How does the Paralympic classification system work?

Like the Olympics, the Paralympics are taking place a year later originally scheduled due to the delay caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), there are 2,550 male and 1,853 female athletes participating in the Games, which take place from 24 August to 5 September.

“Classification is the cornerstone of the Paralympic Movement, it determines which athletes are eligible to compete in a sport and how athletes are grouped for competition,” says the IPC.

Paralympics are grouped according to the “degree of activity limitation resulting from the impairment,” according to the IPC.

As different sports require different physical needs, the IPC says the grading process “aims to minimize the impact of impairment on athletes’ performance” so that their athletic prowess is put on display.

The IPC “Athlete Evaluation” process attempts to answer three questions.

Does the athlete have a permanent “permissible impairment”?

First, it must be considered whether the athlete has an “underlying health condition” which has led to a “permanent permissible impairment”. The evaluation is carried out by the governing body of the International Sports Federation which oversees each individual sport.

There are 10 different types of disabilities. They are often divided into three disability groups: physical (reduced muscle power, reduced range of motion, limb deficit, leg length difference, hypertonia, ataxia, athetosis, and short stature), visual and intellectual.

Once it has been assessed whether or not an athlete has an eligible disability, it must be determined whether the athlete meets the “Minimum Disability Criteria”. The classification of each sport has rules to “describe how severe a suitable impairment must be in order for an athlete to be considered fit to compete”.

Examples of minimum impairment criteria include defined maximum height for athletes with short stature or a defined amputation level for athletes with limb deficiency. The criteria are based on scientific research.

What do the classes mean in each sport?

The final step is to decide an athlete’s sporting class.

While sports like ice hockey and para weightlifting have only one class, others have many different classes to include all 10 eligible disabilities and with many different disciplines. There are 20 classes in the running and jumping events.

The class groups athletes with similar athletic limitations so that they can compete at similar levels, but does not necessarily have to group only athletes with the same permissible disability.

“If different disabilities cause similar activity restrictions, athletes with these disabilities can compete together,” the IPC said.

As some impairments progress over time, athletes may change classification over time.

Craig Spence, IPC’s Chief Brand and Communications Officer, said determining the ranking of athletes before the Games was a “real challenge” due to the pandemic.

“International federations have done a great job over the past six months to rank athletes early.”

Spence says they are working to rank all athletes scheduled to compete at this year’s Games, but the lack of competition since the start of the pandemic has made the job more difficult for the IPC.

“For the past 20 months they have not been able to enter a competition where classification was offered,” he explained.

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“We started the ranking in athletics yesterday and will continue in athletics and wheelchair rugby,” added Spence.

“The ranking is underway and we hope to have all the athletes classified before the competition dates.

“The grading process is done by the rulebook despite the pandemic. You are placed in a class and then you are observed competing to make sure you are in the correct class.”