03 October 2025 Dr Trudie Walters returns from Special Olympics research in Scotland

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Date3rd October 2025Lincoln University

Senior Lecturer Dr Trudie Walters has just returned from Scotland after three months as a visiting scholar at the University of the West of Scotland’s Centre for Culture, Sport and Events (CCSE).

Supported by a Faculty of Environment, Society and Design Research Fellowship, she explored the importance of Special Olympics involvement for intellectually disabled athletes, along with the wider network of families, coaches, volunteers and support workers.

This project fits into Trudie’s ongoing research on events and leisure, with a particular focus on how they contribute to quality of life and wellbeing for historically under-represented groups. This includes intellectually disabled people, seniors, women, Māori, refugees and ethnic minority migrants.

Much of the media’s attention has gone to sporting events for physically disabled athletes, especially high-profile competitions like the Paralympics, while the experiences of people with intellectual disabilities often receive far less coverage.

You can read more about her time away with this research project in her blog post for CCSE.

Trudie on her first day at UWS

03 October 2025
Dr Trudie Walters returns from Special Olympics research in Scotland

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03 October 2025 Dr Trudie Walters returns from Special Olympics research in Scotland

Senior Lecturer Dr Trudie Walters has just returned from Scotland after three months as a visiting scholar at the University of the West of Scotland’s Centre for Culture, Sport and Events (CCSE).