When I asked Zwift if they were going to represent adaptive and disabled athletes with true-to-life equipment and avatar integration, the short answer was “Yes.”
The ZOM: Will adaptive athletes be represented with true-to-life equipment and avatar integration on Zwift?
Chris Snook: “Yes, part of the research was focused on equipment to ensure that it is as true to life as possible—in a Zwifty way, of course.”
Adaptive and disabled athlete accessibility, inclusion, and representation on Zwift have been a prolonged topic of interest and debate. Zwift’s head of PR and DEIB Inclusion Council member, Chris Snook, acknowledges when he says, “We understand that from the outside this is frustrating. It is definitely a priority with plenty of internal support from staff across the business. The aim is to deliver an equitable solution for all athletes living with a disability.”
With the firmest response to date, Zwift is finally on notice. Will adaptive and disabled athletes finally receive the representation and inclusion they deserve? Please start the clock—now! It’s been long enough!
The editorial board of the respected and trusted worldwide publication CyclingNews remains committed to including and representing adaptive athletes in all cycling venues by highlighting this feature.
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Semi-retired after more than 20 years as the owner and director of a private Orthopedic Physical Therapy practice, Chris now enjoys the freedom to dedicate himself to his passions—virtual cycling and writing.
Driven to give back to the sport that has enriched his life with countless experiences and relationships, he founded a non-profit organization, TheDIRTDadFund. In the summer of 2022, he rode 3,900 miles from San Francisco to his “Gain Cave” on Long Island, New York, raising support for his charity.
His passion for cycling shines through in his writing, which has been featured in prominent publications like Cycling Weekly, Cycling News, road.cc, Zwift Insider, Endurance.biz, and Bicycling. In 2024, he was on-site in Abu Dhabi, covering the first live, in-person UCI Cycling Esports World Championship.
His contributions to cycling esports have not gone unnoticed, with his work cited in multiple research papers exploring this evolving discipline. He sits alongside esteemed esports scientists as a member of the Virtual Sports Research Network and contributes to groundbreaking research exploring the new frontier of virtual physical sport. Chris co-hosts The Virtual Velo Podcast, too.
Amazing news! Thanks for all your efforts in bringing this to a wider audience. It’s a pity they haven’t given us a date, but the 1st April might be nice to show us what they are thinking of!
Now you’re being synical 😉 but, huge step forward
Maybe, but only a little bit. Last year Zwift put everyone on a kiddy trike on 1st April, so you’d think this year, given what they’ve said, they could put everyone on a proper recumbent trike or handcycle – even if the physics isn’t yet sorted out.
This is so important! IRL I see adaptive cyclists all the time. And I bet that there are a lot of them on Zwift! So we need representation!
Dr. Andy Shuttleworth and Chris Schwenker has been doing an excellent job at elevating the public’s awareness 👀of the adaptive sports community within active eSports. As an adaptive sports advocate, it troubles me to witness the prolonged underrepresentation of adaptive sports athletes on the Zwift platform💔. Do not get me wrong: I am pleased with what Zwift has provided thus far regarding access to multiple sanctioned competitions and sportifs for cycling and running on an international scale🌍. However; since I became a Zwifter at the beginning of 2020 and experienced countless software updates and technological advances the Zwift software team has implemented, I feel representation of the adaptive sports community in the Zwift metaverse is long overdue🗓. Since the start of my Zwift journey, Zwifters have being able to enjoy the Zwift world in various fashions: from riding as space-alien-Santas 👾🎅 on a special holiday group ride to sharing the experience of pro-cyclists on two hyper-realistic Tour de France 🚴🏿♂️ route releases. Now, we are able to go for a spin in the re-created world of Tokyo, Japan 🇯🇵 ; created for the Olympics🏅. With these multiple complex changes in mind, I cannot understand why the implementation of hand, recumbent, or upright-trike representation is taking so long 🕰.
Thank you for your support, Zed!
[…] answer was to a question asked in March 2022 when researching the topic for this CyclingNews article alluding to Zwift’s work to prioritize the disabled community. The firm admission by Snook […]
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