Juegos para panamericanos Juveniles Bogotá 2023. Perfil sociodemográfico, psicosocial y de entrenamiento de para-atletas

Introduction: The Youth Parapan American Games (YPPA) allow the identification of Paralympic sport talent development in the Americas. There are studies regarding athlete profiles at the Parapan American and Paralympic Games, but not at international youth events. Objective: To determine the sociodemographic, psychosocial, and training profiles of youth athletes participating in the 5th YPPA. Method: A quantitative study was conducted with convenience sampling that included 151 youth athletes from 17 countries, equivalent to 21% of the total number of athletes who attended the Games. Instrument: The Youth Paralympic Athlete Characterization Questionnaire (YPCA), an ad hoc instrument (Cronbach's alpha, 0.85). The YPCA has 52 questions, seven categories, and was administered through a personal interview. Results: The athletes are on average 18.7 + 1.8 years old, began their sporting career at 14.4 + 3 years old, only 30.88% are women, 45.4% have completed high school, more than 50% have physical disabilities, and 72.8% are participating for the first time at the international level. The average training volume is 241.37 minutes/week. Correlation (r=0.9) between the number of athletes attending and the number of medals per country. Of the athletes: 57.6% receive financial support from their countries, 99% live with their families, 47.7% of mothers are homemakers, and 38.7% of fathers are unskilled workers. Conclusions: Determining profiles of young para-athletes contributes to government decision-making for the benefit of Paralympics and its athletes in the Americas. There are differences between countries in terms of resources invested and achievements made.