The Integration of Wheelchair Users in Team Handball

Abstract

Thus far, there are only a few sports activities in which people with and without intellectual disabilities can participate together and on an equal footing. The situation is even more complicated when people who are dependent on a wheelchair want to take part. The sports project Freiwurf Hamburg aims to make team handball playable for everyone. This case study documents how this can be achieved with a modified version of the handball game for runners and wheelchair users. Qualitative and quantitative data are collected and evaluated. The results show that players tend to distinguish between the roles of runner and wheelchair user rather than between disabled and non-disabled.

Keywords

• wheelchair handball
• organized sports
• inclusion
• contact theory
• multi-method design