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August 2012For immediate release

Leeds Metropolitan Paralympics research given green light

A ground-breaking study which delves into the perceptions that Paralympic

volunteers have about disability and disabled athletes is to be undertaken by

a Leeds Metropolitan PhD student.

Ellie May, who is based in the Universitys International Centre for Research

in Events, Tourism and Hospitality will have full access to Londons Olympic

Park and stadium between August 28-September 6, during the 2012

Paralympic Games and will interview at least 20 volunteers also known as

Game Makers, as part of the research. The project was one of just six

worldwide to be accredited to take place during the 2012 Paralympics by the

International Paralympic Committee.

The Paralympics is the perfect avenue to address social attitudes and

perceptions of disability , commented Ellie. Ill be conducting four interviews

in total with each of the volunteers; before, during, afterwards and then the

final interview will be six months on.

The idea is that I get to engage with the volunteers and record the journey

that they make in terms of their volunteering experiences and attitudes

towards disability. With some people I might find that their perception doesn t

change at all throughout the experience , but I expect with others Ill find

dramatic differences between what they think now and what they think when I

interview them for the final time.

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There is so much research that has been done surrounding the Olympics

but when you look at the Paralympics, the volume of research pales in

comparison. I hope my research will help to increase the profile of Paralympic

research. My research has a dual purpose, first to focus questions around

volunteering. For example, I want to find out why these volunteers are doing

this. Have they volunteered before? Are they doing it to bolster their CV? Did

they put their names forward to volunteer in the hope theyd be selected for

the Olympics or was it always their intention that theyd volunteer for the

Paralympics? More broadly, I also want to explore how the volunteers

understand disability and athletics with disabilities. Perceptions are important

and have impacts far beyond sport. There are so many questions to be asked,

and Im really looking forward to sharing my results with sports organisations .

Ellie, added that she had found there to be a vast age range in the volunteers

that she had interviewed so far with one woman in her early twenties and a

retired couple in their sixties.

And while Ellies PhD wont be completed until 2015, she has already been

asked to contribute to publication - Eventful Volunteering: International

Perspectives on the Volunteering Experience at Events, edited by Karen

Smith, Leonie Lockstone-Binney, Kirsten Holmes, and Tom Baum.

Ellie added: My completed study will be timely for Rio 2016 the next

Paralympics. Hopefully the findings will be of use to the volunteering

organisers of those games and other key international disability sport events.

Its fantastic to think that this work could actually have an impact and make adifference .

Ends

For further details please contact Julia Williams in the Communications team

at Leeds Met on 0113 8125978 or email j.t.williams@leedsmet.ac.uk

mailto:j.t.williams@leedsmet.ac.ukmailto:j.t.williams@leedsmet.ac.ukmailto:j.t.williams@leedsmet.ac.ukmailto:j.t.williams@leedsmet.ac.uk

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