skip navigation

Classification

Classification provides a structure for competition in Paralympic sports. Classification has existed since the Paralympic Movement first began in the mid 1940s. Athletes competing in sports in the Paralympic Movement have an impairment that leads to a competitive disadvantage.  Classification determines who is eligible to compete in a specific sport, and also groups athletes into sport classes according to the effect of their impairment on the ability to carry out fundamental sport specific activities in that sport. The purpose of classification is to minimize the impact of impairments on sport specific performance and to ensure the success of an athlete or a team is determined by skill, fitness, power, endurance, tactical ability and mental focus. The athlete (or team) who wins should be the best at that moment in time, and not the one with the least impairment.

This area of the website has been created to give athletes, coaches, classifiers and other stakeholders information on classification for education about classification, the process of athlete evaluation to obtain a sport class and the procedures used in classification in wheelchair rugby. This information provides full transparency of the classification processes and procedures.