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Research into the role of parenting in mainstream sport environments is well developed but little attention has been focused upon parents with young impaired athletes under their charge. Parents are often a silent workforce in enabling the engagement of young people in competitive sport. In the case of young athletes with impairments who have Paralympic aspirations, parenting brings with it added complexity, both practically and psychologically (Russel, 2003), and thus it is necessary to understand the experiences of this group of parents so appropriate support mechanisms can be developed. Therefore, this research asked,“how do parents of young elite athletes with impairments facilitate their child’s engagement in competitive sport?”. Within this, routes into sport for these young people, and to the benefits and challenges influencing parents’ experience of youth disability sport are explored.

This research …