Building inclusive communities across the u.s. through the inclusive fitness coalition

A truly facilitating community is one in which physical activity is as accessible to people with disabilities as it is to people without disabilities. Unfortunately, many people with disabilities or caregivers who have a child or adult family member with a disability have limited access to physical activity because of the substantially greater number of barriers they experience compared to people without disabilities in accessing programs, services and support systems in their community. The Inclusive Fitness Coalition (IFC) was established in 2007 as a partnership between the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability (NCHPAD). The goals of the IFC are to: 1) generate support for inclusive policies, systems and environments to support the needs of people with disabilities; 2) provide a comprehensive training initiative to educate exercise and health professionals on ways to make their programs, services and facilities more accessible to people with disabilities; and 3) use ACSM as a role model in promoting disability inclusion in health and fitness across the organization's strategic goals and initiatives. Examples of the IFC's recent successes in education and policy will be discussed including 1) creation of the Certified Inclusive Fitness Trainer certificate; and 2) the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights guidance detailing school districts' legal obligations to provide students with disabilities equal access to athletics.