Similar to the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games occur once every four years. Since 1988, the same city has hosted both events, with the Paralympic Games taking place shortly after the completion of the Olympics. From the first Paralympics in Rome in 1960 until the 1976 Games in Toronto, the Paralympics exclusively featured wheelchair sports. Since then, the Paralympics have featured a variety of summer sports and now serve as the largest international platform for competition between athletes with physical disabilities.
Governing Bodies and Classifications
The modern Paralympic Games feature 20 sports, each of which either the International Paralympic Committee, or IPC, an International Organization of Sport for the Disabled or an International Federation. governs. Some of these sports are geared toward people with a certain type of disability, with the IPC using six classifications: amputee, cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, wheelchair, visually impaired and others, which includes such conditions as dwarfism and congenital deformities. To ensure fair competition, the IPC then groups athletes according to their level of disability within each of these categories.
IPC Sports
There are four Paralymic sports which the International Paralympic Committee governs. These are: powerlifting, shooting, swimming and athletics, which includes a variety of track and field competitions. Each of these sports then divides into numerous events by disability and classification. For example, athletics includes a number of racing, jumping and throwing events, as well as events that feature more than one of these, such as the pentathlon.
IOSD Sports
International Organizations of Sport for the Disabled, or IOSDs, govern six Paralympic sports. The International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation is responsible for wheelchair fencing, while the Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association, covers two: boccia and 7-a-side football. While both of these sports are limited to people with cerebral palsy, boccia is exclusive to people who use wheelchairs and 7-a-side football features only able-bodied athletes.
The International Blind Sports Federation governs three sports: 5-a-side football, judo and goalball. Unique to visually impaired athletes, goalball is a team sport that involves trying to roll a ball into your opponent's goal and using your body to prevent the other team from doing the same. Unlike other Paralympic sports, complete silence is required to play goalball, as the athletes rely on the sound of a bell in the ball to be able to track its movement.
International Federation Sports
A total of 10 Paralympic sports are governed by a variety of international federations. Archery, cycling, equestrian, rowing, table tennis and tennis are all governed by their respective international federations, with these federations governing the sports for both able-bodied and disabled athletes. The four remaining sports are governed by federations specific to athletes with disabilities.
The International Association for Disabled Sailing governs sailing, the World Organization for Volleyball for Disabled governs sitting volleyball, the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation governs wheelchair basketball and the International Wheelchair Rugby Federation governs wheelchair rugby.
Future Sports
While this list covers all sports that are currently a part of the Paralympic program at time of publication, two new sports were to be added to the program for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. These sports are para-triathlon, governed by the International Triathlon Union, and para-canoe, which the International Canoe Federation governs.
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