Universal Design

1. Accessibility: Sports and Recreation
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Disability Research and Design Foundation (DRDF)

2. Importance of sports and recreation
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• It plays a vital role in
the physical and mental
development of
individuals.
• It exhibits the ability to
help perform beyond the
limits of people with
disabilities
• Right to access to the
sports , recreation or
entertainment
• The design of sports and
recreational spaces plays
a pivotal role in rendering
services to people with
special needs.
• Architects and designers
thereby are a part of a
larger process of this
inclusive movement and
need to be sensitized of
the comprehensive
approach to inclusive
design.

3. Sports and Recreation encompasses
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• Stadiums
• Golf courses
• Swimming pool
• Children play areas
• Spectator sealing
• Clubs
Basic facilities like
• Indoor and outdoor
sports activity areas like
court, sport fields,
• Changing and locker
rooms
• Team or player seating
areas
• Exercise equipments
and machinaries

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5. Sports and Recreation encompasses
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• Good facilities are
fundamental to developing
sporting opportunities for
everyone,
• Good design needs to be
based on the current trends
and practices within
individual sports,
developments in the sport
and leisure industry and the
lessons to be learnt from
previously built schemes.
• Disabled people are disabled
by poorly designed
environments and providing
add-on or special facilities
creates segregation rather
than inclusion.
“The quality of buildings and spaces
has a strong influence on the quality of
people’s lives. Decisions about the
design and management of places can
enhance or restrict a sense of
belonging. They can increase or reduce
feelings of security, stretch or limit
boundaries, promote or reduce mobility
and improve or damage health” .

6. The inclusive design process
• Inclusive design should be seen as a continuous process - from the initial
concept, the design brief or master plan, through to the detailed design; the
planning and building control approval processes; onto construction and the
operation, management and maintenance of the completed facility.
• Each of these stages should be an inclusive process in themselves, involving
potential users, including disabled people.
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7. The inclusive design process
• Accommodating sports chairs: Over recent years the design of sports chairs has
developed and in some cases sports chairs now require a design width of 1.2m.
• It is essential that the design of the building and the external works ensures that
the sports chairs have unhindered access to all sports activities / facilities.
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8. The inclusive design process
• Where it is not reasonably practicable to
achieve current standards of
accessibility, a costed and prioritised
action plan should be prepared with the
aim of achieving the requirements in the
medium to long term.
• Most access improvements do not involve
expensive complex changes to the
physical environment or major changes to
how it is managed
• When altering or extending a sports facility, it is essential that the project be
developed with the clear aim of achieving full accessibility. The first step in
achieving this is to carry out an access audit. This will establish the current
situation and inform the design and development of the project. It will help
create the basis for a programme of works and a written access policy.
The proposed work must not make the access situation worse.
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Car Parking
• Provide at least the minimum number of specifically reserved, accessible car
parking spaces for people with disabilities appropriate to the scale of the facility
• Group bays together and signpost their location from the main entrance to the site.
• Bays must be located as close as possible to the main entrance of the building.
Uncovered pathway distance not more than 50m, Covered pathway not more than
100m.
• Surface should be smooth and even with drop in kerbs at wheelchair crossings.

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Car Parking

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Car Parking
• A dedicated footpath with olfactory and tactile
information will assist visually impaired people to the
building

12. Access Routes
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• To be accessible,
routes must be a
minimum of 1.8m clear
width where they
serve sports facilities.
• At unavoidable pinch
points no greater than
6.0m in length the
path can be reduced to
1.2m min clear width.
• Ensure minimum clear
height of 2.1m is
maintained under
trees, canopies,
brackets, etc
• Access routes should
be level (ie less than
1:60) or have the
shallowest gradient
possible.

13. Access Sports Facilities- Ramps
• It is essential for ramps rising 0.3m or more to be accompanied by a short flight
of steps for use by those who find negotiating a ramp more difficult than using
steps.
• The gradient should be as level as possible, between 1 in 20 for a maximum
length of 10.0m and 1 in 15 for a maximum length of 5.0m.
• The surface colour of ramps should contrast visually with that of landings
• Ramps should be illuminated to at least 100 lux.
• All ramps should be provided with handrails on both sides. Minimum clear width
1.3m except where sports chairs may be used
• A minimum clear landing of 1.5m should be provided at the top and bottom of
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each ramp.

14. Access Sports Facilities- Door
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15. Access Sports Facilities-Reception
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16. Passenger Lift
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17. Acoustic requirements
Hard and reflective surfaces
Spaces enclosed exclusively with hard
surfaces should be avoided. They are
likely to be noisy and reverberant
spaces that are confusing for people
with sensory impairments to use.
Visual requirements
Visual contrast
Colour should be carefully considered to
enhance the facility’s aesthetic qualities
and to optimise the practical use of the
building, particularly the ability of
people who are visually impaired to
move around without difficulty.
Tactile requirements
Variation in surface texture provides
important information, particularly to
visually impaired people. It can:
Warn of hazards.
Give information that helps identify
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location.

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Accessible route connects various elements
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19. Dressing, Fitting, or Locker Rooms
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• It should be accessible
• There must be an accessible
route through the door and
to all elements required to
be accessible in the room
• If lockers are provided, at
least 5 percent, but not less
than one of each type (full,
half, quarter, etc.) must be
accessible.
• Accessible benches should
be located adjacent to the
accessible lockers
• Benches
• In-depth 20-24 inches
• Length= minimum 42 inches
• Height =17 to 19 inches
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20. Exercise equipments and machines
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• At least one of each type of
exercise equipments or
machine must have clear
floor space of at least 30 to
48 inches and be served by an
accessible route
• At least 5 percent, but not
less than one, of each type of
bowling lane must be
accessible.
• Unlike other areas of sport
activity, only those team or
player seating areas that
serve accessible lanes must
be connected with an
accessible route and comply
with seating requirements
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21. Stadiums
• Disabled Parking areas
• Pick up and drop off
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zone
• Ticket booking counter
• Reservation facilities
• Wheelchair seats
• Lift
• Toilets
• Hearing aid loop
• FM radio service
• Signage

22. Stadium:-Seating areas
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•Wheelchair accessible seating is
required. At least one percent of the
seating must be wheelchair seating
locations.
•Each wheelchair seating location is
an open, level space that
accommodates one person using a
wheelchair and has a smooth, stable,
and slip-resistant surface.
•Accessible seating must be an
integral part of the seating plan so
that people using wheelchairs are not
isolated from other spectators or
their friends or family.
•Removable or folding seats can be
provided in wheelchair seating
locations for use by persons who do
not use

23. Accessible: Seating areas
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The person with wheelchair should enjoy at least the minimum ‘C’ value
with spectators standing in front.
D(N+R)-R
C= ……………………..
D+T
Where
C= The “C ” value
D= The horizontal distance
from the eye to the
point of focus
N= The riser height
R= The vertical height to
the point of focus
T= the seating row depth

24. Golf
• Accessible rout-Golf
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course
• Accessible rout-driving
range
• Teeing ground
• Weather shelter
• Golf car passage-width

25. Accessible routes:- Golf course
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26. Guidelines
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1. minimum width for an
accessible route from 36
inches to 48 inches, it
includes the golf car rental
area, bag drop areas,
practice putting greens,
accessible practice teeing
grounds, course toilet rooms,
and course weather shelters
2. If an accessible route is
provided instead of a golf car
passage, it must connect
accessible elements and
spaces located within the
boundary of a golf course.
3. handrails should be provided
along an accessible route.
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27. Swimming pool and Spas
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28. Design swimming pool
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• Large pools must have a
minimum of two accessible
means of entry.
• The primary means of
entry must be either a
sloped entry into the water
or a pool lift that is
capable of being
independently operated by
a person with a disability
• The secondary means of
entry could be a pool lift,
sloped entry, transfer wall,
transfer system, or pool
stairs
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29. Pool lift
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Sloped entries
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30. Pool surround benching
Benches against the wall on the pool perimeter – especially if they are heated – can be of
great benefit to some disabled swimmers. They provide a secure place to rest before
entering or after leaving the pool.
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31. Pool lift
Submersible Platform Lifts
Submersible platform lifts provide a flexible and more dignified means of entering a
swimming pool for a person unable to walk or having limited mobility.
Hoists
Mechanical assistance should be available to help disabled swimmers into the pool. Some
swimmers prefer to be assisted into and out of the water by helpers.
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32. Accessible Sports
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• Table Tennis
• Tennis
• Rugby
• Fencing
• Bowling
• Badminton
• Athletics
• Shooting
• Fitness

33. Play Areas
• Elevated play
components
• Ramp slope and rise
• Handrails
• Maneuvering space
• Clear floor and
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ground
• Play tables
• Entry points and
seats/routs

34. Playing areas
The clear floor space is permitted to
overlap onto the landing area to provide
access to this elevated window activity.
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35. Play table
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minimum
Height=610 mm
Width=760 mm
Deep=430

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37. Thank you
For your Comments and Feed back
Contact
Disability Research and Design Foundation [DRDF]
1, PoonamDarshan A Wing, Poonam Nagar,
Mahakali Caves Road, Andheri East,
Mumbai 400 093,
Maharashtra, India
Phone: +91-22-42640696
Fax: +91-22-28212272
Cell : +919819060696
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