Beyond Adaptive Sports: Challenges & Opportunities to Improve Accessibility and Analytics
Rushil Khurana, Ashley Wang, Patrick Carrington
Abstract
A recent surge in sensing platforms for sports has been accompanied by drastic improvements in the quality of data analytics. This improved quality has catalyzed notable progress in training techniques, athletic performance tracking, real-time strategy management, and even better refereeing. However, despite a sustained growth in the number of para-athletes, there has been little exploration into the accessibility and data analytics needs for adaptive sports. We interviewed 18 participants in different roles (athletes, coaches, and high-performance managers) across six adaptive sports. We probed them on their current practices, existing challenges, and analytical needs. We uncovered common themes prevalent across all six sports and further examined findings in three groups: (1) blind sports; (2) wheelchair sports; and (3) adaptive sports with high equipment. Our study highlights the challenges faced by different adaptive sports and unearths opportunities for future research to improve accessibility and address specific needs for each sport.