What do the Paralympic categories mean?
Classes 1-5 are for wheelchair athletes. Classes 6-10 are for standing athletes. Finally, class 11 is for athletes with intellectual impairments. Within the wheelchair and standing classes, the lower the number, the greater the impact the impairment has on an athlete’s ability to compete.
What are the three steps for classification in the Paralympics?
Classification follows a three-step process:
- Does the athlete have at least one of the ten eligible impairments?
- Does the athlete meet the Minimum Impairment Criteria (MIC) specific to the sport they wish to compete in?
- Which sport class should the athlete compete in?
What is the meaning of para athletics?
: a series of international contests for athletes with disabilities that are associated with and held following the summer and winter Olympic Games. — called also Paralympic Games.
What does T35 mean in Paralympics?
T35 (T for track) is a disability sport classification for disability athletics’ running competitions. It includes people who have coordination impairments such as hypertonia, ataxia and athetosis. This includes people with cerebral palsy. The classification is used at the Paralympic Games.
How are different sports classified in the Paralympics?
Explanatory guide to Paralympic classification in Paralympic summer sports 4 Since different sports require different abilities, each sport logically requires its own classification system. For example, an impairment of the arms affects performance in a running event in athletics to a lesser extent than it affects performance in swimming.
Why are para athletics classified as sport specific?
Classification is sport-specific because an impairment affects the ability to perform in different sports to a different extent. As a consequence, an athlete may meet the criteria in one sport, but may not meet the criteria in another sport. Classification in para sport has been evolving since first introduced in the 1940’s.
What makes an athlete eligible for the Paralympic movement?
The Paralympic Movement offers sport opportunities for athletes that have an impairment that belongs to one of the ten eligible impairment types identified in the “Policy on Eligible Impairments in the Paralympic Movement.” This is found under section 2 chapter 3.13 of the IPC Handbook.
How are athletes with cerebral palsy classified in the Paralympics?
Athletes with cerebral palsy are split into four divisions according to the level of their disability, where class four comprises the more physically able. Visually impaired athletes compete together with no separate classification system. They ride in tandem with a sighted guide.