Nathalie Le Roux

The institutionalization of off-road wheelchair riding in France (1990-2015): ‘truly a sport of sharing and diversity’

Abstract The parasports movement has been marked, in France since the 1980s, by a diversification of practices, notably with the gradual development of physical nature activities. Access to natural spaces (mountainous, maritime, aerial) has become possible through technological progress and an ever-growing yearning by disabled people to access these spaces, which are reputed to be inaccessible. Off-Road Wheelchair (ORWC), which started in France in 1991, is an example of the practices stemming from the initiative of enthusiasts who, after an accident, ‘mess around in their workshop’ with sporting equipment in order to rediscover their former practice. The pioneers of ORWC, to whom we gave voice (2 life history interviews) in this work, found in this practice a way to reclaim not only their one-time sensations in a mountainous setting, but also a more touristic activity through expeditions to foreign countries. This activity was able to develop thanks to collaboration between these enthusiasts, the handymen, local federal and political protagonists, and some manufacturers. The aim of this work is to present the conditions of institutionalization and ‘sportivization’ of ORWC in France, turning it into what is nowadays a true tool of social participation.