Development and evaluation of guide-models mass athletics for sports in students with special needs (obese, disabled persons etc.)

ESFA constituted an innovative and holistic approach for the development, implementation and evaluation of appropriate training guidelines for inclusion of disabled and obese persons in different sports in different organization in six different countries (Greece, Italy, Spain, Croatia, UK, Bulgaria). The project included levels of implementation such as preparation of guidelines, selection of sports, pilot, intervention, evaluation, networking, dissemination of activities etc. The sports could act as a tool for their social inclusion as their involvement would be systematic as well as progressive. A multilingual website was established and constituted the main way of dissemination and networking of ESFA project and was updated systematically with project information. A systematic review “The effects of physical activity or sport-based interventions on psychological factors in adults with intellectual disabilities: a systematic review” was published. Training guidelines were prepared based on previous efforts as the experience of partners. Questionnaires were prepared for people with IQ <70 and IQ>70. The questionnaires proposed included GPAQ, intention, enjoyment motor self-efficacy, behavior. A pilot intervention was developed. The intervention was based on a combination of conveying knowledge about social exclusion of persons obese/disabled and sports and its negative consequences, strengthening participants’ moral values and attitudes, and teaching them to derive satisfaction in their sport out of ‘clear’ effort. During the pilot as well as the intervention interactive games where participants had the opportunity to develop their moral decision-making skills. Participants were invited to provide input to ensure the intervention followed meets their needs and is relevant to their experiences filling the questionnaires. The daily training program has included the measurements: Basal metabolic measurement, body composition, aerobic capacity. The sports were: Football, Volleyball, Swimming, racquetball, Basketball, Dancing, Tracking and Field. The training schedule was 6 months for two sports and with a duration of 18 months. The training was twice per week for 1.5 hours according the training guidelines. Participants were guided and systematically supervised, during sports activities, from their physical education teachers. Each country decided for the sports that they will implement in the project according to their intentions. Development of the project’s networks through the organization of training courses and modules. The training was directed to coaches and athletes. The development of awareness actions for inclusion of special needs athletes in all sports. Sports awareness actions in sports facilities, in NGOs, addressed to facilitate the integration of as many persons as possible. Also, the organization of a sports initiative of European character between partners, for disabled persons on International Disability Day. The awareness actions included several different actions such as an open contest for best practices for dissemination of sports in disabled persons as well as best approaches to training disabled persons. The website of the project was used for the dissemination of the project’s outputs as all produced materials were uploaded on the website on an open-access policy. Social media were used to spread information about the project’s outcomes. University classes, workshops, conference presentations and publications, were used for the dissemination. Printed promotional material (posters, brochures, invitations, etc.), educational kit, multimedia products (video promoting the project, posters, photographs, etc.).Public awareness campaigns were performed. The project also had established evaluation procedures.