Assistive technology and sports

Assistive technology and sports is an area of technology design that is growing. Assistive technology is the array of new devices created to enable sports enthusiasts who have disabilities to play. Assistive technology may be used in disabled sports, where an existing sport is modified to enable players with a disability to participate; or, assistive technology may be used to invent completely new sports with athletes with disabilities exclusively in mind.

An increasing number of people with disabilities are participating in sports, leading to the development of new assistive technology. Assistive technology devices can be simple, "low-tech", or they may use highly advanced technology, with some even using computers. Assistive technology for sports may also be simple or advanced. Accordingly, assistive technology can be found in sports ranging from local community recreation to elite Paralympic games. More complex assistive technology devices have been developed over time, and as a result, sports for people with disabilities "have changed from being a clinical therapeutic tool to an increasingly competition-oriented activity".

Assistive devices can enable exercise and training, on top of enabling participation in a sport. Below are some of the assistive devices currently available for different impairments:

A golfer with a leg amputation uses an adaptive golf cart that has a chest strap to help him maintain his balance while standing on one leg.

Wheelchair curling uses a specially adapted long stick to launch the "rock" down the ice. These players are delivering rocks in the 2010 Vancouver Paralympics.

Australian Paralympic athletes using a two-seated tandem racing bicycle; the visually impaired cyclist pedals in rear, while a sighted "pilot" sits in the front.

Sports that use assistive technology may include the following:

Many of the sports listed above have attained international elite sport status, being included in the Paralympic Games.

Some sports have developed with the goal of creating a challenge that players with a disability could enjoy. These sports require assistive technology for all players as part of the game. Some examples are: Sledge (sled) hockey; wheelchair basketball; adaptive sailing, with boats designed especially for sailors with disabilities; Nordic (cross-country) skiing with "sit-ski" buckets; and handcycling races.

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