The institutionalization of off-road wheelchair riding in France (1990-2015): ‘truly a sport of sharing and diversity’

Abstract

The parasports movement has been marked, in France since the 1980s, by a diversification of practices, notably with the gradual development of physical nature activities. Access to natural spaces (mountainous, maritime, aerial) has become possible through technological progress and an ever-growing yearning by disabled people to access these spaces, which are reputed to be inaccessible. Off-Road Wheelchair (ORWC), which started in France in 1991, is an example of the practices stemming from the initiative of enthusiasts who, after an accident, ‘mess around in their workshop’ with sporting equipment in order to rediscover their former practice. The pioneers of ORWC, to whom we gave voice (2 life history interviews) in this work, found in this practice a way to reclaim not only their one-time sensations in a mountainous setting, but also a more touristic activity through expeditions to foreign countries. This activity was able to develop thanks to collaboration between these enthusiasts, the handymen, local federal and political protagonists, and some manufacturers. The aim of this work is to present the conditions of institutionalization and ‘sportivization’ of ORWC in France, turning it into what is nowadays a true tool of social participation.

Notes

1. The FFH was born from the union of the French Federation of Sports for the Physically Disabled (FFSHP) and the Omnisport French Federation for the Physically Disabled (FFOHP) (Ruffié and Ferez 2013).

2. Philippe Berthe was the president of the Sports Club for the Wounded of France (ASMF) which was created in May 1954, before becoming president of the Sports Federation for the Physically Disabled of France (FSHPF) on August 10, 1963 (date of his official recognition); Pierre Volait became his successor in November 1966, ‘heading the FSHPF with the aim of strengthening the management methods and its financial structure’ (Ruffié and Perera 2013, 63).

3. The standing practice, sometimes possible in cases of amputation of the lower limbs, is opposed to sitting ski, which is a sport invented for paraplegic and/or quadriplegic people.

4. The discourses which were produced during our interviews will be indicated with quotation marks and be italicized.

5. The Handisport Magazine journal appeared in 1982. It followed a series of five journals published by different associations which federated the parasport movement in France during the 1950s and up to 2000: the Revue des mutilés de France [journal for disabled war veterans] (1955–1959), the ASMF Magazine (1959–1963), the Second Souffle [second breath] (1964–1981), the FFHOP Magazine (1972–1977) and the Handisport Magazine (from 1982 onwards). Since 2011, the journal's new name is Handisport Le Mag.

6. Before ORWC appeared, there was the Joëlette or the Joëlle. It was conceived by a mountain guide, Joël Claudel, who wanted to take his nephew, suffering from myopathy, on outings. In 1988 he founded the Handi Cap Evasion Association in the Hautes-Alpes. It is a ‘mono-wheel all-terrain wheelchair, capable of going anywhere, but which necessitates the presence of two assisting carriers’. (HM, n°99, 1999, 42).

7. The Cobra (20 kg – 125 cm × 75 cm × 90 cm) is an ORWC which is ‘easy to handle, lightweight and sturdy enough to do anything (…) it offers an efficient adaptation [for the] quadri(plegics)’ (HM, n°99, 1999, 42).

8. Porret associates his practice with mountain-biking (in French, VTT where V stands for the Bike), thus creating the term FTT (the F standing for the Chair).

9. The Ftt.free.fr website was created in July 2000. Currently, over 200 adapted courses, both in France and throughout the world, are listed there.

10. Very long hikes in hilly regions which are related to the concepts of length and autonomy. The sleeping conditions can be variable: tents, refuge, staying with the locals, cottages, hotels. This activity, continually developing, is considered today as an independent way of travelling.

11. Porret explains that he wished to give a scientific character to the expedition in order to lend strength to his application with the Chinese authorities.

12. The month-long expeditions, including 6 people, involved renting two all-terrain vehicles and one truck to carry all the equipment and food.

13. ‘I took on this part because I was just about the only one who spoke English. But it was tiring because we had to have meetings, take stock of the situation every night, there was a political commissioner. In the evenings is when we have medical care, so it isn’t easy. However, it was full of extraordinary experiences.’

14. Extract from the first article about ORWC which was published in Handisport Magazine. It was called ‘All-terrain Wheelchair riding. A sport in full expansion’ and was written by Jean-François Porret himself.

15. According to Porret, three ORWC competitions were organized in 1999 by the NORBA (National Off-Road Bicycle Association, USA): downhill, dual slalom, and cross-country (HM, n°99, 1999, 41).

16. During the 1990s, other types of three or four-wheeled ORWC were created in the United States: the Buzzard, the Enduro, the Phoenix, the DHW-1, the One-off (HM, n°99, 1999, 42).

17. Training school for mountain guides and ski instructors.

18. The first prototypes of sitting skis were created at the center in Saint-Hilaire du Touvet (Le Roux, Haye, and Perera 2014).

19. It is a technical college enabling him to create and make durable adapted equipment without having to enter into commercial logistics (patents, etc.).

20. The Dahu weighs 25 kilograms (140 cm × 85 cm × 70 cm) as opposed to 20 kg for the Cobra (125 cm × 75 cm × 90 cm).

21. According to Gilles Bouchet, the Rhône-Alpes region was one of the first to develop sitting ski and ORWC riding.

22. These types of actions were also carried out in the Pyrénées and the Alpes Maritimes regions.

23. The Lozère, conceived by BFP Electronique, is described as ‘a chair for excursions, halfway between a city wheelchair and a truly all-terrain contraption’ (HM, n°99, 1999, 42).

24. Gilles Bouchet created the Sports Leisure Tourism Development Handi-challenge association in 1993 in Annecy in order to promote tourism for disabled people, via ‘the development of products, equipment and adapted activities’. The association proposes to ‘organize days for trying out the Dahu and training courses’ (HM, n°99, 1999, 43). Other associations propose ORWC riding in the context of ‘multisport raids’ or of ‘discovery days’ for nature activities.

25. According to Porret, the American ORWC championships riding have been attracting new participants from Japan (see the website ftt.free.fr in the news section).

26. Stacy Kohut, a Canadian mountain biker who became paraplegic, ‘is one of the most emblematic riders of the free style ORWC scene’ according to The Rider Post, a website specialized in extreme sports. http://www.theriderpost.com/dirt/stacy-kohut-detruit-le-bikepark-de-whistler-en-ftt/, consulted on 4 January 2016.

27. ‘What I wanted to say was that: we don't touch nature, however we do foresee the adaptations which will enable the disabled to gain access to this untouched nature. To me, that's what the Dahu is, and we don't touch nature’ (JFP).

28. A term used originally in the field of physics of materials, which was borrowed in psychology to name the capacity of an individual to come out as the winner of an event which could have been traumatic, with renewed strength. Analysing this process in the context of sports, Anne Marcellini (2005) demonstrates how it is a way of redefining oneself and of overcoming disability.