Fitness spaces can better welcome adaptive athletes by combining adaptable coaching, accessible equipment and activities, visible representation, and a culture of respect. In a 2021 interview with Shape, professional surfer Bethany Hamilton emphasized that inclusion is not one piece of equipment or a single welcoming gesture: it depends on how a space and its people respond to athletes’ individual needs.
Why Hamilton says inclusion matters
Hamilton’s perspective comes from her experience as an athlete with limb difference. She told Shape that seeing athletes with a range of abilities can help others feel supported and welcomed: “Representation matters — when people see others with a wide range of abilities, it makes them feel supported and welcomed too.”
She also described how coaching helped her build confidence while adapting to life with one arm. “In my own experience, working with trainers — especially in my younger years when I was still figuring out my life with one arm — really helped build my confidence and get my creative juices flowing as far as adapting with one arm.” That account illustrates why a coach’s ability to listen and adjust can matter as much as the equipment in a room.
What fitness spaces can do
Make coaching adaptable
Hamilton recommends trainers who can work with disabled athletes and adjust their approach. “Having trainers that can adapt with disabled athletes and work with them would help anyone feel more welcome.” That means responding to the person in front of the coach rather than assuming athletes with the same disability need the same modifications.
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Offer equipment and activities with flexibility
Adaptive equipment, designated spaces, and classes or activities designed to accommodate different abilities are among the approaches discussed in the Shape interview. They can give athletes more ways to participate, but no single setup will fit everyone. Paralympic track and field medalist Blake Leeper made the point with an example: “We want gyms everywhere to realize that you can put both a crank cycle and regular cycle in one room and have an overall inclusive experience…it can be done!”
Build welcome into everyday interactions
A friendly greeting, words of affirmation, support from staff and other gym-goers, and the option of attending with a gym buddy can help someone feel more at ease. These are practical suggestions from Hamilton’s interview, not a guarantee that an athlete will feel welcome; people should be able to choose the support they want rather than have assumptions made for them.
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Show who belongs
Representation can appear in the athletes and trainers visible in a facility, in the activities it promotes, and in how it communicates who is welcome. The point is not to use disabled athletes as decoration, but to make participation and expertise visible across a range of abilities.
Inclusion is also about the whole environment
The Australian Sports Commission’s discussion of inclusion in community sport offers a broader lens. Its transcript describes accessible facilities, a safe and welcoming club culture, clear policies addressing discrimination, and staff education as relevant starting points. These considerations extend beyond a gym floor: a facility may have adaptive equipment yet still be difficult to use if access, policies, or staff knowledge fall short.
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- Physical access: Consider whether people can reach and use the facility and its spaces.
- Coaching and activities: Make adaptable instruction and suitable ways to participate available.
- Culture and representation: Foster respectful interactions and make it clear that athletes with different abilities belong.
- Policies and staff knowledge: Set clear expectations against discrimination and provide relevant education.
The commission presents these as a starting point, not a complete checklist. Athletes’ needs and preferences differ, so inclusive practice calls for listening and adjusting rather than assuming a universal solution.
What the 81 percent figure does—and does not—show
Shape reported that 81 percent of disabled or adaptive athletes do not feel welcomed in fitness spaces, attributing the figure to a study associated with Degree and the Lakeshore Foundation. The article does not state the study’s year, and the original study’s sample and methods are not established here. Treat the number as a finding reported by Shape, not as an independently verified or fully contextualized measure.
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Degree’s initiative was reported in 2021
Shape reported on October 18, 2021, that Degree’s #TrainersForHire initiative was created to help adaptive and disabled fitness professionals advertise their specialties and locations; the article also described an accessibility toolkit. Those are historical details from the 2021 coverage, not confirmation that either resource is available now. Degree’s global brand vice president Kathryn Swallow described the brand’s stated mission as: “As a brand, Degree believes no one should be held back from experiencing the transformative benefits of movement.” That is a company statement, not evidence of measured program results.
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Sources
- Shape: Arielle Tschinkel, “Surfer Bethany Hamilton On the Importance of Creating Inclusive Environments for Adaptive Athletes” (October 18, 2021)
- Australian Sports Commission: “Podcasts: Creating inclusive and respectful environments in community sport”
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