Equestrian sport has been present on the Modern Olympic programme since 1900 with Para-Equestrian Dressage making its debut at the 1996 Paralympic Games. Due to the combined governance of Olympic and Paralympic versions of the sport, the mixed gender of competition and the potential age range of competitors, equestrian sport provides an opportunity through which to understand a unique context of athlete experience. This thesis has sought to identify and evaluate athlete experience within the context of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and to place this experience within the wider career histories of members of the British Equestrian Team. This study utilised a combination of a systematic literature review methodology and ethnographic data collection and analysis with a critical realist approach, creating a framework that values interpretive insights into how the subjects perceive and construct their world whilst at the same time considering ways in which the literature and individual subjects identify, comment on, and frame the reality of the world of equestrian sport. This study has resulted in the emergence of six themes pertaining to experiencing the games; equestrian sporting culture, identity, values, challenges, performance support and success. Results show many similarities and shared experiences for both the Olympic and Paralympic equestrian athletes. The differences regarding the lived experience for these athletes are predominantly associated with the development of the sport, the relative short Paralympic history of equestrian sport in comparison to the Olympic disciplines, and the place of the Games in the context of the riders career histories. Recognising and understanding the kinds of satisfactions and challenges that individuals experience, the significant features of their athlete identity, and the structural constraints and opportunities of their environment may help identify and design the services and provision required to support the athletes through this elite sporting experience.

The focus of this thesis is the negotiation of identities by elite-level female athletes involved in disability sport. Recently, the London 2012 and Sochi 2014 Paralympic games have showcased the contemporary nature of disability sport and ostensibly suggest a growth in public interest within this field. However, there has been limited research to date conducted into the experiences of physically impaired, female athletes at the elite level of disability sport. Moreover, the existing literature fails to address the negotiation of identities within the interplay of gender, ‘disability’, body and wider socio-cultural influences. Inspired by this dearth of literature and the desire to contribute to disability sport theorisation, my research questions how elite female athletes negotiate their identities across contexts and the wider social, cultural and political values that influence this process. I address their experiences in relation to these factors alongside the intersection of gender and disability. I have explored the women’s experiences by utilising symbolic interactionism in combination with a social-relational conceptualisation of disability. This theoretical approach recognises the women’s bodies as a ‘fleshy presence’ in their interactional encounters and brings ‘impairment’ back into the theorisation of disability (Waskul and Vannini 2006). This approach allows me to interrogate the women’s unique realities in relation to wider socio-cultural values, and the ‘micro relations’ of their day-to-day lives. A life history perspective guides the methodological framework, which foregrounds and prioritises the seven elite female athletes’ subjective experiences in relation to the socio-historical context. The narratives offer a powerful and original insight into the complexity of disability, whilst addressing the multiple and fluid nature of the participants’ identities. This advances the use of the social-relational model and fosters new understandings of the social relations underpinning the effects of impairment. I have developed the concept of ‘reverse stigma’ and have highlighted the need to disrupt the social processes that create stigmatic physicality, whilst demonstrating how impairment is perceived in different social contexts. My research has provided an original contribution by generating an in-depth picture of how the women experience their lives, how they see themselves as disabled (or not) and the wider intersecting forces that shape and influence their realities. This is significant for highlighting the way disability and disabled female athletes are perceived in Western society.

This research provides a sociological investigation of an elite disability sport competition known as the Paralympic Games. A quadrennial multi-sport competition for individuals with specific impairments, the Paralympic Games, is explored in this thesis through the method of semi-structured interviews. Individuals interviewed included current and former Paralympians, active and retired disability sport administrators as well as social researchers of disability and disability sport. A number of themes surface in this research which identifies and begins to explore the relationships between the core constituents which influence the Paralympic Games. Assertions about which bodies have a legitimate claim to be involved in Paralympic sport, alongside how impaired bodies are used to create an elite disability sport spectacle, such as the Paralympic Games, remain contested by members and organisations that influence, through consensus and conflict, the development of the Paralympic Movement. The Paralympic Games, of course, has not developed in isolation, but in the context of wider developments across sport. In relation to this the positive and negative influences of the International Olympic Committee upon the Paralympic Games are considered. At the core of the thesis, critical analysis has been generated through the use of the social theory of Pierre Bourdieu. In particular Bourdieu's related concepts of habitus, capital and field, in conjunction with previous research into the Paralympic Movement and the extant literature in the field of disability studies, are used to illuminate the existence of a Paralympic field. The possible manifestation of a Paralympic field is explored through the empirical data collected. As a result this thesis highlights the nexus between the sociology of sport and disability studies. Through the fusion of these fields, and by grounding them in a robust theoretical framework, it is hoped that this research will add positively to the literature in this emerging specialism of the sociology of disability sport.

The increased participation in elite wheelchair sport has provided the need to investigate the physiological requirements of wheelchair sporting competition and daily wheelchair propulsion. However, from a nutritional perspective, guidelines that have been established from the able-bodied population tend to be used by the practitioners working in disability sport and it is not known whether this information is directly transferable to the wheelchair athlete. Wheelchair sport is complex and athletes differ with respect to their sports classification based on factors relating to disability and functional capacity. Therefore, if nutritional guidance is required to optimise performance then information regarding energy expenditure (EE) in the wheelchair sports population becomes important for specific feedback. The aim of this thesis was to investigate EE in wheelchair athletes. The results from Chapter 3 found resting energy expenditure (REE) in tetraplegic athletes to be lower than that calculated using predictive equations derived from an ablebodied cohort. However, paraplegic athletes showed comparable values to those which were predicted, suggesting these equations may be of use in paraplegic athletes. Chapter 4 extended this work and found similarities in the REE of the two aforementioned cohorts. This could have been due to the similarities that were found in their total-body fat free mass (FFM). The results from Chapter 5 showed EE reduced after both a short 36 minute exposure of wheelchair propulsion and after 3 weeks of wheelchair propulsion practice in novice wheelchair users. Temporal parameters improved after the practice period, suggesting there is an association between EE and propulsion technique. Chapter 6 extended these findings with results confirming that experienced wheelchair users expended significantly less energy during wheelchair propulsion than novice individuals who had up to 3 weeks practice. It is clear that EE of daily wheelchair ambulation should not be a generic value and different levels of experience must be considered so that the nutritional needs can be tailored accordingly. Chapters 7 and 8 examined the physiological demands of elite competitive wheelchair basketball players in relation to the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) classification categories and identified differences in the physiological demands and physiological fitness of wheelchair basketball and tennis players. These results found that IWBF Class 3 - 4.5 (high point) players expended more energy per hour during competition than those with a lower classification (IWBF Class 1 - 2.5). However, when actual playing time was considered the low classification group showed a similar EE to the higher classification group. Furthermore, wheelchair basketball players had a higher EE per hour than wheelchair tennis players during elite competition. However, the wheelchair tennis players spent a significantly longer duration on court resulting in similar EE during a typical competition within each sport. This suggests nutritional advice should be tailored both to the duration of competitive play (where EE may be similar between sports (basketball vs. tennis)); and to training (where athletes with a higher functional capacity may have higher EE). This thesis revealed several important physiological considerations to appreciate when investigating the EE of wheelchair sportsmen and women. Findings would suggest that type of disability, wheelchair propulsion experience and sport classification are all important considerations for the accurate assessment of EE in this cohort of athletes.

L’objet de notre recherche est d’étudier les expériences corporelles des adolescents obèses pour comprendre leur processus d’engagement dans les situations obligatoires en EPS. Les études scientifiques montrent une activité physique faible chez les adolescents obèses. Analysées par le filtre de l’anthropologie existentiale, c’est-à-dire des êtres en train d’exister, les stratégies étudiées ne décrivent que le mode majeur de la réalité, conforme aux attentes scolaires. En s’inscrivant dans les théories pragmatiques (Quéré, 1997), dans la sociologie de l’expérience (Dubet, 1994) et dans l’anthropologie existentiale (Piette, 2015), cette thèse apporte un regard nouveau, en appréhendant, par le mode mineur de la réalité, les expériences corporelles, spatiales, temporelles et relationnelles de quatre élèves. L’étude ethnographique a permis la reconstruction de leurs expériences corporelles à partir de données audiovisuelles, d’observations non participantes et d’entretiens de l’élève et de son entourage. Contrairement au regard porté par les études précédentes, nos résultats mettent en exergue une richesse de l’expérience corporelle des adolescents. Le mode mineur révèle des repères corporels, spatiaux, temporels et relationnels singuliers sur lesquels les élèves s’appuient pour rester engagés dans la situation tout en se dégageant des contraintes les plus insoutenables pour eux. Les modes de dégagements et le processus de reposité permettent de rendre compte autrement des contraintes normatives véhiculées en EPS. Les adolescents obèses traduisent corporellement ces normes en les faisant vivre dans une partition chorégraphique organisée à partir de l’équilibre subtil de l’agir sur le subir. Derrière l’incorporation des normes émerge le pouvoir créateur de la personne dans son existence. / We focus our research on the study of body experience for obese teenagers, in order to understand the engagement process when facing compulsory Physical Education situations. Scientific studies show a rather low level of physical activity among overweight adolescents. Analyzed in the light of existential anthropology (meaning « of people existing »), the strategies reviewed only describe the major reality mode, which meets school expectations. Fitting in the science of pragmatic theories (Quéré, 1997), experience sociology (Dubet, 1994) and existential anthropology (Piette, 2015), this thesis provides a new perspective by getting to grips with the body, space, time and relationship experience of four students, through the minor reality mode.The ethnographic study enabled the reconstruction of their body experience based on audiovisual data, non-participating observations and interviews with the students and their family and friends. Contrary to previous studies findings, our results highlight the richness of teenager body experience . The minor mode reveals remarkable body, space, time and relationship landmarks, which the student can use to stay engaged in situations, whilst breaking out of his/her unbearable constraints. The decommitment modes and the process of « reposité » lead to a better or different understanding of normative constraints conveyed in Physical Education. Overweight teenagers tend to « bodily translate » these norms by turning them into a choreographic score, based on the delicate balance between « doing » and « enduring ». Behind the incorporation of standards emerges the creative power of individuals in their existence.

Apart from motor and sensory function loss, an injury to the spinal cord can cause sympathetic dysfunction, which has been shown to affect immune responses. In this thesis, data from five experimental studies have been collected to compare physiological and psychophysiological exercise responses between wheelchair athlete subgroups with different disabilities (tetraplegic, paraplegic, and non-spinal cord-injured). In two preparatory studies, physiological exercise responses to exhaustive (Chapter 4) and submaximal exercise (Chapter 5) were investigated in all three disability subgroups. Whilst reliability measures for peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) were in a range observed previously in able-bodied athletes, the variation in tetraplegic athletes was larger when expressed relative to their VO2peak, questioning the use of this variable to track small changes in aerobic capacity in athletic populations. Submaximal physiological and psychophysiological exercise responses were found to be similar between disability subgroups when expressed as a percentage of VO2peak, justifying the protocol used in the laboratory study on mucosal immune function, which was based on the same percentages of VO2peak for all disability subgroups. The most extensive study of this thesis, detailed in Chapter 6, showed that single laboratory-controlled 60-min exercise sessions increase both salivary secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA), a marker of mucosal immunity, and α-amylase, a marker of sympathetic activation in all three disability subgroups. However, the impaired sympathetic nervous system in tetraplegic athletes seemed to influence the fine-tuning of their sIgA response when compared with paraplegic and non-spinal cord-injured athletes, resulting in a larger exercise-induced increase of sIgA secretion rate when compared to paraplegic and non-spinal cord-injured athletes. Based on these results, the study detailed in Chapter 7 investigated sIgA responses in tetraplegic athletes during wheelchair rugby court training. Despite their disability, these athletes showed responses thought to be governed by the sympathetic nervous system, such as reductions of saliva flow rate as a result of strenuous exercise. Similarly, the responses observed in Chapter 8 imply a comparable trend of chronic sIgA exercise responses in tetraplegic athletes as found in the able-bodied population, namely a decrease in sIgA secretion rate during periods of heavy training. These are the first studies in wheelchair athlete populations to investigate mucosal immune responses. Interestingly, despite the disruption of their sympathetic nervous system, some responses in tetraplegic athletes are comparable with findings in able-bodied populations. It is possible that due to their highly trained nature, these tetraplegic individuals are able to compensate for their loss of central sympathetic innervation. This may be by way of adapted spinal reflex or parasympathetic nervous system activity, or increased sensitivity of receptors involved in autonomic pathways. Therefore, sympathetic nervous function in tetraplegic athletes may be qualitatively altered, but in parts still be functional.

The wheelchair tennis evidence base has developed considerably in recent years. For those with a spinal cord injury (SCI), or severe physical impairment, tennis participation represents an opportunity for skill and motor development, and potential for disease risk reduction (Abel et al., 2008). However, as a complex series of technical, tactical and physical elements are implicated, participation for novice, developmental or low-skill players can be challenging. Hence, extension of the evidence base to consider the responses of such groups during play is of considerable value. Initial experimental studies in this thesis investigated the validity, reliability and applicability of instrumentation for the assessment of wheelchair tennis court-movement. Comparisons were made between a global positioning system (GPS) and the data logger (DL) device (Study 1). GPS underestimated criterion distance in tennis-specific drills and reported lower match-play values than the DL. In contrast, DL placed on the outside wheel offered an accurate representation of distance. However, underestimations for DL were revealed at speeds > 2.50 m·s-1 during treadmill testing. Consequently, Study 2 extended this work with consideration of DL applicability for wheelchair tennis match-play. Examination of speed profiles revealed that time spent below the threshold for accuracy was trivial, confirming DL applicability for court-movement assessment. Further between-group comparisons for rank [highly-ranked (HIGH), low-ranked (LOW)], sex (male, female) and format (singles, doubles) revealed that LOW were stationary for longer than HIGH and spent more time at low propulsion speeds. Time in higher speed zones was greatest for HIGH and doubles players. Between-group differences (rank) were further scrutinised in Study 3 with attention paid to describing the physiological response of competitive match-play aligned to court-movement. Set outcome (result) was also examined. Independent of result, HIGH covered greater overall, forwards, reverse and forwards-to-reverse distances than LOW. Interestingly, HIGH winners covered greater distances than HIGH losers and had a higher mean average and minimum heart rate (HR) than LOW winners. In contrast, LOW losers had a higher mean average and mean minimum HR than LOW winners. Collectively, these outcomes suggest an enhanced ability for HIGH to respond to ball movement and the physiological and skill challenges of match-play. While this thesis confirmed that the activity duration and playing intensity is sufficient to confer health-related effects (Study 3), differences identified for rank suggested that strategies to 4 enable performance improvements in LOW were merited. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has suggested that all starter players should be able to serve, rally and score from their first lesson (ITF, 2007). The reality however, is that chair propulsion whilst holding a racket is complex, and therefore, tennis play is challenging for novice and developmental players. Hence, the remainder of experimental work focused on interventions to enable increased court-movement and development of wheelchair tennis-specific court-mobility for LOW. The ITF have endorsed the use of a low-compression ball (LCB) for novices. An LCB bounces lower and moves more slowly through the air than a standard-compression ball (SCB). Novel findings from Study 4 revealed that greater total and forwards distances, greater average speeds and less time stationary result from use of the LCB. Increased movement activity occurred without associated increases in physiological cost, but was considered advantageous, with players adopting stronger positions for shot-play. Further examination of the linkage between movement and physiological variables were explored in the final experimental investigation (Study 5). A short period of organised practice enabled higher overall and forwards distances, and peak and average speeds to be achieved during match-play, without associated increases in physiological cost. Changes were desirable and represented enhanced court-mobility and mechanical efficiency (ME). Wheelchair tennis players were also more self-confident in tennis-specific chair-mobility, post-practice. The racket was a constraint, with lower distances and speeds, and a lower peak physiological response, achieved during tennis practice completed with a racket. This thesis advocates the use of an LCB and a short period of pre-match court-mobility practice for the novice wheelchair tennis player. Collectively, these interventions are likely to prompt greater court-movement enabling better court-positioning, develop confidence in court-mobility and shot-play, develop competence in racket handling whilst pushing, and enhancing ME. These characteristics are likely to enable participation with the likely inference being that greater competence, skill and self-confidence promotes greater enjoyment and therefore enhances longer-term compliance. This is of considerable practical significance given that tennis typically attracts new players to the game, but is less successful at retaining them (ITF, 2007).

The turn of the millennium has heralded an explosion in the popularity of adventure sports often also referred to as alternative lifestyle sports or extreme sports. These are offering both new avenues and potential challenges to the traditional ways of conceptualising and practicing sport. This thesis analyses the development of adventure sports, in particular climbing and kayaking, as a subculture. It delivers a socio-economic history of climbing, analyses the role of the media in its development, its participation and its lived experience. Further it investigates the impact of globalisation, commercialisation and consumerism on adventure sports, and considers to what extent they are being brought into the mainstream as a result. The economic impact of participation in adventure sports is reviewed along with a study of how the make up of its participants has changed as the activities have become more accessible. Particular focus is placed on the analysis of the gender order, specifically looking at the experiences of women in adventure sports. For this purpose the sports culture found in climbing and kayaking is examined and the implications for the reconstruction of gender relations are considered. This study employs an ethnographic approach including both semi-structured and structured interviews with both adventure sports experts and participants, document and media analysis, participant observation and the more recent nethnography approach. One of the significant contributions of this thesis has been to provide a comprehensive review and analysis of the social, cultural and media environment of arguably one of the most popular lifestyle sports in the UK. It has also shown the strong interrelationship that exists between the media and adventure sports, and has demonstrated how the increased commercialisation and commodification of the activity has resulted in economic development particularly in some remoter parts of the UK through the packaging and provision of the climbing experience. At the same time some participants see this is ‘selling out’. This research has demonstrated how women’s participation in adventure sports has been subject to marginalisation, sexualisation and trivialisation similar to other mainstream sports. However, this work has also highlighted that there is room for optimism as new discourses of femininity contrary to the traditional male hegemony are emerging. Further research opportunities have been identified concerning issues of ethnicity and participation; the social, cultural and economic relationships between adventure sportspeople and rural communities. Emerging feminist discourses also warrant further investigation.

À la fin des années 2000, de nombreuses fédérations sportives traditionnelles se structurent pour organiser une pratique à destination des personnes handicapées. Des transformations des organisations sportives internationales et locales favorisent cette nouvelle forme d'action fédérale. Au niveau national, des politiques publiques incitent également ces fédérations à un plus grand investissement auprès des populations handicapées. Toutefois, l'action fédérale envers les personnes handicapées doit aussi être comprise à travers l'engagement d'acteurs particuliers. L'analyse de sept fédérations, en tant qu'institutions, démontre alors la construction d'une nouvelle catégorie d'acteurs souvent identifiés comme référents handicaps et pouvant être caractérisés d'entrepreneurs. Ces acteurs, soutenus par leurs dirigeants, investissent l'organisation de la pratique des personnes handicapées et rallient un nombre important d'acteurs fédéraux pour développer les projets. La mise en évidence des compétences sociales de ces entrepreneurs est également possible à travers l'analyse d'un travail de coopération avec des acteurs extérieurs à la fédération. L'étude des relations avec les fédérations spécifiques ou avec le ministère des sports, notamment par l'intermédiaire du pôle ressources national sport et handicaps, met alors en exergue des luttes pour la manière d'organiser la pratique des personnes handicapées. Ces luttes renforcent la visibilité et le positionnement des différents acteurs impliqués dans les processus d'engagements fédéraux. Elles permettent aussi la caractérisation d'un espace national « sports et handicaps » en pleine recomposition face à l'enjeu de l'intégration des personnes handicapées au sein du monde sportif. / In the late 2000s, many mainstream sports federations are structured to organize a way of practicing sports for people with disabilities. International and local transformations promote this new form of federal action. The transformation of international and local sports organizations promotes this new form of federal action. On a national level, public policies also encourage the federations to be more invested with people with disabilities. However, the federal action organized for people with disabilities must also be understood through the commitment of individual actors. The analysis of seven federations, as institutions, demonstrates the construction of a new category of actors, often identified as 'disability referents' and that can be characterized as entrepreneurs within their federation. These actors, supported by their leaders, invest the organization of with the practice of sports by disabled people and rally a large number of federal actors to develop the projects. Highlighting these entrepreneurs’ social skills is also possible through the analysis of cooperation with actors outside the federation. The study of these relationships with specific federations or with the Ministry of Sports, especially through the “pôle ressources national sport et handicaps”, highlights struggles about how to organize the practice of sports by disabled people. These struggles reinforce the visibility and positioning of the actors involved in the process of federal commitments. They also allow the characterization of a national "sports and disabilities" space in full recombining in front of the challenge of integrating people with disabilities in the sports world.

L’insuffisance rénale chronique (IRC) est une pathologie entraînant des complications sur la santé. Au stade terminal, le patient doit avoir recours à un traitement curatif. La qualité de vie s’en retrouve altérée et l’identité de la personne en est malmenée. L’activité physique adaptée (APA), ancrée dans un programme d’éducation thérapeutique du patient, va octroyer de nouveaux rôles. Nous nous intéressons à 10 patients IRC qui bénéficient d’un programme d’APA durant 6 mois. La pensée systémique de la santé nous permet d’évaluer les effets de cette prise en charge globale sur les dynamiques identitaires des patients. Le recours à la méthode mixte nous donne l’occasion de combiner des mesures quantitatives et qualitatives. Le programme APA se centre sur le patient qui devient acteur et prend alors possession d’une identité propre qui fluctue au même rythme que la maladie. L’APA va alors servir de support et de fil d’Ariane, comme une ligne constante dans cet état mouvant. / Chronickidneydisease (CKD) leads to health complications. At the end-stage, CKD patients need to undergo curative treatment. Adapted physical activity (APA) implemented through a therapeutic patient education programme, gives them new roles. This study examines 10 CKD patients involved in an APA programme for 6 months. Systemic thinking in health enables us to evaluate the effects of global patient care on their identity dynamics. A mixed-method approach gives us the opportunity to combine quantitative and qualitative measurements. The APA programme focuses on patients who play an active role and take ownership of their own identity. Reconstruction of individual identity is continuous. It fluctuates in relation with the disease. APA acts as a support for patients, guiding them as a steady guideline through their shifting condition.