What is Classification
Classification is a sport-based system of levelling the competition playing field for athletes with a physical disability. The classification system has been designed so as to minimize the impact of disability on the outcome of competition, so that athletes who succeed in competition do so on the basis of their sporting ability. To achieve this, athletes are classified according to the extent of activity limitation resulting from their disability.
Like wrestling, boxing, and weightlifting, where athletes are categorized by weight classes, athletes with disabilities are grouped in classifications (referred to as sport class) defined by the degree of function presented by their disability.
Athletes undergo an evaluation that determines their eligibility to compete and groups them into a competitive “sport class,” according to their physical or sensorial function, in a sport. An evaluation consists of standardized tests performed by the athlete and assessed by a classification panel. Athletes with a visual impairment complete an ophthalmology examination. The classification evaluation may include a technical assessment, and observation on the field of play.
Following the evaluation, athletes are assigned sport class, which determines who they compete against.
Who Classifies the Athletes
Classification for each sport is regulated by the International Sport Federation (ISF) for each sport and must comply with the IPC Classification Code and International Standards. Athletes are classified by an international panel of accredited classifiers trained by the ISFs. Published sport-specific classification criteria are used to guide the assessment of each athlete.
Classifiers are certified officials who qualify through practical and course work.
Typically, a classification panel is made up of two or more classifiers who evaluate each athlete.
Classification for Paralympic Games
Wherever possible, an athlete’s classification status is confirmed before arriving at the Paralympic Games. This allows the athletes and coaches to focus on training and effective preparation for competition in a specific class. It also avoids the distraction of a classification evaluation just before a major competition. However, for athletes who have a changing or progressive condition that requires ongoing evaluation to ensure the athletes are in the right class, or who have just entered the competition, classification takes place at the Games.
As part of the process for registering for each Paralympic Games, each athlete’s classification is provided to the organising committee, which assigns one of the following sport class statuses:
Confirmed (C) – is assigned to athletes who have been internationally classified according to the relevant sport rules and are not under-review. C-status athletes are not required to undergo classification evaluation at the Games.
Review (R) – is assigned to athletes who have been internationally classified according to the relevant sport rules, but are subject to review. R-status athletes are required to undergo classification evaluation and/or be observed during competition at the Games.
The classification evaluation takes place in the host city immediately before the Games begin.
For athletes competing in para-Alpine skiing and para-Nordic skiing (with the exception of athletes who are visually impaired), observation in competition is part of the sport’s classification rules and it happens on the first appearance at the Games. The chief classifier is required to confirm the class no later than 15 minutes after an athlete’s first appearance in an event. If an athlete’s sport class changes, they must be re-entered into the new class before they can continue competing.
New (N) – is assigned to athletes who have not been internationally classified according to the sport rules. N – status athletes are only eligible for entry into Paralympic Games under exceptional circumstances, and their sport class status is assigned following the same process as R-status athletes. This is the only case where national Paralympic committees from opposing countries can lodge a protest against an opposing athlete’s classification.
Each Paralympic Games has a chief classifier assigned by the International Paralympic Committee or the ISF. There is also a chief classifier for each sport and one chief classifier for athletes with visual impairments.
Classification Protests
Only N-status and R-status athletes can protest the classification they receive at the Games, subject to the rules of their sport. Only one protest is allowed. The protest must take place on the day of the classification evaluation or by 08:30 on the follow day, depending on the time of day the classification evaluation takes place.
Protests of a classification assigned following the observation during competition must be made within 15 minutes of the athlete’s sport class and final results being announced.
Only the Chief Classifier is eligible to protest athletes with a C-status.
Protests of an athlete assigned any status under exceptional circumstances may be lodged by the ISF chief classifier, subject to the approval of the International Paralympic Committee Medical and Scientific Director. Exceptional circumstances are defined in the IPC Classification Code and International Standard as, “will arise if a Chief Classifier believes that an athlete’s confirmed sport class no longer reflects that athlete’s ability to compete equitably within that sport class.”
Classification Appeals
A “classification appeal” is the process by which a formal objection to the manner in which an athlete’s classification evaluation and/or classification procedure was conducted, and is made to the IPC Board of Appeal of Classification (BAC)."
