As the Olympic excitement shifts to the Paralympics, the hope is that Paris will continue to deliver an amazing competition.
The Olympics are fun but the Paralympics are important. People with disabilities comprise 15% of the world’s population; how society treats them is heavily influenced by how they are portrayed in the media. These games are a significant part of that.
Able-bodied or disabled, the path to a Games is hard, but the lack of parity goes far beyond the physical for para-athletes. It was with this in mind that we decided to create an Adaptive Sports Technology category for The 2025 Sports Technology Awards.
We owe a huge debt to Stef Reid – the celebrated Paralympian, broadcaster, motivational speaker and executive coach – for directing us in how to properly develop this category. Stef recommended the term ‘adaptive sport’ as she felt we should celebrate creativity that eliminate barriers to participate, instead of focusing on elite-level disability.
In the way that science and technology is finding solutions to issues for mainstream athletes, more is needed for their para counterparts. They have myriad specific issues which could be solved – sometimes very easily – with clever tech.
Not least among these is independence and dignity. For example, until Samsung devised the Spanish blind swimming team’s ‘buzzing cap’, telling them when to tumble turn, the preferred method of communication was to tap participants with a stick. Similarly in cricket, a sport outside the Paralympics, blind players had the issue not just of hitting the ball but finding it afterwards. This has been solved magnificently with a sonic ball and tracker.
These are just a few examples of small breakthroughs making a big difference, but much more of this type of innovative tech is needed.
Cost, which is a consideration throughout sports, is even greater for anyone with a disability. For example, while an able-bodied person can go jogging with just a pair of shoes, someone who uses a racing wheelchair is looking at an investment of US$3,750 US$6,250. If you need a running leg, you are looking at US$6,250 to US$32,000.
It is for this reason we will be asking judges to consider impact versus cost when evaluating entries in this new category. Clearly, lower priced adaptive equipment is necessary not just for the elite but for all disabled sportspeople. As in any able-bodied discipline, para-sport needs a robust population of recreational athletes as a pipeline for talent.
The needs of para-athletes should be a source of inspiration to clever minds who like problem-solving. We look forward to celebrating Paralympic success later this month – and then we look forward to celebrating the solutions that supported the heroes of these Games next Spring.
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