Sports activities of persons with disabilities and architectural barriers

Introduction: The realization of sports activities of persons with disabilities requires, above all, the accessibility of sports facilities and sports grounds. Architectural barriers are physical barriers within a built environment, which restrict or completely disable the wheelchair users. The aim of the research was to examine which architectural barriers persons with spinal cord injuries­paraplegia who were engaged in sports recreationally or professionally encountered. Methodology: The sample consisted of 26 persons with spinal cord injury­paraplegia, both gender, who were active in sports and trained at least 2­3 times a week. The research was conducted in Belgrade, in the Home for Adult Disabled Persons, in the Association of paraplegics and quadriplegic 'Dunav', Athletic club 'Pogledi', Wheelchair Basketball club 'Dunav', Table tennis club for persons with disabilities of Belgrade 'STIB' and the Sports and recreation association 'Everything is Possible'. For research purposes, a questionnaire covering general sociodemographic characteristics and architectural barriers that persons encountered when they were engaged in sports was constructed. Conclusion: The most common architectural barriers encountered by athletes with spinal cord injuries­paraplegia are unadjusted wheelchair ramps (73.1%) and parking spaces (69.2%).