ABSTRACT
While the origins of sport for persons with a disability can be traced to the Deaflympics in 1924, social and political attention to parasport is a relatively recent phenomenon. Since the 1960 Rome Games the number of athletes competing in the Paralympic Games has risen from 400 to 4,302 in the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Further, the number of countries has increased from 23 to 164. This increasing attention from athletes and the stakeholders involved, either directly or indirectly, with athlete development (e.g., coaches, trainers, and parents as well as from policy makers), is coupled with a concomitant increase in the need for evidence-based models of para-athlete development.
