KPE Recipient of McGill Sports Science Post-Doctoral Fellowship

Congratulations to our Recipient of 2021 McGill Sports Science Post-Doctoral Fellowship

Jordan Herbison

Supervisor: Dr. Shane Sweet

Project Title: Co-Developing the Blueprint for Quality Powerchair Sport Programming

Project Brief: The International Paralympic Committee has the strategic goal of strengthening the effectiveness of the Paralympic movement at all levels by encouraging Para sport participation, especially for athletes with high supports needs (AHSN). To address the absence of research and inequity in sport experiences of AHSN, and in partnership with PowerHockey Canada and the Canadian Cerebral Palsy Sports Association, my research program aims to develop and test an evidence-based playbook for starting and managing quality grassroots powerchair sport programs.

The specific aims of the research are:

Study 1: To explore and synthesize (a) awareness and perceptions of powerchair sport among persons with a disability, (b) characteristics of quality experiences in powerchair sport and the conditions of fostering these experiences, and (c) determinants of organizational readiness to offer powerchair sport;

Study 2: Conduct a feasibility test of implementing a quality powerchair sport program in two communities.

Each student will be conducting in-depth sports science projects within their research fields. Sports science is a research initiative within the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education, which aims to improve sport performance by answering research questions that arise in the sporting community.