Paralympics

The Paralympic games ....
The parlympics are Olympic games for disabled persons. 





= **Introduction** =

The Paralympic Movement offers sport opportunities for athletes that have a primary impairment that belongs to one of the following 10 ‘eligible’ impairment types: • **Impaired muscle power** //Impairments in this category have in common that there is reduced force generated by the contraction of a muscle or muscle groups (e.g. muscles of one limb, one side of the body, the lower half of the body). Examples of condtions included in this category are para and quadriplegia, muscular dystrophy, post poliomyelitis, spina bifida.// • **Impaired passive range of movement** //Range of movement in one or more joint is reduced in systematical way. Note that hypermobility of joints, joint instability (e.g. shoulder dislocation), and acute conditions of reduced range of movement (e.g. arthritis types of impairment) typically will be excluded as ‘eligible impairment’.// • **Limb deficiency** //There is a total or partial absence of the bones or joints as a consequence of trauma (e.g. traumatic amputation), illness (e.g. bone cancer) or congenital limb deficiency (e.g. dysmelia)// • **Leg length difference** //Due to congenital deficiency or trauma, bone shortening occurs in one leg.// • **Short stature** //Standing height is reduced due to aberrant dimensions of bones of upper and lower limbs or trunk (e.g. achondoplasia)// • **Hypertonia** //A condition marked by an abnormal increase in muscle tension and a reduced ability of a muscle to stretch. Hypertonia may result from injury, disease, or conditions that involve damage to the central nervous system. When the injury occurs in children under the age of 2, the term cerebral palsy is often used, but it also can be due to brain injury (e.g. stroke, trauma) or multiple sclerosis.// //Ataxia is a neurological sign and symptom that consists of a lack of co-ordination of muscle movements. When the injury occurs in children under the age of 2, the term cerebral palsy is often used, but it also can be due to brain injury (e.g. stroke, trauma) or multiple sclerosis.// • **Athetosis** //Athetosis can vary from mild to severe motor dysfunction. It is generally characterized by unbalanced, involuntary movements of muscle tone and a difficulty maintaining a symmetrical posture. When the injury occurs in children under the age of 2, the term cerebral palsy is often used, but it also can be due to brain injury (e.g. stroke, trauma).// //Vision is impacted by either an impairment of the eye structure, optical nerves or optical pathways, or visual cortex of the central brain.// • **Intellectual Impairment** //The Paralympic Movement identifies intellectual impairment as “a disability characterized by significant limitation both in intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior as expressed in conceptual, social and practical adaptive skills. This disability originates before the age of 18” (American Association on Intellectual and Development Disability, 2010). The diagnostics of intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior must be made using internationally recognized and professionally administered measures as recognized by INAS (International Federation for sport for para-athletes with an intellectual disability).// The Paralympic Movement adopted the definitions for the eligible impairment types as described in the World Health Organization International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (2001, World Health Organization, Geneva) Each Paralympic Sport has to clearly define for which impairment groups they provide sports opportunities. This is described in the Classification Rules of each sport. While some sports include athletes of all impairment types (e.g. Athletics, Swimming), other sports are limited to one impairment type (e.g. Goalball, Boccia) or a selection of impairment types (e.g. Equestrian, Cycling) The presence of an applicable eligible impairment is a prerequisite but not the sole criterion of entry into a particular Paralympic Sport. To ensure competition is fair and equal, all Paralympic sports have a system in place which ensures that winning is determined by skill, fitness, power, endurance, tactical ability and mental focus, the same factors that account for success in sport for able bodied athletes. This process is called **classification** and its purpose is to minimise the impact of impairments on the activity (sport discipline). Having the impairment thus is not sufficient. The impact on the sport must be proved, and each in Paralympic sport, the criteria of grouping athletes by the degree of activity limitation resulting from the impairment are named **‘Sport Classes’.** Through classification, it is determined which athletes are eligible to compete in a sport and how athletes are grouped together for competition. This, to a certain extent, is similar to grouping athletes by age, gender or weight. Classification is sport-specific because an impairment affects the ability to perform in different sports to a different extent. As a consequence, an athlete may meet the criteria in one sport, but may not meet the criteria in another sport When an athlete first starts competing he/she will undergoes a process to verify the above criteria are met. This process is conducted by a classification panel, a group of individuals authorized and certified by a Sport Federation to determine the sport class of an athlete. The process (typically) includes: • the verification of the presence of an eligible impairment fo that sporta physical and technical assessment to exam the degree of activity limitation • the allocation of a sport class • the observation in competition When undergoing athlete evaluation, an athlete is only classified for one sport. If an athlete is not eligible to compete in a sport, this does not question the presence of a genuine impairment. It means: • that the Athlete does not have a primary impairment that makes him/her eligible to compete in that particular sport, or • that the severity of the impairment does not significantly impact on the activities required in that particular sport. Due to the progressive nature of some impairment and their impact on certain activities, athletes are sometimes classified a number of times throughout their career. When the medical condition of an athlete changes, he/she needs to inform the Sport as well and ask for re-assessment. To compete at international level, an athlete must be classified by an International Classification Panel and their decision overrules any previous classification decision taken by a national classification panel. As a result of the sport specific classification systems, each sport has its own classifiers. For example, an IPC Ice Sledge Hockey classifier is only certified to classify athletes for this sport, and not for other sports.
 * • Ataxia**
 * • Vision impairment**
 * Classification - Fair and equal competition**
 * Athlete Evaluation**

Quelle : http://www.paralympic.org/Classification/Introduction

= **History** = In the 1940’s when Dr Ludwig Guttmann founded Paralympic Sport as an extension of the rehabilitation process. In the 1950’s, questions were raised that “consideration must be given to whether it would not be fairer to divide sports into classes” to ensure equal competition opportunities for – at that time – athletes with higher and lower spinal cord lesions. It was the beginning of the development of impairment-based systems of classification. Sport classes reflected the structure of a rehabilitation hospital with separate classes for people with spinal cord injuries, amputation and those with other neurological or orthopaedic conditions. Based on their medial diagnosis, athletes received a class which covered them in all sports offered. Consequently this prevented an athlete with a lower limb paresis due to a spinal cord injury competing in a wheelchair race against a double above knee amputee - despite both having fully functional upper bodies with which to propel a wheelchair. As the Paralympic Movement matured, the focus switched away from rehabilitation and was driven by sport. In the 1980’s, supported by the demands of Games’ organizing committees to reduce the number of classes in different sports, classification transitioned from medical to functional classification, a system still used in many Paralympic sports today (an exception being the classification system used for athletes with visual impairment which still remains medically based). The main factors that determine class in functional classification are how much an athlete’s impairment impacts on sport performance. As a result athletes with lower limb paresis due to spinal cord injury are now able to compete together with double above knee amputees in wheelchair races. Despite both athletes having very different impairments, functional classification deems the impact this has on either of them propelling a wheelchair is limited and about the same. Functional classification is sport specific because any given impairment may have a significant impact in one sport and a relatively minor impact in another sport. For example the impact of a below elbow arm amputee in swimming is greater than in running. Event organizers favoured functional classification as it reduced the complexity of events. In 1989, the organizers of the Barcelona 1992 Paralympic Games – the International Co-ordination Committee of World Sports for the Disabled (ICC and a pre-cursor to the IPC) and the Organizing Committee - signed an agreement which stipulated that all sports at the Games were to be conducted using sports specific functional classification systems. This decision greatly accelerated the transition to functional classification systems. At the time of this decision, many sports had not begun to develop functional systems. Given the short timeframe and absence of relevant scientific evidence, the classification systems developed were based on expert opinion. Within each of the sports, senior Paralympic classifiers (including doctors, therapists, athletes and coaches) led the development of the new systems. Since the widespread adoption of functional systems of classification, Paralympic Sport has continued to mature rapidly. An athlete’s classification had a significant impact on the degree of success they are likely to achieve, and the concept of functional classification, based on performance, was questioned. The Movement recognized the need to revisit classification and in 2003 the IPC Governing Board approved a classification strategy which recommended the development of a universal classification code, giving direction for the future of Paralympic classification. The Paralympic Movement approved the IPC Classification Code in November 2007, which defines Paralympic Classification as “accurate, reliable and consistent sport focussed classification systems”. The Paralympic Movement is committed to the development of evidence based classification systems, so that athletes who enhance their competitive performance through effective training will not be moved to a class with athletes who have less activity limitation (as they would in performance classification system), but will be rewarded by becoming more competitive with the class they were allocated. All Paralympic Sports and candidate Paralympic Sports must have classification rules and regulations which include processes and procedures to allocate sport classes that are in compliance with the IPC Classification Code.
 * Sport Drives Classification**
 * Paralympic Classification Today**
 * Future Outlook**

Quelle : http://www.paralympic.org/Classification/History