THE SPORTS CAREER OF PARALYMPIC WOMEN: THE CASE OF THE BRAZILIAN SITTING VOLLEYBALL TEAM

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the sports career of sitting volleyball athletes who participated in the Brazilian sitting volleyball team at the Paralympics Games in Rio 2016. It is a qualitative, descriptive, exploratory and retrospective research. The sample consisted of four athletes and a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview were used, supported by the timeline. The analysis of the data was made from the Qualitative Content Analysis. We observed that sport as a career appears after physical injury, as part of the rehabilitation process, but sport is not the only source of income due to the instability of the sports career. The apex is the call for the Brazilian team and there is no preparation to the end of sport career. The sports career is a form of rehabilitation and social insertion, at the same time that it is not a full-time job for athletes, who have other jobs.