Para-athletics commonly referred to as athletic sports is the sports played by people with disabilities. The events within this category are quite similar to the sport of able-bodied people with some exceptions in wheelchair racing and club throw.
A series of international contests for athletics with disabilities are organized following the summer and winter Olympic games and are known as paralympic. The paralympic movement offers sports opportunities at the highest level for athletics with physical vision and intellectual impairment classified in the following eligible impairments: Impaired Passive Range of Movement, Limb Deficiency, Leg Lenght Difference Short Stature, Muscle Tension, Uncoordinated Movements, Involuntary Movements, Vision Impairment, and Intellectual Impairment. However, the classification system differs by sport and is developed by the international federation(IF) governing the particular sport.
Classification
Though classification is one of the major challenges in para-sports, PAAN strives for global uniformity and strictly follows the classification criteria as prescribed by IPC Classification Code. The classification code mandates the development of evidence-based classification systems and details policies and procedures that should be common to all sports within the Paralympic movement. The code has adopted the sport-specific functional system of classification because it’s evident that any impairment may have a significant impact in one sport and a relatively minor impact in another. And, also, an impairment affects the ability to perform in different sports to a different extent. So, through classification, the eligibility of athletes is determined and athletes meeting the same eligibility criteria are grouped together into a particular class for competition. As a consequence, an athlete may meet the criteria in one sport but may not meet the criteria in another sport. Further, the classification ensures fair and equal competition based on skill, fitness, power, endurance, tactical ability, and mental focus.
