PARA SKI CROSS COUNTRY NO BRASIL: UM OLHAR FAMILIAR DO DESENVOLVIMENTO DE UMA MODALIDADE NÃO CONVENCIONAL

Brazil has many difficulties in the development of unconventional sports, especially Para Ski Cross Country, a Paralympic winter sport that will be studied in this paper. The way Brazilian athletes of the modality train in the country with the Rollerski, an equipment that simulates the practice of the convencional ski (snow), on wheels, on asphalt floor. Despite its growing and the gain of several medals in international championships representing the country, there are still many challenges to be overcome in the detection of new athletes, as it is a sport still relatively unknown and unheard of in the Brazilian territory. This research had a qualitative nature, whose general objective was to analize the opinions of parents of students enrolled in the Para Rollerski Initiation Center with relation to the past, present and sporting future of their children. Data collection was carried out through semi-structured interviews, which were recorded, transcribed and subsequently analyzed using Reflective Thematic Analysis. Therefore, the study includes four parents eligible for the interviewing. After analyzing the data, several difficulties were found in practicing the sport, such as location, transportation, accessibility, prejudice and adaptation. However, even with so many obstacles, sometime after starting the practice, improvements in joints, strength, balance and self-esteem were reported. Therefore, parents expect their children to achieve high performance in the sport, always respecting each person's limits. Therefore, the research concludes that even though there are difficulties in carrying out Paralympic sport as a whole, each effort is rewarded, whether in improving health and physical and social well-being or in winning medals, after all, a small detail can make a big difference for these athletes. Recebido em: 07/04/2025 Reformulado em: 04/06/2025 Aceito em: 04/06/20254