[Conception and goals of sports for handicapped in Switzerland]

The main objective of sport for the handicapped is the maintenance and improvement of physical performance. Sport for the handicapped is also a social hygienic question. We cannot ignore what is happening to the handicapped during their whole life-time: whether they get more and more stiff, unflexible and clumsy, lose their ability to move and become a burden to the society too early. Regular physical activity can work wonders. Many of them find the relation to the public life and their lost self-confidence returned as a result of participating in physical activity programs. They become happier and motivated for their daily work. They discover a new sense of life in proving to themselves that, in spite of their handicap, they are able to achieve considerable performances, a healthier state, and are generally happier and more flexible up to an old age. In conclusion, sport for the handicapped should achieve the following: give pleasure of life, increase courage, promote comradeship, reinforce self-confidence, improve independence, and take away inhibitions and inferiority complexes.