Disabled sports in Spain

Disabled sports in Spain started in the 1910s with the emergence of deaf sport. Blind sport began in the 1930s. Sport for people with physical disabilities began in the 1950s, and was primarily rehabilitative. The first major organization for disabled sports was created in 1968 at the direction of then president of the Spanish Olympic Committee Juan Antonio Samaranch. Spain competed at its first Paralympic Games that same year. ONCE became the official organization for organizing Spanish representation in international blind sport competitions in 1986. Spanish sport was restructured because of changes in law during the early 1990s, resulting in the creation of four new disability sport organizations and the Spanish Paralympic Committee. During the 1990s and 2000s, funding opportunities for disabled sports improved.

The first deaf sports club was created in Spain in 1917 when Deaf Sports Circle of Barcelona was formed. It was not until 1949 that the Spanish Committee of Silent Sports was created; Marcos Anavi Benavideste was the group's first president, a position he would stay in for ten years.

Blind sports were being organized in schools for the blind in Spain by 1938. Early sports blind children participated in included chess, swimming and athletics. Competitive blind sport started by 1958 at Colegio Inmaculada Concepción de Madrid when an organized race took place between visually impaired and sighted students.

During the 1950s, the Spanish Red Cross was involved in organizing disabled sports opportunities in the country, including organizing the first Olimpiadas de la Esperanza held in Tarragona. In 1956, the Hogares Mundet was created as a residential facility for children with physical disabilities who had no parents. A key part of care was the integration of sport.

In 1960, Spanish Committee of Silent Sports joined the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf. A year later, in 1961, Spain sent its first delegation to the Deaflympics. The first national deaf sport championship was held in the 1960s. Initially, the competition had only two sports on the program, chess and football.

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