Skip to Main Content Skip to Navigation Skip to Footer

Sports and Society Lab

Banner with a golden globe in the center. The globe is surrounded by illustrations of figures participating in various sports in a grid.

ABOUT

The opportunity and self-determination to engage in sports participation and physical activity are, at their core, meaningful for individuals while also illuminating the current limits of accessibility. Historically, participation has been regulated to broadly exclude people with disabilities. Since the first official Paralympic Games in 1960 Rome, there has been increasing, yet uneven development for people with disabilities to join competitive and community-based sporting spaces. 

The Sport and Society Lab seeks to engage with athletes with disabilities, their coaching and support staff, community partners, and university researchers regarding the changes of the past 50 years leading to current conditions for access and inclusion, and the possibilities they expect in the future through traditional scholarly activities and community based forums, workshops, clinics, and symposium. 

As Los Angeles gears up for the LA 28 Olympics and Paralympics, the lab will continue to take shape.  Please join our network to stay tuned for updates on the Sports Lab. 

Understanding and analyzing the opportunities and barriers for inclusion in sports illuminates the shifts needed in a society’s structures and values. To move the needle toward full inclusion and opportunities for sports for all at every level and age, the Sports Lab will focus its efforts around three areas: High Performance Sport, Recreation and Leisure, and Youth Sports and Coaching. 

 

Areas of Focus

High Performance Sport

Recreation and Leisure

Youth Sports and Coaching

 Recap: Sports are for Everybody: Histories of Extracurricular Athletics and Disability Inclusion in Japan and US

News & Accomplishments

Partners