ABSTRACT
The previous chapter highlights some of the lived experiences I have had within the Paralympic Movement, many of which have been overtly political, such as my membership on various committees. This chapter will explore the political explicitly in sport for the disabled. In order to achieve this aim the chapter will begin by examining the politics of disability, and draws on key thinkers in order to establish the relationship between people with impairments and how they are understood within the mainstream. From here we will turn to the Foucauldian concept of governmentality as it has been used within the field of sports studies. The adoption of governmentality is salient here, since it allows an understanding of the politics of controlling the body and therefore is appropriate when considering the process of disablement (Verbrugge and Jette 1994). The chapter finishes with a detailed discussion of classification in sport for the disabled, since this process is overtly political.
