TY - JOUR T1 - Competitive sport, therapy, and physical education: voices of young people with cerebral palsy who have high support needs JF - British Journal of Sports Medicine JO - Br J Sports Med SP - 524 LP - 525 DO - 10.1136/bjsports-2020-102276 VL - 55 IS - 10 AU - Eimear Enright AU - Emma M Beckman AU - Mark J Connick AU - Iain Mayank Dutia AU - Angelo Macaro AU - Paula J Wilson AU - Jennifer O'Sullivan AU - Jean-Michel Lavalliere AU - Turner Block AU - Leanne M Johnston AU - Gaj Panagoda AU - Sean M Tweedy Y1 - 2021/05/01 UR - http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/55/10/524.abstract N2 - People with cerebral palsy (CP) participate in significantly less physical activity than the general population and those with more severe CP and higher support needs are the most inactive.1 Anecdotally, generations of para athletes have reported that physically demanding, competitive sport enhances their general health, improves clinical outcomes and that the sports context is meaningful, enjoyable and socially engaging.2 However these views - particularly those of Para athletes with severe impairments and high support needs - are largely absent from the scientific record.3 Here are the voices of three (2M, 1F) early-career athletes with severe CP and high support needs (class IV, Gross Motor Function Classification System). Each completed 3 years in ParaSTART, a performance-focused swimming training programme. The full protocol has been published3 and a 3 min video summary is available here—https://youtu.be/P_r12QAOvWE. At enrolment, athletes were: 15–16 years old, attending school, not meeting physical activity guidelines, not previously trained for any sport and medically fit to participate.A multiprofessional team with skills in swimming coaching, exercise science and physiotherapy developed and delivered the swim programme, supported by a medical doctor, dietician, sports psychologist and personal support workers. A typical in-season training week comprised 3–4x30 min sessions of moderate and vigorous pool and gym-based training, a total training volume of >650 Rating of Perceived Exertion (using OMNI4) minutes.The stories we share here are based on athlete interviews conducted by an experienced, independent, qualitative researcher, initially using a life history method … ER -