Enrique Rovira-Beleta, a lecturer in the UIC Barcelona School of Architecture and director of the Postgraduate Degree in Accessibility and Design for All, recently published the chapter “Accesibilidad en la práctica deportiva de las personas con discapacidad: diagnóstico” [Access to Sports for People with Disabilities: Diagnosis]. The study was presented on 5 March at the seat of the High Sports Council in Madrid. 

This publication takes a comprehensive look at the baseline situation and proposes ways, in the form of policies and public strategies, to improve the access, extension and enjoyment of sport as a social asset for all people. 

The chapter authored by Rovira-Beleta talks about the requirements that should be taken into account when designing sports facilities and the most common difficulties the elderly and/or people with disabilities face when accessing or engaging in sport, and identifies the various dimensions of people in manual, motorised and sports wheelchairs, as well as the needs of people with sensory (sight and/or hearing) and cognitive (intellectual and/or mental) disabilities. 

According to the lecturer, “the purpose of this book is to discover the capabilities of people with disabilities through sport. It looks to analyse the aspects that define the regulatory framework of sport for people with disabilities in Spain, and concludes by proposing several recommendations for the future, which could become legislative proposals”. 

The publication has been promoted by the ONCE Foundation, the Spanish Paralympic Committee and the Spanish Committee of Representatives of Persons with Disabilities and was presented before several universities and academic institutions involved in social and sports research, as well as representatives of Autonomous Communities, city and town councils and the Spanish Paralympic Committee.