Robert Steadward

Robert Daniel Steadward, (born May 26, 1946) is a Canadian retired sports administrator, professor, sports scientist, and author.

Steadward was born on May 26, 1946, in Eston, Saskatchewan.

His parents Danny and Irene encouraged their children to be active participants in the community.

As a youth, he enjoyed ice hockey, baseball, track and field, and riding horses.

Steadward became involved in disabled sports in Edmonton during the 1960s while he was a student.

He graduated from Luther College High School in Regina, Saskatchewan in 1964.

Steadward initially studied dentistry at the University of Alberta but abandoned that career path.

He coached for the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) from 1966 to 1976, in swimming, wheelchair basketball, and track and field.

After a few years of not attending school, he returned to the University of Alberta and earned a Bachelor of Physical Education in 1967.

While working as an intern with disabled athletes, he chose to volunteer in Paralympic sport and work with its athletes.

He completed a Master's degree in physical education science and then a Doctorate at the University of Oregon, during which he was a member of the Epsilon-Alpha chapter in the Kappa Sigma fraternity.

Steadward helped organize the first Canadian wheelchair sport national championships in 1968, and later coached Canada in wheelchair basketball at the Summer Paralympics.

He coached a wheelchair basketball club called the Edmonton Handicaddies; and along with Gary McPherson, he helped organize the first Canadian wheelchair sport national championships, hosted at the University of Alberta in 1968.

After realizing there was lack of funds allocated to disabled sports, he decided to become more involved.

He served as a national governor for the CPC from 1970 to 1986, was its treasurer from 1974 to 176, and was head of mission for international events from 1971 to 1980.

He became a professor at the University of Alberta in 1971, later served as chairman of the Department of Athletics, and published more than 150 papers about disability sport.

He was the founding president of the Alberta Wheelchair Sports Association in 1971, founded the Research and Training Centre for Athletes with Disabilities in 1978, served as president of the Canadian Paralympic Committee from 1984 to 1990, and later became a member of the Canadian Olympic Committee.

He founded the Alberta Wheelchair Sports Association in 1971, and served as its president until 1975.

Before the association was founded, Steadward noted that activities for disabled people were managed by hospitals and long-term care facilities, and he wanted to see people in physiotherapy programs become involved in sports.

In 1971, Steadward joined the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Alberta.

He helped design and construct a three-wheeled racing wheelchair used by Doug Bovee at the 1972 Summer Paralympics.

The experiment impacted the design of future racing wheelchairs, and opened the door for high-performance competition in disability sport.

Steadward coached the Canadian national wheelchair basketball team at the same Summer Paralympics, and at the 1973 International Stoke Mandeville Games.

He was head of mission for Canada at the 1976 Summer Paralympics in Toronto, and served as president of the Canadian Federation of Sport Organizations for the Disabled.

Steadward founded the Research and Training Centre for Athletes with Disabilities in 1978.

He envisioned a place where disabled athletes had a place to train for competition in sports, and have access to quality coaching.

He also served as president of the Alberta Universities Athletic Association, chairman of Accreditation for the 1978 Commonwealth Games hosted in Edmonton, and vice-president of the 1983 Summer Universiade also hosted in Edmonton.

He also founded the Canadian Sports Fund for the Physically Disabled in 1979, to provide funds for research, and was its chairman for 10 years.

Steadward served as president of the CPC from 1984 to 1990.

While with the CPC, he also acted as a governor, treasurer, coach at the national level, and head of mission to international events.

Steadward became the first president of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) in 1989, after a successful campaign to consolidate international disability sport organizations.

He signed a memorandum of understanding with Juan Antonio Samaranch of the International Olympic Committee during the 2000 Summer Olympics which united the Paralympic movement with the Olympic Games movement, and saw one city host both events.

During his tenure as president of the IPC, the organization grew from 37 to 172 national federations, and the Paralympic Games grew in popularity.

The Commonwealth Games subsequently integrated disabled sports into its program, as a result of his efforts.

His career has been recognized with the Order of Canada, the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, and the Alberta Order of Excellence.

He has also been inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame, the Canadian Disability Hall of Fame, and Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.

Steadward retired from teaching at the University of Alberta in 2001.

He had served as Associate Dean of the Faculty of Physical Education, and also chairman of the Department of Athletics.

During his tenure, he worked with 50 graduate students working to improve disability sport.

His research led to more than 150 papers published about disability sport.