of the sport.
How did you recruit your participants? There isnt really a specific goal for a way to recruit participants, they join the sport just as you would join anything, however to get to the competitive aspect riders with a higher level are asked by their coaches to start into the competitive stream
How did you run it? the competitive program has specific categories athletes are placed into based on what their disability is and from there they are places into grades, this determines what events they will participate in and whom they will participate against. Finally to get to the elite competitions riders need to get a certain score at lower level competitions.
What are the challenges you faced? The sport is expensive, transportation to the ranches as well as competitions can be difficult and the sport doesnt allow everyone with disabilities to compete therefore isnt completely inclusive.

We have got some answers from a coach at a local club, would you like us to send you the answers through email?
yes please!

Help!

Hello!

We are in our final week of putting our presentation together and we were wondering if you could answer the following questions in relation to your project...
Who would benefit from your project?
How did you recruit your participants?
How did you run it?
What are the challenges you faced?

We have got some answers from a coach at a local club, would you like us to send you the answers through email?

Lauren

The Idea of Inclusiveness

An interesting point was brought up to Madison and I this week regarding the topic of inclusiveness. When we started our research on our program we were interested in assessing the degree of inclusiveness in para-equestrian, through its use of the categories. We believed that through the categories the sport of para-equestrian may be negatively further segregating individuals who already feel in society and not being inclusive.

Through an interesting discussion we had this week with a professor in disability studies at our university, we learnt that in order to determine if something is inclusive you must first in fact come up with a definition of inclusiveness.

Like most people Madison and I initially though that in order for something to be inclusive it needs to include everyone in the same program, participating at the same level. But after talking to Dr. Cushings she made us realize that inclusiveness can mean that you are including a group of people that would otherwise be unable to participate in an activity. For example the categories separate individuals based on their level of impairment and this could be seen as a negative, but in contrast one could argue that the categories ensure the competition is safe and fair, making it possible for individuals to participate who otherwise would be unable to.

Our Paragraph

Our UK project;

As a group we are looking into disability sport around Liverpool. We aim to use two local disability clubs to gain an understanding and insight into how the run. We intend to speak to coaches and participants to gain our research in the forthcoming weeks. The topics we are investigating are; the opportunities available for disabled participants, the barriers restricting them in participating and any long term development plans in place at the club. We will be visiting both clubs and using video evidence to present our findings in the form of small interviews.

Greenbank is a charity based in Liverpool and aims to provide quality coaching in a safe environment. This is achieved by offering the following activities;

• Disability sports events and clubs
• Specialist sports coaching within the community including schools
• Links to governing bodies for sport and support for elite athletes by providing training facilities.
• A flexible educational pathway into vocational training, coaching and higher education through courses
• Opening up employment opportunities for disabled people in the sports and leisure industry

After having a lengthy Skype meeting with Simone and Maddison, we were given an insight into their project and what they will be researching. They are interested in disability horse riding and are looking at similar topics as mentioned previously. This will allow us to compare our findings and although we are looking into different sports, it will still enable us to compare the opportunities and facilities across both countries.

inclusiveness

How inclusive do you feel the programs you are looking at are?
Do the programs include everyone?
How does the program go about deciding who gets to participate?

A Brief Summary of Emmanuel and Rose's Research Project

For our topic, Emmanuel and I are looking to cover at least five disability sports currently being carried out in Ghana, both locally and on an international platform. We will focus on the following areas:
Goal ball,
Para-soccer,
Wheel-Chair (tricycle) racing,
Showdown, and
Blind Athletics .
In Ghana today, Sports and Disability is still under-going development, and where it was previously not being given the needed attention, it is now getting a bit of spotlight.
Our approach to these areas will be a very holistic one as we'll focus not only on the developmental effects of these games on participants, but also cover the current challenges being faced in these games, especially with regards to inadequate attention, societal attitudes and limited resources (ie. training facilities, equipment,  incentives and motivation for athletes, etc).
We will also cover the respective organizations that hold the responsibility of organizing and managing these categories of sports, some of which include Right To Dream, Right To Play, and Disability Option Ghana. We'll look at all the events, specifically the tournaments and games, these organizations have planned out for the year, and where possible, include videos and photos.
Our goal for this project is not just to reveal how these games help to develop all participants, but to also discover ways in which Ghana can catch up with worldwide standards with regards to how this category of sports can be better organized to be of greater benefit to current and prospective athletes.

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Overview of Simone and Madison's Research Topic

For our project we chose to look at therapeutic horseback riding. Specifically we are looking at the developmental benefits for athletes with a physical disability at the competitive level. There is a governing body called Ontario Therapeutic Riding Association which is responsible for setting the guidelines and regulations for therapeutic riding in Ontario. Athletes who participate in this program have the opportunity to compete at a provincial level with Parasport Ontario.  Parasport Ontario has a set criterion for athletes with disabilities which separate them into categories based on what physical impairment they have.  We are interesting in analyzing what effects these categories have on the development of athletes in the paraequestiran field.