The International Paralympic Committee, or IPC, publishes rankings and classifications for athletes participating in several track and filed competitions. Each classification is based on the type and severity of impairment or disability and the sport he is interested in playing.
IPC Wheelchair Classifications
The IPC classification system ranks track and field athletes who are wheelchair bound as well as athletes who can ambulate but also use a wheelchair for mobility. The first classification is 1.1, which includes athletes with spinal cord injuries and conditions including amputations and other musculoskeletal impairments and congenital anomalies. This includes individuals with nerve lesion diseases who meet sport-specific minimum impairment levels and are totally wheelchair bound. The second classification, 1.2, represents athletes with amputations, spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury or stroke and who have some degree of ambulation. This group also includes visually impaired athletes and those who are intellectually disabled.
IPC Impairment Classifications
According to the IPC, minimum impairment levels differ based on the type of disability. For instance, the classification for individuals with cerebral palsy will be different from the classifications for the visually impaired. Minimum impairment takes into consideration differences in muscle power, range of motion, spinal deformity, amputation or congenital limb losses, muscle spasticity and tendon reflex changes, vision, visual fields and limb length. If you have more than one impairment, the two impairments ranked together might change your competition classification. Each athlete participates in a rigorous assessment including physical and pre-competition testing based on her sport.
IWRF Classification
The IWRF, or International Wheelchair Rugby Federation, classifies athletes according to their functional abilities to ensure fair and equitable competition at all levels of play. This promotes competition at the highest level regardless of differences in physical functioning. Functional classifications take into consideration spinal cord injuries in addition to disability caused by polio, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis and amputations. Wheelchair rugby classifications focuses on stomach, back, chest, arm and leg movements in addition to an ability to handle the ball and manage wheelchair movements.
NWSA Classifications
In addition to track and field, rugby, basketball and hockey, wheelchair athletes compete in softball tournaments under the guidance of the National Wheelchair Softball Association. Its system classifies each athlete according to his physical limitations. The goal is to encourage athletes with severe disabilities to participate successfully. It uses a three-level classification system. Class I includes complete motor loss at spinal level T-7 or above and a total loss of muscle function originating at or above that level. Class II encompasses complete motor loss beginning at T-8 and descending to L-2, which means the athlete can have motor power in his hip and thighs. Class III applies to all other athletes with disabilities that relate to lower-extremity paralysis or paresis beginning at L-3 or lower. Individuals with lower amputations can fall in either class II or III depending on hip involvement.
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