2023 Volume 21 Issue 1 Pages 35-50
This survey revealed changes in the attitude of not only children with physical impairments but also their parents toward para-swimming. The purpose of this study was to examine factors that allowed athletes to continue para-swimming from Foundation to Talent in the FTEM framework and the support they received from their parents. This study included eight teenagers with physical impairments who participated in para-swimming athlete discovery programs and their respective mothers or fathers. Online interviews were conducted via Zoom. For the analysis, M-GTA (Kinoshita, 2003), which clarifies mutual relationships and behavioral processes, was used. The transformation process of children with physical impairments involves [building the foundation to become an athlete] in the Foundation phase and translating this into [awareness and action as an athlete] in the Talent phase. Factors that encouraged children with physical impairments to continue para-swimming include the support from their parents and friends, sense of achievement from being athletes, and the opportunity to mature as a person. However, the facilitative factors may be common to athletes in general, regardless of the presence of impairments. Parents may provide motivation for their children to participate in sports without worrying about psychological considerations or impairments.
