The university's role in the dual career of student-athletes with disabilities: the preliminary data of the “Para-Limits” project

The inclusion of people with disabilities is also achieved through the guarantee, for talented and high level athletes, of the right to be able to combine a sport career with quality tertiary education without unreasonable efforts. For the Council of Europe, the protection of student-athletes with disabilities represents one of the main challenges in the context of interventions in favor of dual career, but there is a lack of studies and research on this specific population. Based on these premises, this work intends to open an empirically based reflection on the role of the university in the dual career path of student-athletes with disabilities starting from their perception of barriers that hinder the optimal balance between university study and sport and their suggestions about the possible solutions. Data from a sample of 62 student-athletes with disabilities involved in the European project “Para-limits” will be presented, analyzed and discussed taking into account the research conducted on student-athletes without disabilities. The results that emerged confirm that the alliance between different stakeholders who at different levels are responsible for the success of dual career paths is essential to facilitate coexistence between sport and university studies.