| Sport | Athletics |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2022 |
| Continent | Oceania |
The Oceania Para Athletics Championships is an event organized by Oceania Athletics (OAA) and the Oceania Paralympic Committee (OPC) for athletes with disabilities from the Oceania region. [1] [2] Sanctioned by the OAA and OPC, the event adheres to the rules and regulations set forth by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and World Para Athletics. [2]
The Championships is one of the first regional World Athletics Para meet after the European Para Athletics Championships.
Historically, para events were offered as exhibition events as part of the Oceania Athletics Championships (for senior able-bodied athletes) from 2014 to 2019. Since 2020, the impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the cancellation of the Area Championships in 2021 and the World Para Athletics Championships in 2022. This saw limited International Competition for Para Athletes throughout Oceania. Hence, in March 2022, the need for quality competition for the Oceania para-athletes was recognised by both OAA and the OPC, which culminated the inaugural Para Championships in 2022. [3]
All athletes are classified according to their impairment. Each classification consists of a three character code, starting with a letter and followed by a two-digit number. The letter specifies the event type: T for track and jumping events, and F for throwing events. The first digit of the number specifies the type of impairment and the second digit the severity of the impairment; the lower the second number, the more impaired.
At the Oceania Championships, athletes of multiple different classifications compete against each other in two main categorial events, ambulant and wheelchair/secured events. Hence, placings and medals are awarded using the Raza point score system (or an approved MDS table) in order to compare times, throws or jumps by athletes of differing levels of disability. The performances are converted to point scores by a formula which accounts for the athletes' classifications. [4]
| Edition | Year | City | Country | Date | Venue | No. of Events | No. of Athletes | Best Nation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2022 | Mackay |  Australia | 7 – 11 June | Mackay Aquatic and Recreation Centre | 26 | Australia | |
| 2 | 2024 | Suva |  Fiji | 4 – 8 June | HFC Bank Stadium | 22 | Australia | |
| 3 | 2026 |
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia | 25 | 14 | 12 | 51 |
| – |  Queensland | 7 | 3 | 3 | 13 |
| 2 |  New Zealand | 5 | 9 | 4 | 18 |
| 3 |  Papua New Guinea | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| 4 | Fiji | 2 | 2 | 5 | 9 |
| – |  New South Wales | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 5 |  Vanuatu | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| – |  South Australia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| – |  Australian Capital Territory | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| – |  Victoria | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 |  Solomon Islands | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| – |  Northern Territory | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| – |  Western Australia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (6 entries) | 48 | 37 | 33 | 118 | |
The Paralympic sports comprise all the sports contested in the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. As of 2020, the Summer Paralympics included 22 sports and 539 medal events, and the Winter Paralympics include 5 sports and disciplines and about 80 events. The number and kinds of events may change from one Paralympic Games to another.
The Summer Paralympics, also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, are an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. The Paralympic Games are held every four years, organized by the International Paralympic Committee. Medals are awarded in every event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition that the Olympic Games started in 1904.
T34 is a disability sport classification for disability athletics. The classification is one of eight specifically for athletes with cerebral palsy, and one of four for athletes with cerebral palsy who use a wheelchair. People in this class have hypertonia, ataxia and athetosis. This class includes people who have cerebral palsy, or who have had a stroke or traumatic brain injury.
Para triathlon is a variant of the triathlon for athletes with a physical disability. The sport is governed by World Triathlon, and was first held as a Paralympic event at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Para-athletics classification is a system to determine which athletes with disabilities may compete against each other in para-athletics events. Classification is intended to group together athletes with similar levels of physical ability to allow fair competition. Classification was created and is managed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), which is regularly published via its IPC Athletics Classification Handbook. People with physical, vision and intellectual disabilities are eligible to compete in this sport at the Summer Paralympics. The classification for this sport was created during the 1940s and for much of its early history was a medical condition based classification system. The classification system has subsequently become a functional mobility based one, and is moving towards an evidence-based classification system.
Para-equestrian classification is a system for para-equestrian sport is a graded system based on the degree of physical or visual disability and handled at the international level by the FEI. The sport has eligible classifications for people with physical and vision disabilities. Groups of eligible riders include The sport is open to competitors with impaired muscle power, athetosis, impaired passive range of movement, hypertonia, limb deficiency, ataxia, leg length difference, short stature, and vision impairment. They are grouped into five different classes to allow fair competition. These classes are Grade I, Grade II, Grade III, Grade IV, and Grade V(Grade Names Changed as of Jan 2017). The para-equestrian classification does not consider the gender of the rider, as equestrines compete in mixed gender competitions.
The Men's 100m athletics events for the 2012 Summer Paralympics took place at the London Olympic Stadium from August 31 to September 8. A total of 15 events were contested over this distance for 15 different classifications.
The Men's 200m athletics events for the 2012 Summer Paralympics took place at the London Olympic Stadium from August 31 to September 8. A total of 13 events were contested over this distance for 13 different classifications.
The Men's 800m athletics events for the 2012 Summer Paralympics took place at the London Olympic Stadium from August 31 to September 8. A total of 8 events were contested over this distance for 8 different classifications.
Para-equestrian is an equestrian sport governed by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI), and includes two competitive events: One is para-equestrian dressage, which is conducted under the same basic rules as conventional dressage, but with riders divided into different competition grades based on their functional abilities. The other is para-equestrian driving, which operates under the same basic rules as combined driving but places competitors in various grades based on their functional abilities.
The Women's 100m athletics events for the 2012 Summer Paralympics took place at the London Olympic Stadium from August 31 to September 8. A total of 14 events were contested over this distance for 14 different classifications.
The Women's 200m athletics events for the 2012 Summer Paralympics took place at the London Olympic Stadium from August 31 to September 8. A total of 11 events were contested over this distance for 11 different classifications.
LA5 is a Les Autres sport classification is an ambulatory sport classification for a sportsperson with a disability that impacts their locomotor function. People in this class have normal upper limb functionality, but have problems with balance or use of their lower limbs. Generally, limb problems are confined to one limb.
LA6 is a Les Autres sport classification is an ambulatory sport classification for a sportsperson with a disability that impacts their locomotor function. People in this class have a minimal locomotor disability that tends to impact one of their upper limbs or knees. The class includes people with arthritis and osteoporosis, or ankylosis of the knee.
The Men's 100m athletics events for the 2016 Summer Paralympics take place at the Estádio Olímpico João Havelange from September 8 to September 16, 2016. A total of 16 events were contested over this distance, and entry was open in 19 classifications.
The Men's 400m athletics events for the 2016 Summer Paralympics take place at the Estádio Olímpico João Havelange from September 8 to September 16, 2016. A total of 15 events were contested over this distance for 19 different classifications.
The Women's 100m athletics events for the 2020 Summer Paralympics took place at the Tokyo National Stadium from August 27 to September 4, 2021. A total of 13 events were contested over this distance.
Athletics at the 2024 Summer Paralympics will be held at Stade de France in Paris. There will be 164 events: 90 for men, 73 for women and one mixed event, three fewer men's events than the previous Games while the women's and mixed events remain the same. It will be the largest contest of the Games programme regarding athlete numbers and medal events to be scheduled.
The 2022 Oceania Para Athletics Championships were the inaugural Oceania Para Athletics Championships for Oceania athletes with a disability. It was held at the Mackay Aquatic and Recreation Centre in Mackay, Queensland from 7 to 11 June 2022.
The 2024 Oceania Para Athletics Championships were the second Oceania Para Athletics Championships for Oceania athletes with a disability. It was held at the HFC Bank Stadium in Suva from 4 to 8 June 2024.
