Avery Lorbetskie, Amy Latimer-Cheung, Marley Mullan, Adelyne Heyes

Among persons with intellectual disability, participation in physical activity can improve ability to perform activities of daily living, decrease sedentary behaviour, and enhance overall quality of life. While the quantity of physical activity is important, it is also paramount that quality participation (QP) is achieved to experience the full benefit of physical activity. Six experiential elements – autonomy, belongingness, challenge, engagement, meaning, and mastery – are the foundational building blocks of QP. While it is known the building blocks promote QP, little is known about their direct implementation into sport programs for persons with intellectual disability. The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility of implementing QP building blocks in a Special Olympic swim program. The Special Olympic swim team is based in Ottawa Ontario, consisting of 30 athletes, 12 volunteers, and 1 head coach. The intervention will consist of bi-weekly consultations with the head coach to explore QP goals along with providing activity resources strategically designed to integrate QP building blocks. Following the consolidated framework for implementation research (CFIR), athletes will be assessed from a coach’s perspective using a mixed method approach. Questions aim to address relevant CFIR and feasibility domains and will be answered by coaches and volunteers. Data will be subject to thematic analysis. The results have the potential to provide insight into if generated resource implementations are an effective method to enhance QP in an Ottawa Special Olympic swim program.