Everything you need to know about classification

The 2024 Paris Paralympics involves 22 sports but not each disablement categories tin vie successful each event.

Each athletics has antithetic carnal demands and truthful has its ain acceptable of classifications.

Blind shot is played by those with a ocular impairment.

All players successful the five-a-side crippled indispensable deterioration eyeshades but the goalkeeper, who is sighted but cannot permission the area. There are nary offside rules.

The shot contains shot bearings to nutrient a sound erstwhile it moves.

Boccia, which is akin to petanque, is unfastened to athletes with cerebral palsy and different terrible carnal disabilities (such arsenic muscular dystrophy) who vie from a wheelchair, with classification divided into 4 classes.

BC1: Players with cerebral palsy who are capable to usage their hands oregon feet to consistently propel a shot into play. BC1 athletes whitethorn person an adjutant connected tribunal to walk them their shot earlier each changeable but bash not usage assistive devices.

BC2: Players with cerebral palsy who are capable to usage their hands to consistently propel a shot into play and person greater functional quality than a BC1 athlete.

BC3: Players with cerebral palsy oregon different impairments successful each 4 limbs who are incapable to propulsion oregon footwear a shot into play. The athletes are permitted to usage an assistive instrumentality specified arsenic a ramp to propel the shot into play and are supported by an adjunct who adjusts the ramp connected the instructions of the player.

BC4: Players who bash not person cerebral palsy but person different impairment successful each 4 limbs and person akin functional quality to BC2 athletes. Conditions specified arsenic muscular dystrophy, spina bifida and tetraplegia volition autumn nether this classification.

Goalball is played by visually impaired athletes and a peculiar regularisation means determination is nary request for classification.

Participants deterioration blackout masks to guarantee everyone, whether unsighted oregon visually impaired, competes equally. The masks are checked during the game.

The shot has bells wrong it to assistance to orientate the players and, arsenic a result, the crippled is played successful full silence.

Archery is unfastened to athletes with a carnal disablement and classification is breached up into 2 classes:

Open: Includes athletes who person an impairment successful their legs and usage a wheelchair oregon person a equilibrium impairment and sprout lasting oregon resting connected a stool. Competitors usage either recurve oregon compound bows, depending connected the event.

W1: Wheelchair users with impairment successful each 4 limbs with either a wide nonaccomplishment of musculus strength, coordination oregon scope of movement.

All impairment groups tin vie successful athletics but a strategy of letters and numbers is utilized to separate each class.

A missive F is for tract athletes, T represents those who vie connected the track, and the fig shown refers to their impairment.

11-13: Track and tract athletes who are visually impaired. Blind athletes vie successful people 11, deterioration compulsory blindfolds and tally with a usher runner. Athletes successful people 12 are visually impaired but moving with a usher is optional.

20: Track and tract athletes who are intellectually impaired. Athletes successful this people person trouble with absorption clip and representation designation during an event.

31-38: Track and tract athletes with cerebral palsy oregon different neurological conditions that impact musculus coordination and control. Athletes successful classes 31-34 vie successful a seated presumption (using a racing oregon throwing chair), portion athletes successful classes 35-38 vie standing.

40-41: Track and tract athletes with abbreviated stature (also known medically arsenic dwarfism).

42-44: Track and tract athletes with little limb impairments who bash not usage prosthesis.

45-47: Track and tract athletes with precocious limb impairments.

T51-54: Wheelchair way athletes. Athletes successful people 51-52 are affected successful some little and precocious limbs. T53 athletes person afloat functioning arms but person nary trunk relation astatine all, portion T54 athletes person partial trunk and limb functions.

F51-57: Wheelchair tract athletes. Athletes successful F51-54 classes person constricted shoulder, limb and manus functions and nary trunk oregon limb function, portion F54 athletes person mean relation successful their arms and hands. In the F55-57 classes the trunk and limb relation increases.

T61-64: Track and tract athletes with little limb impairments who usage prosthesis.

Badminton competitors are divided into six classes (two wheelchair classes and 4 lasting classes).

WH1 and WH2 classes are for wheelchair users. WH1 athletes person a much terrible impairment than WH2 athletes.

SL3 and SL4 competitors are lasting athletes with impairments affecting 1 broadside of the assemblage oregon some legs

SU5 competitors are lasting athletes with precocious limb impairment.

SH6 competitors are abbreviated stature (dwarf) athletes.

All athletes with carnal impairments are eligible to vie successful canoeing utilizing either a kayak (KL) with a treble leaf paddle oregon the va'a (VL) which is simply a agelong canoe with an outrigger connected 1 broadside and is propelled with a azygous paddle. They are grouped into 3 athletics classes per boat.

KL1: Athletes successful this sports people person nary oregon precise constricted trunk relation and nary limb function.

KL2: Athletes person partial trunk and limb function; they are capable to beryllium upright successful the kayak. Along with this, they volition person constricted limb question during paddling.

KL3: Athletes person trunk and partial limb relation and are usually capable to usage astatine slightest 1 prosthetic.

VL1: Athletes with nary dynamic trunk function.

VL2: Athletes are fixed a people depending connected their trunk relation and limb relation and the people includes athletes who people little successful the 1 relation than the other.

VL3: Athletes person afloat oregon almost-full dynamic trunk function.

Cycling is unfastened to athletes who person impaired musculus power, impaired scope of movement, limb deficiency, limb magnitude difference, hypertonia, ataxia, athetosis (which whitethorn effect from cerebral palsy, a encephalon injury, a changeable oregon aggregate sclerosis) oregon a ocular impairment.

Athletes vie connected bicycles successful way and roadworthy contention events and connected handcycles and tricycles connected the road.

C1-5: Riders vie connected bicycles, which tin beryllium adapted for their impairments. They whitethorn person a information similar cerebral palsy oregon person a limb oregon limb amputation. C1 athletes person the astir terrible regulation portion C5 athletes conscionable the minimum impairment criteria. For example, an jock with a treble limb amputation would vie successful the C3 class, portion an jock with a azygous limb amputation would vie a people higher successful C4.

B: Visually impaired riders vie connected tandem bikes with a sighted guide.

H1-5: Categories for handcyclists. Riders successful H1-4 vie successful a reclined position. H1 athletes person nary trunk oregon limb relation and constricted limb relation portion H3 athletes person nary limb relation but bully trunk and limb function. H5 athletes beryllium connected their knees and usage their arms and trunk.

T1-2: Categories for athletes who are incapable to thrust a bicycle due to the fact that of a information affecting their equilibrium and coordination and alternatively usage a trike. Athletes successful the T1 people person much superior coordination problems past T2 athletes.

All impairment groups tin instrumentality portion successful equestrian athletics with Para-dressage the lone lawsuit connected the Paralympic programme.

There are 5 grades successful the sport, with riders divided depending upon the quality and grade of their impairment. All athletes vie unneurotic including the physically impaired and imaginativeness impaired, and men and women. The level of trouble of the trial they execute is comparative to their allocated grade.

Grade I: Severely disabled riders with impairments of each limbs and mediocre trunk power who usually usage a wheelchair successful regular life.

Grade II: Riders with either severely reduced trunk power and minimal precocious limb conditions oregon mean precocious and little limb and trunk conditions. Most usage a wheelchair successful regular life.

Grade III: Riders person a precise constricted quality successful some little limbs and a bully trunk balance, oregon milder limitations successful precocious and little limbs with reduced trunk control. Some usage a wheelchair successful regular life.

Grade IV: Ambulant riders (those capable to locomotion independently) who person impairments successful some arms oregon person nary arms, oregon mean impairments of each 4 limbs. This class besides includes unsighted riders and those with conditions specified arsenic dwarfism.

Grade V: Ambulant athletes with either impaired imaginativeness oregon reduced question oregon musculus spot oregon impaired limb oregon limb function.

Judo is contested by visually impaired competitors only.

Athletes vie successful J1 oregon J2 classes - J1 athletes whitethorn person varying degrees of imaginativeness impairment, from immoderate imaginativeness to afloat blind.

They deterioration a reddish ellipse to fto others cognize that they whitethorn request guided enactment before, during and aft a match.

J2 athletes are partially sighted.

Competitors who are deaf person a tiny bluish ellipse connected the backmost right-hand country of their outfit.

Athletes are divided by value successful the aforesaid mode arsenic sighted athletes but the main quality is that they statesman the bout "gripped up" (holding each other) alternatively than apart.

Powerlifting is unfastened to each athletes with a carnal disablement and is classified by value alone.

Powerlifters competing astatine the Paralympics person disabilities successful their little limbs oregon hips, including paralysis, cerebral palsy and little limb amputation.

Both antheral and pistillate competitors instrumentality portion successful 10 abstracted value classes.

Rowing is divided into 3 classes:

PR1: Athletes person afloat question successful their arms and shoulders with constricted oregon nary limb function, eg spinal cord injuries. They person mediocre equilibrium truthful are strapped into the boat.

PR2: Athletes with a bully level of trunk and limb question but reduced limb movement. These athletes are not capable to utilise a sliding spot erstwhile rowing.

PR3: Open to athletes with an impairment but who person question successful the legs, trunk and arms. This people besides includes visually impaired rowers.

Swimming is the lone athletics that combines the conditions of limb loss, cerebral palsy (coordination and question restrictions), spinal cord wounded (weakness oregon paralysis involving immoderate operation of the limbs) and different disabilities (such arsenic dwarfism and large associated regularisation conditions) crossed classes.

1-10: Swimmers with a carnal impairment. The little the number, the much terrible the impairment.

11-13: Swimmers with a ocular impairment. Swimmers successful the 11 class indispensable deterioration blackened goggles and usage a tapper to guarantee their information approaching the wall. Swimmers successful the 12 and 13 classes tin take whether to usage a tapper oregon not.

14: Swimmers with an intelligence impairment.

The prefix S denotes the people for freestyle, backstroke and butterfly. SB denotes the people for breaststroke, and SM denotes the people for idiosyncratic medley.

The prefix and people fig supply a scope of classifications, from swimmers with terrible disablement (S1, SB1, SM1) to those with minimal disablement (S10, SB9, SM10).

In immoderate 1 class, swimmers whitethorn commencement with a dive oregon already successful the water. This is taken into relationship erstwhile classifying an athlete.

Swimmers whitethorn person a classification that varies according to their lawsuit - for example, it whitethorn alteration betwixt breaststroke and backstroke, according to the effect of their movements connected the lawsuit successful question.

Table tennis is played by athletes with a carnal oregon intelligence disablement divided into 11 classes.

1-5: Athletes competing from a wheelchair, with people 1 the astir severely impaired and people 5 the slightest impaired.

6-10: Ambulant athletes, with people six the astir severely impaired and people 10 the least.

11: Athletes with an intelligence impairment.

Tokyo 2020 volition lone person events for athletes successful the K43 oregon K44 class. The lawsuit is combined and named K44. There volition beryllium 3 value categories per gender.

K43 includes athletes with bilateral amputation beneath the elbow, oregon equivalent nonaccomplishment of relation successful some precocious limbs.

K44 includes athletes with unilateral limb amputation (or equivalent nonaccomplishment of function), oregon nonaccomplishment of toes which interaction the quality to assistance the bottommost properly.

Triathlon is divided into six classes for some men and women.

PT1: This people is for wheelchair users. They swim, rhythm utilizing a hand-bike and implicit the 5km tally successful a racing wheelchair.

PT2-5: These classes are for ambulant athletes whose impairments see nonaccomplishment of musculus strength, scope of question and nonaccomplishment of limbs. They tin rhythm utilizing approved adaptations and tally with oregon without the usage of prosthetics.

PTVI: This people is for visually impaired athletes who person the enactment to thrust a tandem rhythm and tally with a guide.

Shooters are divided into wheelchair and lasting groups.

These divisions are divided into six sub-classes, each of which determines the benignant of mobility instrumentality the rival is allowed to use.

SH1: For pistol and firearm competitors who bash not necessitate a shooting stand. Athletes successful this people usually person an impairment successful 1 limb. Athletes tin take to vie sitting oregon standing.

SH2: For firearm competitors who person an impairment successful their arms and truthful necessitate a shooting stand. Most competitors successful this people vie successful a wheelchair.

Sitting volleyball is contested by athletes with a carnal impairment with the bulk being amputees.

There are 2 classes called minimally disabled (MD) and disabled (D) and a squad whitethorn lone person 1 MD subordinate connected the tribunal portion the different 5 players person to beryllium classed arsenic D.

Examples of a minimally disabled subordinate see anterior cruciate ligament injuries and missing fingers.

Basketball is unfastened to wheelchair athletes, whose impairments whitethorn see paraplegia, little limb amputation, cerebral palsy and polio.

Athletes are classified according to their carnal quality to implicit each tasks related to a hoops game.

All players are fixed a points standing betwixt 1.0 and 4.5 - a 1.0 constituent subordinate equates to the astir terrible impairment, 4.5 to the least.

Each squad fields 5 players but the standing of each subordinate indispensable not transcend a full of 14 points astatine immoderate clip connected court.

Fencing is unfastened to wheelchair athletes, whose impairments whitethorn see spinal cord injuries, little limb amputation and cerebral palsy and whose conditions prohibit them from competing against standing, able-bodied fencers.

Athletes competing successful this lawsuit are divided into 2 classes.

Category A: Athletes with bully equilibrium and recovery, and afloat trunk question with a afloat functioning fencing arm. Not each athletes successful this people usage a wheelchair successful regular life.

Category B: Athletes with mediocre equilibrium and recovery, but afloat usage of 1 oregon some precocious limbs. The fencing limb they usage whitethorn beryllium affected and usually enactment themselves with their non-fencing limb portion successful action.

Wheelchair rugby athletes are classified utilizing a points system, with the astir severely impaired athletes being graded astatine 0.5 points, rising to 3.5 points for the much able.

Each squad is comprised of 4 players and is allowed a maximum of 8 points connected tribunal astatine immoderate 1 time.

Tennis is played from a wheelchair with 2 classes - unfastened and quad (players successful this people person impairments successful 3 oregon much limbs).

In wheelchair tennis competitions, players are allowed 2 bounces of the ball, the archetypal bounce being wrong the bounds of the court.

Players successful the quad people person a terrible impairment successful their legs with immoderate level of impairment successful their playing arm. Most players successful this people usually connect the racket to their manus utilizing a strap.

The unfastened people is for each different physically impaired athletes that usage a wheelchair but immoderate athletes successful this people bash not usage a wheelchair successful regular life.