Talent Identification in Paralympic Sports

A new publication on talent development in Paralympic sports examines Paralympic talent identification across different cultures.

 “A cross-cultural comparison of talent identification and development in Paralympic Sports” is written by former ICSSPE President Gudrun Doll-Tepper of the Freie Universität in Berlin and fellow researcher Sabine Radtke of the Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen.

Operating under the premises that good sporting performance stems partially from talent identification systems, the publication examines the structural conditions of talent identification systems in different countries. The publication uses data from athletics, swimming, alpine skiing, nordic skiing and wheelchair basketball systems in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States as examples. On the basis of the developments and the professionalisation undergone by the Paralympic movement in recent years, the publication seeks to explore four fundamental issues: the form of the structures of high-performance disability sport systems, the features of quality of talent identification and development systems, the distinctiveness of these systems and, henceforth, optimisation strategies for other systems, with Germany being used as an example.

The data for this empirical analysis was gathered in two research phases: a document analysis and exploratory interview study were followed by an online questionnaire. With the target group for the interviews and questionnaires being coaches, athletes and officials in the three sample countries, the publication seeks to obtain an accurate overview on the talent identification and development systems in these countries.

The results and the following discussion provide an insightful overview over the aims, commitments, challenges and human, financial and infrastructural resources of the talent identification and development systems in the sample countries. This, along with the practical recommendations offered by Doll-Tepper and Radtke, ensure that this publication is of great use to policy-makers and Paralympic coaches and officials worldwide.

To download the publication for free, click here.

Reviewed by David Metcalf