Embracing Complexity

A Case Study — Wheelchair Basketball Canada (WBC)

How might we embrace the complexity of the wheelchair?

Wheelchair Basketball Canada is the non-profit governing body that organizes and promotes the sport in Canada and represents Canada in the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (WBF, 2020). Canada is a country with a rich history of success in wheelchair basketball.

The research methodology for this case study was participatory data collection methods with four categories of participants. The data was collected through four remote focus group sessions due to constraints of the pandemic. Focus group A consists of 3 WBC executives. Group B consists of 3 wheelchair basketball athletes. Group C consists of 3 external subject matter experts. Group D consists of 6 researcher-introduced participants.

Based on the findings, a complexity was the learning curve that new athletes face when beginning to use the wheelchair. Many of the athletes and executives we spoke to were passionate about the fact that once you get in the chair, it made all the difference in the perception of the game. Some athletes expressed it takes multiple years to effectively learn the chair and get accustomed to it. Therefore — embracing this new challenge and giving it their all are important steps for any new player. This was used to move forward in creating interventions that show off the difficulties in an exciting way.

How the wheelchair is talked about and perceived is also important when embracing the complexity. The wheelchair is usually connected to perceptions of disability, and the ‘medical model’ which views disability as weak reinforces ideas that using a wheelchair for sports is not desirable (Medland and Ellis-Hill, 2008, p. 108). Positive messaging about the wheelchair can, therefore, play an important role in breaking stigmas and misconceptions.

Another thought brought up from our SME findings is the potential for “gamification” of the wheelchair, which could leverage new ways to promote how to use the chair and make it an easier/ more enjoyable experience. This was discussed in our interventions.

Key Insights

• It takes a lot of practice and time to get used to using the wheelchair — the learning curve!
• We could benefit from showing the fun in playing wheelchair basketball and the wheelchair itself.
• Presenting the wheelchair through a lens of gamification.
• Positive messaging about the wheelchair is important for breaking stigma.

Recommendations

Let’s start by defining DESIGN PRINCIPLES that guided our recommendations.

Proposed Intervention

The proposed solution will address our problem statement of embracing the wheelchair and will follow the design principles listed above. Our intervention is to have a combination of physical activities accompanied by an online lesson and learning component. This intervention will involve a marketing capacity with a physical aspect, and backed up with an online presence, which are both designed to increase engagement.

We found that the wheelchair poses some significant opportunities for positive engagement with wheelchair basketball as a sport. All design principles and interventions have been elaborated on and chosen with careful consideration of the selected target audience and keeping in mind the requirements and organizational goals of WBC.

This case study was done in collaboration with my amazing team: Jared Hudson, Victoria Sheen and Yishan Li.