Lincoln lecturer leads project to inspire people wanting to explore wheelchair basketball

A University of Lincoln lecturer is leading a project which aims to inspire people to explore wheelchair basketball.

Dr Lesley Sharpe, Lecturer in sports sociology, recently launched a guide designed to encourage disabled young people to get involved with wheelchair basketball.

Titled “Wheelchair Basketball Journey”, the project uses illustrations and social media to break down barriers to participation, aiming to inspire the next generation of young athletes.

The guide explores three important aspects of a young person’s journey in the sport: Discovery, benefits, and participation.

Dr. Sharpe and her team – Professor Vicky Tolfrey and Dr. Janine Coates from Loughborough University – wanted to make their research findings more accessible. As Dr Sharpe points out, traditional academic research often doesn’t resonate with young people.

She said: “As a team we are conscious that the ways in which we disseminate our research findings, particularly through traditional academic research journals and books, does not always resonate for – or can be inaccessible to – the young people we research with.

“We wanted to create a novel social media focussed project that could use our collective findings to represent, promote and signpost disabled young people to connect with wheelchair basketball opportunities.”

All illustrations in the project were created by Dr Lesley Sharpe, designed to be shared around social media and offer an interactive pathway into sports.

The project has been funded by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and supported by British Wheelchair Basketball.

To check out the full guide and learn more about wheelchair basketball, follow the project on social media or visit their Linktree.

Featured image via @wheelchairbbstories on Instagram