Fitness facilities have potential to serve as places of 'health enhancement' for many underserved populations, particularly among people with physical/mobility disabilities where walking outdoors to meet recommendations for regular physical activity is not an option due to mobility or safety issues. To examine the accessibility and usability of fitness facilities across the U.S. from a broader framework of physical and program access. A convenience sample of 227 fitness facilities in 10 states were assessed by trained evaluators using the Accessibility Instrument Measuring Fitness and Recreation Environments (AIMFREE) tool. Non-parametric tests were performed to determine whether AIMFREE section scores were different by geographic region (urban, suburban), business type (nonprofit, for-profit), facility affiliation (fitness center/health club, park district/community center, hospital/rehabilitation facility, university/college), and facility construction date (pre/post passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, ADA). Raw scores were converted to scaled scores with higher scores indicating better accessibility based on a criterion-referenced approach. Section scale scores (11/13) were low (<70) with differences found across facility affiliation. While facilities built after passage of the ADA had higher accessibility scores compared to pre-ADA facilities, only programs and water fountains had scaled scores ≥70 regardless of facility construction date. There exists a strong and urgent need to encourage owners and operators of fitness facilities to reach a higher level of accessibility. Until then, many people with physical/mobility disabilities will continue to have limited access to programs, equipment, and services offered at these facilities.

Research on elite female athletes with disabilities is extremely rare. Therefore, using the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (Cattell, Cattell, & Cattell, 1993) and Profile of Mood States (Droppleman, Lorr, & McNair, 1992), we examined differences between the top 12 athletes comprising the gold medal winning 2004 USA women’s Paralympic basketball team and 13 athletes attending the selection camp who did not make the team. Multivariate analysis of variance with follow-up tests revealed that athletes who made the Paralympic team scored higher on tough-mindedness (M = 5.7 vs. 4.3) and lower in anxiety (M = 5.6 vs. 7.8). For mood state, the Paralympians scored higher in vigor (M = 19.5 vs. 14.8) and lower in depressed mood (M = 3.9 vs. 6.7) and confusion (M = 5.5 vs. 7.5). The effect sizes were large (e.g., Cohen’s d = 0.91 - 1.69) for all five results.

The purpose of this study was to determine the ability of individuals with a cervical spinal cord injury to achieve and sustain a cardiorespiratory training intensity during wheelchair rugby. Nine wheelchair rugby players completed a continuous peak exercise test on a SciFit Pro I arm ergometer with stage increases each minute to determine peak heart rate and power output. Approximately one week after peak exercise testing, heart rate was recorded (every 5 s) during three regularly scheduled rugby training sessions. Data were analysed to determine the number of continuous minutes that participants spent above 70% of heart rate reserve under various rugby training activities. The percent of time spent at or above 70% heart rate reserve varied across participants and conditions. Continuous pushing was the least variable training condition among participants with the sample averaging greater than 73% of time above the target heart rate. Scrimmage training was highly variable across participants with a range of 0% to 98% of time above the criterion. Results of this study indicate that wheelchair rugby training enables some participants to reach a training intensity associated with improved cardiorespiratory fitness, and that the type (or kind) of training activity dictates the extent to which individuals sustain such a threshold.