Abstract
The purpose of this presentation is to explore the concept of inclusion in specialized sport, a sporting context comprised completely or solely of people with disability. We present the results of an instrumental case study of the sledge hockey experiences of 10 children between the ages of 11 and 16 years of age with disability. The study themes: (a) Coach feedback, (b) Parental ‘support’, (c) Skill and belonging, and (d) (Dis)abilty sport?, emerged in the thematic analysis of interview texts, reflective and field notes, and organizational documents. Through discussion of these themes we demonstrate the contextualized role of others in feelings of inclusion and exclusion in sledge hockey and consider the features of this sport that challenge the often taken for granted assumptions of specialized (disability) sport. To this end we propose a different way of conceptualizing inclusion in the sporting experiences of children with disability.
