The purpose of this study is to determine the factors that hinder the sports performance of athletes with hearing difficulty. Five sprinters aged 21 to 28 participated in this study; all had hearing difficulty, as shown by a mean sensitivity threshold greater than 100 dB. They were asked about their experiences since they began running as athletes. Analysis with Modified Grounded Theory Approach (M-GTA) yielded the following results. The athletic path to becoming a top sprinter had five stages: Lack of interest, motivation for athletic sports, struggles, integration, and independence. At the start of their careers, they realized the importance of opportunities for athletic sports participation and for working with a good coach. Although they addressed such individual needs as psychological preparation and improving inferior performance through competition, they struggled to overcome social distance.

Athletes’ career development and transition research is conducted around the world, but the majority of studies investigate athletes without disabilities. It is important to examine career development and transition among para-athletes, and to clarify the relationship between factors related to disabilities and athletic career. The aim of this study was to examine the different processes experienced by para-athletes by timing of onset of disabilities during the initiation stage of their career. Seven male and seven female para-athletes participated in face-to-face semi-structured interviews. The qualitative data were analyzed using the KJ method (Kawakita, 1967), focusing on the problems the participants had experienced and how they had coped with them. Two figures were developed showing the initiation stage. The process required to start and continue a sport varied with the timing of onset of disabilities. We also attempted to describe the issues that we need to address in future.

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of adapted sport (AdS) “boccia” on the physical and psychological self-reported health in elderly women with physical disabilities. Methods: The participants were 12 elderly women with physical disabilities (age: 81.8 ± 8.4 years) who regularly visit an adult day health center. They participated in an AdS, “boccia,” once a week for four weeks (boccia intervention). Ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) and heart rate (HR) were measured during boccia, and the Profile of Mood States-Short Form 2nd Edition (POMS2-SF) was used to evaluate participants before and after boccia. The Barthel Index (BI), the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology Index of Competence (TMIG-IC), and the abbreviated version of the Lubben Social Network Scale (LSNS-6) were measured at the beginning of the boccia intervention, and Health-related Quality of Life (HRQOL) by the Medical Outcome Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey Version 2 (SF-36v2) was administered before and after the boccia intervention.Results: Mean HR during boccia was 71.2 ± 5.5 bpm and mean RPE was 8.8 ± 2.6. After participating in boccia, the POMS2-SF scores of Anger-Hostility (p < .01), Depression-Dejection (p < .05), and Fatigue-Inertia (p < .05) decreased, while Vigor-Activity (p < .01) and Friendliness (p < .05) increased. Only the General Health Perception score of the SF-36v2 increased (p < .01).Conclusion: The boccia intervention for elderly women with physical disabilities led to short-term improvement in mood states, as well as an increase in General Health Perception throughout the activity, even though exercise intensity was low. These results indicate that a group exercise program of boccia improves mood states and HRQOL score.