Scope is one of the largest and most well-known disability charities in the UK. They recently carried out a survey about attitudes to the Olympic and Paralympic Games, ahead of London 2012. They surveyed disabled people and parents of disabled children.
The results are interesting, and sometimes surprising.
Scrap The Paralympics!
Almost two-thirds of people surveyed said they wanted to see the Paralympics scrapped and combined with the Olympics.
Personally, I do not agree with this view. I have said for several years that I would like to see the Paralympics and the Olympics taking place at the same time. However, I believe that they do need to be separate events.
As I have previously written on Suite 101, it would be unfair to expect every disabled athlete to follow in the prints of Oscar Pistorius' carbon blades and compete with non-disabled athletes. Disabled people need to play sports in an environment where all their needs are met. If they were to compete in the same competition as non-disabled Olympians, the Olympians would have an obvious and significant unfair advantage.
More than half the people surveyed said merging the two events would help disabled athletes to be taken more seriously. I am surprised by this finding and, again, I do not agree with this view. How would disabled athletes be taken more seriously if they were competing against people with such a significant advantage over them? In fact, I think merging the events would mean that disabled athletes would be taken less seriously than they are taken now.
A Patronising Waste Of Money
More surprising findings of the survey: Twenty per cent of people surveyed believe the Games make disabled people appear second class, while 22% believe the event is patronising towards them. And 42% of disabled people did not believe the Paralympics had a positive impact on public perceptions of disability.
Disabled people were also more likely to see the Games as a waste of money, with 9% taking that view as opposed to 5% of the whole population.
High Profile Reactions To The Findings
Reacting to the findings, Chair of Scope Alice Maynard told the Guardian: "Changing attitudes is about visibility and increased familiarity in everyday life.
"But if the only disabled people that get any profile out of the Games are Paralympians – and their feats of sporting success – then it is unlikely that the Games will do much to change people's perceptions of ordinary disabled people. The challenge for London 2012 is to make sure disabled people are involved, not just on track and field, but throughout the Games and the celebrations before and afterwards."
Tim Hollingsworth, chief executive officer of the British Paralympic Association, said: "No one disputes that the Paralympic Games has a crucial role to play in changing perceptions of disability.
"However, for Scope to suggest that it would be appropriate to scrap the competition now and combine it with the Olympics fails to appreciate its unique purpose, scale and power.
"The Paralympics is already the second largest sporting event in the world, and London will see it take another huge leap forward in terms of awareness and understanding.
"The brilliant success of ticket sales and the increase in media coverage indicates to me that, contrary to the survey's sample, there is a big public appetite for Paralympic sport."
Sarah Ismail - Sarah Ismail is a physically disabled journalist and blogger. She edits her personal blog, Same Difference, which covers all kinds of ...
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