Competitive belonging: Ableism, inclusion and high performance in visually impaired cricket

Disability sport is often framed through participation, therapy and inspiration, obscuring its competitive seriousness. Drawing on an ethnographic case study of one of the most successful teams in the top national league of visually impaired cricket in England and Wales, this article brings ableism into dialogue with Eliasian figurational sociology to develop the concept of competitive belonging. The concept explains how disabled athletes become legitimate competitors and full members of a sporting collective through fair evaluation, member authority, demanding accountability and relational continuity. Four interrelated dimensions, material and symbolic parity, organised membership, competitive discipline and relational cohesion, show how high performance and inclusion are produced together in everyday Team life. The article argues that competitive belonging unsettles ableist distinctions between disability and athletic legitimacy by showing how disabled athletes inhabit the full seriousness of sport, as competitors, organisers and members whose value extends beyond immediate performance.