Knowledge Base

To be allocated a Sport Class and Sport Class Status in Para sport, an athlete must: 

1. Have an Underlying Health Condition that leads to an Eligible Impairment. It is the responsibility of each International Federation to decide which Eligible Impairments they include in their sport. To be considered eligible, an athlete will be requested to provide Diagnostic Information about their health condition as part of the Classification process. 
   
   
2. Meet the Minimum Impairment Criteria (MIC) within ...

An Evaluation Session usually takes place in the days preceding an international Competition. However, not all Competitions offer Classification opportunities, and some sports may offer Classification opportunities that are not linked to Competitions.

The first stage of the Classification process must also take place ahead of an Evaluation Session, where Diagnostic Information is submitted to help the International Federation assess the existence of an Underlying Health Condition and ...

Athletes are evaluated by Classifiers, who work in a group called a Classification Panel. Classifiers have the relevant qualifications and competencies, are knowledgeable in their sport, and certified as officials by the International Federation who govern the sport. For examples of typical expertise, please see the question “How does somebody become a Classifier?”.

An Athlete can bring one person whose role is to support them during the Classification process. If required, an Athlete can also have one interpreter attending an Evaluation Session. Both these persons must be a National Representative.

A National Representative means any person who is an office-holder or member of staff of, or who otherwise represents and/or works on behalf of a National Federation.

Classification Panels make objective decisions based on a sport’s Classification rules. If an Athlete disagrees with the outcome of an Evaluation Session, each sport has its own Protest rules in place. These rules outline:

• Who may lodge a Protest
• What can be protested
• The timelines that apply
• Which documents are required, and
• Any fees to be paid.

Please note, a Protest can only be lodged by a National Federation or National Paralympic Committee, and not by an individual Athlete.

At the start of every Para athlete’s international career, they will need to be classified at least once. Further evaluations may be required for a number of reasons, for example, Athletes with progressive or fluctuating Underlying Health Conditions. Or, if an International Federation makes changes to their sport’s Classification rules, which, in some cases, may lead to Athletes being classified again.

Once an Athlete has completed an Evaluation Session, they are given a Sport Class and ...

National and international Classification are often governed by different sets of rules and processes. Each International Federation defines the level of Competition where athletes are required to be classified by a Classification Panel ahead of competing.

There may be some international Competitions where athletes can compete with the Sport Class allocated to them at national level, but as they progress through the international Competition pathway, they will need to be classified under the...

Yes. As every Para sport demands its own range of fundamental tasks and activities that are likely to be impacted by an Athlete’s impairment differently, eligibility for one sport does not mean an Athlete is eligible for another.

International Classifiers are trained and certified by a sport’s International Federation in one specific impairment group; either Intellectual, Physical or Vision Impairment. This is because Classifiers must have qualifications relevant to the impairments they evaluate. For example, the following occupations are often found amongst the three impairment groups:

• Intellectual Impairment
  Psychologists, and experts in the sport and biomechanics.
   
• Physical Impairment
  Medical doctors, ...