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Project GAIN: A Model for Best Practices in Inclusive Recreation Programs

True inclusion occurs when individuals with and without disabilities are valued for their individuality and are active participants in the social fabric of their communities. Recreation activities are a vehicle through which true inclusion can be achieved due to the tendency of such activities to lead to other social ventures. Research by Murray (2002, p. 42) involving individuals with disabilities found that, "The thread linking leisure to all aspects of their lives was that of relationship—opportunities for fun being dependent on having friends. In this way, the research participants described inclusive leisure as a process through which we all belong, whatever setting we happen to be in." Since golf is an activity that is social in nature, it would therefore seem appropriate for reaching true inclusion. "A round of golf can take around four hours where individual differences disappear as playing the game becomes the common focus." (Birmingham City Council, para. 7, http://www.leisure.birmingham.gov.uk/sites/Golf/health.htm).

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This fact sheet was last updated on 12-12-2007.