Data shows that one in seven Canadians are currently living with a disability. And, though scarce, existing data shows that people with disabilities are half as likely as those without to participate in physical activity. Given this, the federal government has sought to enhance the quality of experience and opportunities in physical activity for those living with disabilities and is dedicating federal money to see this happen.
UBC’s School of Kinesiology and viaSport BC received $199,298 of federal funding this month through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Partnership Development Grant program after KIN’s Dr. Andrea Bundon, Assistant Professor, partnered with old UBC classmate and teammate Dr. Caitlin Pentifallo Gadd to apply for the grant. The grant money will fund Level the Field: Disability Inclusion in Sport, a three-year project which combines the School’s research expertise with viaSport’s applied knowledge to better understand how sport can be made more inclusive for people with disabilities.
The ultimate goal for the program will be to deliver solutions that are responsive to the needs of people living with disabilities and to those who are responsible for delivering sport. The collaboration will focus on understanding and elevating the lived experiences of peoples with disabilities and engaging a broad array of sport leaders and stakeholders.
Dr. Andrea Bundon
“Making sport more inclusive for persons with disabilities has always been a common goal for both UBC and viaSport,” said Dr. Andrea Bundon, Assistant Professor at UBC School of Kinesiology. “The SSHRC grant now allows us to integrate our teams and combine our resources to work towards that common goal in a more unified manner.”
Dr. Bundon and Dr. Pentifallo Gadd’s application was the only successful application in the leisure, recreation, and tourism research area in the 2016-2017 competition.