Planeamiento Estratégico de Recursos Humanos

The substantial social cost, that being ableization as a by-product of integration of high- performance sport was fore fronted throughout the research. Ableization, which results in limited opportunities to complete and exclusion from competition, was experienced primarily by athletes with greater physical impairment and by athletes with intellectual impairments (II). In an interview with Neil, a retired Paralympic athlete and now coach, Neil spoke passionately of the ableization of para sport and the ‘wicked’ social cost of integration. Neil referenced the growing number of chairs in the Dining Hall (DH) at these Games, as evidence of limited competition opportunities for athletes with greater impairment:

There are too many chairs in the dining hall. It is wicked. When I was an athlete, there were no chairs at all in the cafeteria. Today athletes

who use a wheelchair must throw chairs away to sit at the table. Paralympic classification is eliminating classes for more impaired athletes, like me to compete. Now, there is less and less opportunity to

participate in Paralympics and now here. Dr. Ludwig Guttmann started Stoke Mandeville Games for injured soldiers, the lowest of the low, to compete together, to become stronger. This should be about the

athlete, all the athletes.

Onsite observations of the first author confirmed the comments made by Neil. In the Dining Hall (DH) standard chairs were situated around each table without available space for athletes who use a manual wheelchair or motorized chair.

An excerpt from an interview with Adam, a successful, young Paralympic athlete, confirmed that some high-performance para sport athletes are supportive or possibly complacent regarding exclusionary sporting practices towards athletes with greater impairment. Adam, a veteran of multiple Commonwealth and Paralympic Games accepted the exclusion of athletes with greater impairment and athletes with II at these Games as necessary for the evolution of high-performance para sport. Adam’s remarks reinforced ableization as normal in the context of elite sport:

This is not a freak show like the Paralympic Games. It is too bad that there are so few classifications at these Games. It is too bad that people

don’t want to watch all those (para sport) events that are not high- performance sport. Sad but that’s the way it goes. Athletes with intellectual impairment (II), it’s too bad they’re included in Paralympic

sport. They have their own Games...they compete at the Special Olympics.

During his interview, Adam also made the following comment: “I love my sport. Though I’m not really disabled, really.” Clearly Adam does not identify as disabled, despite sustained involvement and success in high-performance para sport. Adam’s remarks represent an ableization of the self, perhaps reflecting his desire to belong to and at this high-performance event. His words provided further evidence of a trend towards

ableization of para sport in general, and at these Games. As a successful male para sport athlete, Adam’s denial of his identity as ‘disabled’ reduces the already small delegation

of para sport athletes, impacting this group’s agency and ability to disrupt the dominant culture of able-bodied sport.

Observations and field notes confirmed the absence of athletes with II and the near absence of athletes with impairments that had higher support needs. The excerpt below taken from the field notes reflects the first author’s experience of the world of high- performance sport.

I get it. The challenges associated with management and implementation of any large sporting event are many and complex. Resources, human, capital and otherwise are not limitless. There are only so many days available for competition. Hosting a large sporting

event is an on-going balancing act regarding resources, money and time.

An interview with Nora provided additional insight around the exclusion of athletes with greater impairment. Nora is both a retired Paralympic and Olympic athlete who brought substantial personal high-performance experience to the interview. When questioned about the integration of elite para sport and able-bodied sport, Nora’s response was this:

I am not with the supporters of integration. Integration will leave many para athletes behind and unable to take part. I believe that classification is a powerful tool and is being used to ableize para sport,

excluding some para sport athletes from competition and including others. I am pleased at the changes made since Glasgow [2014 Commonwealth Games], but classification still limits classes and

excludes some athletes.

Classification is an integral part of high-performance para sport, with the intention increasing participation and to level the competition playing field for athletes with diverse impairments. The inclusion of specific classification categories and para sport events varies between sporting events. The outcome of this sport management reality is inclusion of para sport athletes and events that are deemed legitimate for inclusion for

each Games or event, and the exclusion of those who are not. Two athletes from the sport of power lifting echoed Nora’s concerns regarding the exclusionary nature of

classification, its impact on competitive success or failure, and the subsequent social cost to some athletes:

Classification at these Games has set the bar very high. In para powerlifting, categories have been combined and we are competing against athletes with less impairment. This makes competition unfair.

Classification at these Games has made it very hard to win a medal here. If we do not come home with a medal, we are nothing. We will not

get money or support to compete.