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Kent Academic Repository Full text document (pdf) Citation for published version Brown, Christopher Stephen (2019) "I still think we've got mountains to climb": Evaluating the grassroots sport participation legacy of the London 2012 Paralympic Games for disabled people in England. Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) thesis, University of Kent,. DOI Link to record in KAR https://kar.kent.ac.uk/72201/ Document Version UNSPECIFIED Copyright & reuse Content in the Kent Academic Repository is made available for research purposes. Unless otherwise stated all content is protected by copyright and in the absence of an open licence (eg Creative Commons), permissions for further reuse of content should be sought from the publisher, author or other copyright holder. Versions of research The version in the Kent Academic Repository may differ from the final published version. Users are advised to check http://kar.kent.ac.uk for the status of the paper. Users should always cite the published version of record. Enquiries For any further enquiries regarding the licence status of this document, please contact: [email protected] If you believe this document infringes copyright then please contact the KAR admin team with the take-down information provided at http://kar.kent.ac.uk/contact.html I E grassroots sport participation legacy of the London 2012 Paralympic Games for disabled people in England This research is the first to comprehensively evaluate and critically appraise the effectiveness of the London 2012 Paralympic Games (LPG) on the grassroots sports participation of disabled people in England. The findings enable future organisers of the Paralympic Games to understand the In-depth interviews with senior managers from 30 sport and non-sport organisations revealed the LPG had a short-term impact on sport participation. Most sports organisations and VSCs failed to leverage the LPG and thus failed to capitalise on the demand generated by the LPG. The main benefit of the LPG was the perceived catalytic impact on the development of the disability sport system. 538 voluntary sport clubs (VSCs) completed an online questionnaire about the impact of the LPG on disabled people at VSCs from sports featured at the LPG. The LPG had minimal impact on mainstream VSCs, but was more successful for VSCs from disability- specific sports. In general, VSCs were constrained by their knowledge of disability and provision of sport for disabled people, as well as resources required for leveraging the LPG. Data from an online questionnaire of 81 non-active disabled people revealed systemic and social constraints to be more prohibitive to sports participation than constraints linked to the LPG. Systemic and social constraints included provision of sport participation, economic factors, organisations offering unsuitable sport participation opportunities, and access to sport participation opportunities. This research found the Paralympic Games to be an I of viewing the Paralympic Games as a catalyst for sport participation, stakeholders should P G participation. The Paralympic Games should complement, rather than replace, efforts to . Christopher Stephen Brown School of Sport and Exercise Sciences Faculty of Sciences University of Kent January 2019 Word Count: 117,274 The thesis is submitted for the Degree of PhD in Sport & Exercise Science and Sports Therapy at the University of Kent No part of this thesis has been submitted in support of an application for any degree or other qualification of the University of Kent, or any other University or Institution of learning Acknowledgements The completion of this thesis would not have been possible without the support of others. I am sincerely grateful for all of the advice, support, and expertise provided by my supervisor, Dr Sakis Pappous. Sakis has been incredibly supportive throughout my PhD journey and has enabled me I “ erson in a social and professional capacity. I would also like to offer my gratitude to the University of Kent and the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences who have enabled me to embark on this project. The financial support of the university made it possible for this research to occur. I would also like to thank Dr Niki Koutrou for the support and guidance she provided during my time as Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Kent. The fellow PhD students within the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences provided much needed light relief during stressful moments of the PhD process, as well as engaging academic discussions. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to all participants involved in this research for their contribution. Over 700 participants voluntarily took part in either interviews or questionnaires during the course of this project. Without their commitment to offer their insight this research would not have been possible. Finally, the support and love of my family and friends have been immeasurable and vital to the completion of this thesis. They have all been very understanding and caring throughout and I am incredibly grateful for the unyielding support. My parents and Kirsty, my sister, and her husband, Steve, have been incredibly supportive and their love and care has been vital throughout this process. They always were on hand to offer support, encourage me, and make me laugh and smile. I am forever grateful for their constant love and support. My beautiful fiancée, Rachael, has been incredible. Rachael has been a constant source of love and support W ‘ I able to complete this thesis. Rachy, thank you so much for your unconditional love and support. i Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I TABLE OF CONTENTS II APPENDICES IX ILLUSTRATIONS X ABBREVIATIONS XIII ABSTRACT XV CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Background 1 1.2 The Paralympic Games and the role of the International Paralympic Committee 1 1.3 What is meant by disability? 3 1.4 Grassroots sport participation for disabled people before the LPG 5 1.4.1 The sport participation of people with learning difficulties 6 1.4.2 The sport participation of Deaf people 7 1.4.3 The sport participation of people with physical impairments 7 1.4.4 The sport participation of visually impaired people 8 1.4.5 The effectiveness of sport policy in England 9 1.4.6 The structure of sport participation for disabled people before the LPG 11 1.5 Research questions 13 1.6 Summary of chapters 14 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 16 2.1 Introduction 16 2.2 What is a mega sport event? 16 2.3 Defining legacy? 17 2.3.1 History and evolution of the legacy concept 18 2.3.2 Features of legacy 19 2.4 Leveraging legacies 20 2.5. Evaluation of MSE legacies 23 2.5.1 Frameworks for evaluating legacy 25 2.6 Why do governments host MSEs? 26 2.7 Theories underpinning influence of MSEs on grassroots sport participation 28 2.8 The evidence for sport participation following the hosting of a MSE 30 2.9. Policy analysis theories 33 2.9.1 Top-down versus bottom-up approaches 34 2.9.2 Incrementalism 36 2.9.3 Policy evaluation 37 2.10 What is known about Paralympic legacy? 38 2.11 Tangible legacies from previous Paralympic Games 39 2.11.1 Infrastructural legacies 39 2.11.2 Investment in Paralympic sport 39 2.12 Intangible legacies from previous Paralympic Games 40 2.12.1 Paralympic Games and attitudes towards disabled people 40 ii 2.12.2 Grassroots sport participation legacies from previous Paralympic Games 41 2.13 Media coverage of Elite Athletes with disabilities (EAWD) from previous Paralympic Games 42 2.14 The Paralympic Games viewed as an elite sporting competition 43 2.15 The Paralympic Games: empowering or disempowering? 44 2.16 Critical assessment of the London 2012 Paralympic Games legacy themes 44 2.17 What has been learned about Paralympic legacy? 45 2.18 Summary of chapter 45 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 46 3.1 Introduction 46 3.1 Research strategy 46 3.2 Ontological position 47 3.3 Epistemological position 47 3.4 Research paradigms 47 3.5 Realist evaluation method 48 3.5.1 What is the realist evaluation framework? 49 3.5.2 How does the realist evaluation work in practice? 49 3.5.3 How does one conduct a realist evaluation investigation? 53 3.5.4 Criticisms of the realist evaluation method 55 3.6 Research design 56 3.6.1 Types of data used 56 3.6.2 Qualitative data 57 3.6.2.1 Qualitative data analysis 59 3.6.3 Quantitative data 60 3.6.3.2 Quantitative data analysis 61 3.6.4 Mixed methods 62 3.6.5 Validity and reliability 63 3.7 Procedures 64 3.7.1 Study 1: Views of senior managers from sport and non-sport organisations regarding the grassroots sport participation legacy of the London 2012 Paralympic Games: What happened and why? 64 3.7.2 Study 2: The bottom-up perspective of the grassroots sport participation legacy of the London 2012 Paralympic Games: Views of voluntary sports clubs 66 3.7.3 Study 3: The bottom-up perspective of the grassroots sport participation legacy of the London 2012 Paralympic Games: Views of non-active or less active disabled people 70 3.8 Ethical considerations 73 3.9 Limitations involved with the research design 75 3.10 Chapter summary 76 CHAPTER 4: NOT A GAME-CHANGER FOR SPORT PARTICIPATION? THE VIEWS OF SENIOR MANAGERS FROM SPORT AND NON-SPORT ORGANISATIONS REGARDING THE GRASSROOTS SPORT PARTICIPATION LEGACY OF THE LONDON 2012 PARALYMPIC GAMES: WHAT HAPPENED AND WHY? 77 4.1 Introduction 77 4.2 CMOCs guiding the study 77 iii 4.3. RQ1: What impact did the London 2012 Paralympic Games have on the grassroots sport participation of disabled people in England? 79 A AP“ E 79 4.3.2 Insights from data provided by NGBs 84 D NGB 84 4.3.2.2 Disabled participant data from NGB-run programmes, 2009/10 to 2015/16 87 4.3.3 Interrogating the demonstration effect: The role of the LPG in the participation of disabled people in medal-winning and non-medal winning sports 88 4.3.3.1 Medal-winning sports 89 4.3.3.1.1 Equestrian 89 4.3.3.1.2 Table Tennis 91 4.3.3.1.3 Boccia 93 4.3.3.1.4 Tennis 95 4.3.3.2 Non-medal winning sports 97 4.3.3.2.1 Goalball 97 4.3.3.2.2.