Movement for classification in Paralympic sports

Abstract

Since the Paralympic Games have brought the ability of athletes with impairments to compete in sports, each International federation is obliged by the International Paralympic Committee (hereinafter IPC) to introduce and follow the classification system for fair competitions. The classification system has enabled us to identify who is eligible to participate in Paralympic Sports and how athletes are fairly grouped by the degree of their impairments to lead to victory for the best performer in each group. Along with the Anti-Doping system, the classification system has been introduced for fair competitions and has required athletes and coaches to cooperate for fair classification. At the early stage, on the ground that classification was simply done based on medical doctors’ diagnosis, it did not fully take their performance into consideration. However, from the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, a functional classification system had been agreed upon in terms of athletes’ performances. The IPC has identified ‘Eligible Impairment Types’, which clarify the groups of limitations of functions for competitions.