Class(ificiation) on the Field
With the Paralympics just around the corner, our excitement is building at Weave Allied Health! With only 9 days to go, we’re gearing up to immerse ourselves in the thrilling action in Paris. To get ready for the event, this week, we’ve delved into the disability classification process—a crucial aspect of Paralympic competition.
Classification is a formal assessment process that athletes with disabilities undergo to determine their competitive category within their chosen sport. The aim is to ensure a level playing field and tight competition. This assessment is conducted by professionals, including medical and allied health experts, who have specialized training aligned with respective sports bodies.
The classification process focuses on ten types of impairments, including eight physical impairments, one related to visual impairment, and another covering intellectual disability. Here’s a brief overview of each category:
Impaired Muscle Power: This includes athletes who have conditions that reduce or eliminate their ability to voluntarily contract muscles to move or generate force. Examples include spinal cord injuries, spina bifida, and muscular dystrophy.
Impaired Passive Range of Motion: Athletes in this category have restricted movement in one or more joints, which may result from conditions like arthrogryposis or trauma.
Limb Deficiency: This classification covers athletes with partial or complete limb amputations, whether due to trauma, medical necessity, or congenital conditions.
Leg Length Difference: Significant discrepancies in leg length, which can impact mobility, are accounted for in this classification.
Short Stature: Athletes with conditions like achondroplasia, growth hormone dysfunction, or osteogenesis imperfecta are included here to support their participation.
Hypertonia: This refers to athletes experiencing increased muscle tone, affecting range of motion, coordination, and muscle flexibility. Common diagnoses include cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, and stroke.
Ataxia: Ataxic movements, characterized by poor voluntary control, are often seen in athletes with conditions such as cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, stroke, and multiple sclerosis.
Athetosis: This classification is for athletes with slow, involuntary, writhing movements, typically affecting the hands, legs, and arms. It’s commonly associated with cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, and stroke.
Visual Impairment: Athletes with reduced or no visual capacity due to damage to the eye structure, optical nerves, or visual cortex of the brain fall under this classification. Conditions include retinitis pigmentosa and diabetic retinopathy.
Intellectual Disability: This category is for athletes with a restriction in intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior, affecting their daily life skills. The disability must be present before the age of 18.
After classification, athletes must meet the minimum criteria for participation in their chosen sport. Each sport has its own classification standards, reflecting the specific physical, visual, or cognitive demands of the activity. The classification process also assesses how an individual’s disability impacts their performance. For instance, the participation of athletes with arm amputations in swimming differs from those with leg amputations. Some sports have a single classification, while others, like athletics, have multiple categories, sometimes as many as fifty.
As athletes’ needs evolve, they are eligible for re-assessment to maintain fairness. If an athlete competes in multiple sports, they must undergo classification for each one.
It’s a thorough process, and we extend our gratitude to the physiotherapists, doctors, and biomechanists who work to ensure fair participation for all athletes.
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Reference material:
- World Para Athletics Classification & Categories (paralympic.org)
- What is classification? | Paralympics Australia
- IPC Classification - Paralympic Categories & How to Qualify