Co-designing talent transfer pathways in para-sport: a case study
Managing Sport and Leisure, Vol.31(3), pp.573-590
2026
Research question:
Talent transfer pathways offer great potential in para-sport yet are underexplored from a sport management perspective. Therefore, this study addressed the questions: What are the facilitators and barriers impacting sport systems ability to support talent transfer athletes and pathways, and how can the sport system improve talent transfer pathways in para-sport?
Research methods:
This exploratory study draws on expert practitioners’ perspectives of para-sport talent transfer through a co-design workshop conducted in 2023 with 12 participants (6 men and 6 women) experienced in areas including coaching, pathways and high-performance co-ordination and management, and classification.
Findings:
Processes for recognising, identifying, confirming, and progressing talent transfer athletes, the provision of para-sport and talent transfer-specific resources, and system collaboration were identified as factors influencing the sport system’s ability to support current, predominately informal, talent transfer. Eight distinct strategic areas for potential solutions were identified to improve talent transfer pathways in para-sport.
Implications:
The findings provide insights to enhance understanding of critical sport system factors in the underexplored area of para-sport talent transfer. Additionally, it offers direction for para-sport managers developing talent transfer initiatives, frameworks, and collaborations, ensuring the efficient allocation of resources, enhanced support and opportunities for athletes, and increased effectiveness of such programs.
- Co-designing talent transfer pathways in para-sport: a case study
- Adeline Green (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine CoastBridie Kean - University of the Sunshine CoastDavid Fleischman - University of the Sunshine CoastRory Mulcahy - University of the Sunshine Coast
- Managing Sport and Leisure, Vol.31(3), pp.573-590
- Routledge
- 2026
- 10.1080/23750472.2024.2354196
- 2375-0480
- © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
- School of Business and Creative Industries; Healthy Ageing Research Cluster; School of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Legacy; School of Health - Public Health
- English
- 991034698902621
- Journal article
3
52
research.portal.fulldisplay.incitesHighlights.intro
- esploro.research.conf.research.portal.label.prefix.inciteWOSResearchAreas
- Management