Welcome to the Adapted Physical Activity Research Unit (APARU)!

Our Mission:

Mixed dance class in gym hall with three students in wheelchairs led by lecturer standing in front of the group

Physical activity is a human right. APARU advances this principle through rigourous, interdisciplinary research that transforms policy and practice.

Working alongside underserved communities, practitioners, and partners across multiple sectors, we challenge and help dismantle barriers to participation, amplify marginalised voices, and spark systemic change that enables all individuals to move, play, and thrive on their own terms. Our research embraces physical culture with a social justice lens—exploring joy through movement, advancing culturally competent practices, and challenging inequities that limit participation for those most affected. In doing so, we aim to reimagine what participatory research can look like.

Creating Change Through Research:

Our research delivers impact across communities, policy, and practice:

Community Impact: We've worked with Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities, disabled people's organisations, and military veteran groups to co-create inclusive research programmes that reflect their priorities and lived experiences. Our participatory approaches ensure that research benefits flow directly to communities most affected by inequalities.

Policy Influence: Our research on ethnic categorisation, disability inclusion, and health inequalities shapes policy debates and informs commissioning decisions at local, national, and international levels. Specifically, our work with Breakthrough T1D was the foundation of a parliamentary debate regarding stigma of T1D, and the lack of inclusive policy ensuring the right of people with T1D to participate in physical activity.

Practice Transformation: Through partnerships with practitioners and physical activity providers, we're embedding culturally competent and disability-confident approaches across sport and physical activity settings.

Academic Excellence: With 50+ peer-reviewed publications, 4 edited books with Routledge, and over £100,000 in research income, we're contributing to theoretical advancement while maintaining our commitment to socially engaged scholarship. Our successful supervision of over 10 doctoral students has developed the next generation of researchers committed to equity and social justice.

International Reach: Our collaborative networks span Japan, Canada, USA, and Ireland, fostering global dialogue on adapted physical activity, disability studies, and inclusive sport cultures.

Get Involved! Join Us in Shaping a More Inclusive Future for Physical Activity

We welcome collaboration from:

Researchers and Academics seeking interdisciplinary partnerships, PhD supervision, or collaborative grant applications in adapted physical activity, disability studies, or health inequalities

Practitioners and Policymakers working with disabled communities, marginalised populations, or adapted sport programmes who want to strengthen practice through research partnership

Community Organisations and Lived Experience Partners interested in participatory research that centres your voices, addresses your priorities, and creates meaningful change

Students (prospective PhD or MRes) passionate about social justice, inclusive physical activity, and community-engaged research

 

Whether you're a member of an underserved community, researcher, practitioner, policymaker, or simply interested in the socio-cultural dimensions of physical activity, we invite you to contact us to explore collaboration opportunities.

 

Membership


Prof. Győző Molnár
Dr Emma V. Richardson
Helen Black (PhD Student)
Mathius Sendawula (PhD Student)
Chunhong Zhou (PhD Student)
Francesca Musgrave (PhD Student)

Associate Membership

Prof. Nobuko Tanaka-Hibino
Toin University, Japan

Prof. Nancy Spencer
University of Alberta, Canada

Prof. Justin Haegele
Old Dominion University, USA

Dr Tom Fabian
University College Dublin, Ireland

Dr Mary Quirke 
School of Psychology, Griffith College Dublin

Completed Projects

Whose Knowledge Counts in Adapted Physical Activity Research?

Cultural Praxis in Critical Disability Studies: Doing socially just work for inclusive physical activity.

Ethnic Categorisation of Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller Communities.

Current Projects

Sport, Hate and Prevention: Countering Radicalization Through Athletic Inclusion (Pump Priming) - BA Funded

The Impact of the Invictus Games on Injured and Ill Armed Forces Members and their Families - RBL Funded

Seeking Equitable Access to Sport and Physical Activity among Diabetic Communities.

Outputs / Publications

Fabian, T. & Molnár, G. (in press). Deep Culture, Deep Kurultáj: Turanism, Muscular Nationalism, and Heritage Nostalgia in Hungary. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics,

Molnár, G. et al. (in press). Recognition and Risk: Ethnic Monitoring, Healthcare Access, and Everyday Discrimination in Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller Communities in the UK. Sociology of Health and Illness,

Spencer, N.L.I. & Molnár, G. (2026). Ontological, epistemological, axiological considerations when using qualitative methods for researching disability in physical education. In A. J. Maher, J. Haegele., & J. Coates (eds.), Routledge Handbook of Qualitative Methods for Researching Disability in Physical Education. Routledge

Richardson, E. V., Wilson, C. T., Black, H., & Foster, R. (2026). “What’s best for you?”: using cripistemologies as a grounding for participatory research with communities that are non-Verbal.  In A. J. Maher, J. Haegele., & J. Coates (eds.), Routledge Handbook of Qualitative Methods for Researching Disability in Physical Education. Routledge

Hertting, K. & Molnár, G. (2025). From Abuse to Unity: National Belonging, and the 2018 Durmaz Affair in Swedish Football. International Review for the Sociology of Sport.

Thomas, G., Guinan, J., Lord. R. & Molnár, G. (2025). Aspiring Against the Odds: Women Strength and Conditioning Coaches in a Gendered Landscape. International Review for the Sociology of Sport. (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/101269022513938)

Akimoto, S., Richardson, E., and Nagata, S. (2025) “It’s a Story of Another World”: Perceptions of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games Among Japanese Athletes with Psychiatric Impairments. Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, 42(3), p. 294-318

Zhou, C., Bairner, A., & Molnár, G. (2025). Organizational and personal barriers to physical activity: an intersectional analysis of divorced single mothers in China’s IT and Internet industries. Sport, Education and Society, 30(9), 1196–1209. https://doi.org/10.1080/13573322.2025.2555345

Burgess, B., Vinson, D., Richardson, E., & Molnár, G. (2025). Utilising the ecological–intersectional model to identify the factors that impact LGBTQ+ coaches’ experiences in sport. Sport, Education and Society, https://doi.org/10.1080/13573322.2025.2476603

Bracken, S., Hopkins, A, Kennett, A., Lawrence, H., Richardson, E. V, Wedgebury, K., & Wilcon, C. T. (2025). Empowering disabled learners’ voices and agency through Universal Design for Learning. In, S. Taylor & S. Bracken (Eds.), Learner Voices, Perspectives and Positionings: Providing Agency to Empower Learning. Routledge.

Mycock, G., Foye, U., Edwards, C., & Molnár, G. (2025). Men’s Formal Help-Seeking for Eating and/or Body Image Psychopathology: A Systematic Review of Barriers and Facilitators. The Journal of Men’s Studies, https://doi.org/10.1177/10608265251336747

Richardson, E. V., & Motl, R. W. (2025). A Phenomenological Understanding of Aging “Well” With Multiple Sclerosis. The Gerontologist, 65(6), gnaf072.

News

15/05/2026 - Guest Lecture: Global African Perspectives on the History of FIFA Men's World Cups, 1930 - 2026 by Prof. Árpád von Klimó (Catholic University of America, USA) in BY G199. Everyone is welcome.For more information, please contact Prof. Győző Molnár at g.molnar@worc.ac.uk

08/01/2026 - NIHR bid submitted: Empowering Gypsy, and Traveller Women's Groups

16/12/2025 - British Academy Pump Priming Funding Awarded - Sport Discrimination and Radicalisation Prevention: A UK-Sweden-Hungary Research Network

26/11/2025 - Diabates focused research bid submitted - Addressing Health Inequities through Coproduced Physical ActivityInterventions for Rural Diabetic Communities at Marginalised Intersections

03/09/2025 - Importance of diabetes in sport is discussed in Parliament

Testimonials

"I felt completely at ease with both Emma and G. Many people in the Armed Forces community are understandably reluctant to engage with academic research, often fearing that researchers intend to portray us through the ‘mad, bad and sad’ lens, or fall back on the simplified ‘hero/villain’ narrative. Or, particularly when it comes to those who are wounded, injured, or sick, focusing on ‘overcoming adversity’ and being ‘inspirational’ which most of us don't identify with.

Emma and G challenged these stereotypes. They saw beyond our physical or mental health conditions and treated each of us as individuals with our own stories and strengths. They treated us as humans, as part of the team, not as a sob story, or something that needs to be 'fixed." (Stacey - Invictus project participant)

"Emma and G were open and transparent about their research exploring the impact of the Invictus Games on wounded, injured and sick serving personnel and veterans. They clearly demonstrated how valuable these findings are, not only for the Invictus Games but for the wider adaptive sport community as a whole.
Their person-centred approach immediately put us at ease, allowing us to openly share how adaptive sport has changed - and in many cases saved - our lives. As a team, we felt genuinely valued and able to contribute in whatever way felt right for us. It felt meaningful to give back to the community and to highlight the positive impact adaptive sport can have following injury.
I would like to sincerely thank Emma and G for their dedication, support, and hard work, and for giving us the opportunity to share our recovery journeys over the years." (Rachel - Invictus project participant)




 

 

Get in touch

For more information on our research or opportunities please get in touch with Professor Győző Molnár or Dr Emma Richardson