The body of literature on how disability sport is perceived and promoted is growing. Efforts of researchers such as Evaggelinou and Grekinis (1998), Byon, Carroll, Cottingham, Grady, and Allen (2011) and Byon, Cottingham and Carroll (2010) have begun to crack the code of the sport consumer. Coupling this new information with research studies examining how disability sport is promoted (Cottingham, Gearity, & Byon, 2013; Hardin, Hardin, Lynn, & Walsdorf, 2001) is developing a substantive understanding of disability sport promotion. However, little research has examined the perspectives of the athletes. The purpose of this study is to examine wheelchair rugby players’ perspectives regarding how they are marketed and to determine what changes the athletes would like disability sport promoters and event organizers to make.
Method:
This study used an exploratory qualitative design instead of a casual study. This method is appropriate when focusing on participants’ perspectives (Merriam, 2009). Twenty-two participants were interviewed for this study. All participants were wheelchair rugby players whose experience levels ranged from one year of participation to national team membership. This study explored three research questions: 1. How do you feel wheelchair rugby is promoted? 2. Are you comfortable with the way wheelchair rugby is promoted? 3. How do you feel your sport should be promoted differently?
Analysis/Results:
Due to the exploratory nature of this study, data were analyzed using idiographic techniques (Pollio, Henley, & Thompson, 1997). The primary investigator read and coded each transcript individually, engaging in single line analysis, memo writing and representative quote selection.
Results indicate that most athletes believe that disability sport promoters are too short staffed to focus on marketing and that the promoters are also not prioritizing event promotion. Because of this lack of focus on marketing, the public media often ignores disability sport or engages in the supercrip troupe. When asked how disability sport should be promoted, participants were divided on the effectiveness of using the supercrip image. Participants were also divided about whether the general health benefits and emotional benefits resulting from elite athletes’ participation in disability sport should be used for promotion.
Conclusions:
Wheelchair rugby athletes believe that sport organizers need to prioritize event promotion more. When these efforts are made, athletes’ views should be incorporated to create congruency between the images and messages used and the desires of the athletes to be promoted in a manner comfortable to them.