Notable?

I have immense admiration for a current Wikimedia Australia project.
A group of volunteers are developing a history of Australian Paralympic Sport.
Recent contributions have included:
1962 Commonwealth Paraplegic Games
Ray Epstein
Australia at the 2012 Paralympic Games
Kerri-Anne Connor
Carolyn Connors
Paralympic Coaches (Brad Dubberley; Iryna Dvoskina; Scott Goodman; John Eden; Louise Sauvage; Gerry Hewson)
I am in awe of the personal investment in authorship for this project.
This week an important issue has been raised about the equity of treatment for athletes in Wikipedia. My understanding is that this issue is about Notability.
I do not visit many Wikipedia Talk pages but I will be following the conversation about paralympians. At present there is a vibrant discussion between Roger and DJ Sasso.
Roger’s opening remarks:

According to WP:NOLYMPICS an athlete is presumed notable if they have competed at any Olympic games, but for Paralympic athletes the barrier is set far higher as only medallists are presumed to be notable. “Athletes from any sport are presumed notable if they have competed at the Summer or Winter Olympic games or have won a medal at the Paralympic Games”. I propose to change this so that Olympians and Paralympians are treated equally: “Athletes from any sport are presumed notable if they have competed at the Summer or Winter Olympic or Paralympic Games. Roger (talk) 13:56, 6 June 2012 (UTC)

Amidst the exchange between Roger and DJ Sasso, the latter points out that “All information included in Wikipedia, including articles about sports, must be verifiable. In addition, standalone articles are required to meet the General Notability Guideline.
The growth of the Paralympic project will provide an important focus for the notability debate on Wikipedia. What I do find remarkable is that there advocates and custodians who can animate this debate.
A remarkable group of people discussing another remarkable group of people.
Photo Credits
xx0992 Barcelona Paralympics (101)

xx0992 Barcelona Paralympics (104)
Kurt Fearnley

3 COMMENTS

  1. Keith – a good post , but I would be interested in your opinion! As someone who works in Paralympic sport and who has been involved in the Australian Paralympic history project from the start, I think that this is an important issue because it reflects the way society perceives and treats people with a disability when comparing them with the non-disabled. I cannot see why the “automatic notability” standards for Olympians should be easier for Olympians than for Paralympians. Both participate at the highest level in sport available to them. Wikipedia articles about athletes from either group have to meet standards of verifiability and reliability of sources. It may be difficult to find information about many Paralympians. However, given that there are many Olympians from very small sports, I would imaging that the same issue exists for them. So why is the “notability” bar lower for Olympians?

    • Tony
      Thank you for finding the post and making time to comment.
      I was very conscious in writing the post that I was raising a question about Notability in Wikipedia. I apologise if my post sounded equivocal.
      I am unequivocally committed to the position you articulate.
      This is one of those non zero sum moments. The custodians of the integrity of Wikipedia have the opportunity to reflect on how to support equity.
      Like you I think the case is clear and compelling.
      Perhaps another post on this topic will have an ! rather than a ?
      Thank you again for helping me clarify my position. I will need to contribute to the talk page to support the change we wish to see.
      Thank you too for repositing the Paralympic issues on Flickr that I used to emded in the post.
      Best wishes
      Keith

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