Perception of visually impaired athletes and trail running guides toward barriers in the organization of competitions

Abstract

Trail running is a growing sport discipline, due among other circumstances to the incorporation of people with visual functional diversity (VFD). However, this participation is not exempt from barriers that hinder inclusion, which depend on the organizers of the events. The objective of this work was to determine the perception of athletes with visual functional diversity and trail running guides toward the barriers related to the management model implemented by the organization of these competitions. The study was carried out with 26 athletes with visual functional diversity (19 men and 7 women) and 23 guides (18 men and 5 women), who participated in the National Trail Running Cup of 2016 for people with VFD. A non-experimental, descriptive and sectional design was used, from the descriptive phenomenological approach. The applied study instrument was a semi-structured interview, using the qualitative content analysis as an analytical strategy, through the qualitative treatment software NVIVO. From the analysis of the data obtained, the following barriers related to the organization of the trail running events were detected: difficulties in the registration process, difficulties related to the guide, lack of training and specific personnel in the organization, lack of information on the paths and the need to adapt the rules. The inclusive participation of people with visual functional diversity in trail running will be possible when specific actions are incorporated from the organizers of these competitions, to allow the implementation of inclusive management models.