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 each event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition that the Olympic Games started in 1904.
S5, SB4, SM5 are disability swimming classifications used for categorizing swimmers based on their level of disability. The class includes people a moderate level of disability, and includes people with full use of their arms and hands, but limited to no use of their trunk and legs. It also includes people with coordination problems. A variety of disabilities are represented by this class including people with cerebral palsy. The class competes at the Paralympic Games.
S4, SB3, SM4 are disability swimming classifications used for categorising swimmers based on their level of disability. Swimmers in this class have coordination problems affecting all four of their limbs, or have movement in their arms but no trunk or leg function. They also generally have weakness in their hands and arms. A variety of disabilities are represented by this class including people with quadriplegia from spinal cord injury. Events this class can participate in include 50m and 100m Freestyle, 200m Freestyle, 50m Backstroke, 50m Butterfly, 50m Breaststroke, and 150m Individual Medley events. The class competes at the Paralympic Games.
S3, SB2, SM3 are disability swimming classifications used for categorising swimmers based on their level of disability. People in this class have decent arm and hand function, but no use of their trunk and legs. They have severe disabilities in all their limbs. Swimmers in this class have a variety of different disabilities including quadriplegia from spinal cord ijury, severe cerebral palsy and multiple amputations.
2 point player and 2.5 point player is a disability sport classification for wheelchair basketball. People in this class have partial trunk control when making forward motions. The class includes people with T8-L1 paraplegia, post-polio paralysis and amputations. People in this class handle the ball less than higher-point players. They have some stability issues on court, and may hold their wheel when trying to one hand grab rebounds.
3 point player is a disability sport classification for wheelchair basketball. People in this class have good forward and backward trunk movement but poor to no sideways trunk movement. The class includes people with L2-L4 paraplegia and amputations. Amputees are put into this class generally if they have hip disarticulations or hip abductions. Players in this class can generally rebound balls that are over their heads, but they can have some issues with balance during lateral rebounds.
4 point player is a disability sport classification for wheelchair basketball. Players in this class have normal trunk function but have a reduced level of functioning in one or both of their lower limbs. They may have difficulty with sideways movements. People in this class include ISOD classified A1, A2 and A3 players.
4.5 point player is a disability sport classification for wheelchair basketball. Players in this class tend to have normal trunk movement, few problems with side to side movements, and ability to reach to the side of their chair. Players generally have a below knee amputation, or some other partial single leg dysfunction. This classification is for players with minimal levels of disability. In some places, there is a class beyond this called 5 point player for players with no disabilities.
Wheelchair basketball classification is the system that allows for even levels of competition on the court for wheelchair basketball based on functional mobility. The classifications for the sport are 1 point player, 2 point player, 3 point player, 4 point player and 4.5 point player, the greater the player's functional ability. Classification for the sport is set by the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation.
Wheelchair fencing classification is the classification system for wheelchair fencing which is governed by the IWAS. People with physical disabilities are eligible to compete included people with physical disabilities. Classification for national competitions is done through the local national Paralympic committee.
PR2 is a Paralympic rowing classification for people with trunk and arm function. The class includes people with spinal cord injuries, including people who have lesions from T10 to L4. This class has its origins in the P2 class, part of the original classification system for the sport developed in 1991.
F1, also T1 and SP1, is a wheelchair sport classification that corresponds to the neurological level C6. Historically, it was known as 1A Complete. People in this class have no sitting balance, and are tetraplegics. They may be able to perform limited actions with one hand. They lack sitting balance, and have limited head control and respiratory endurance. The process for classification into this class has a medical and functional classification process. This process is often sport specific.
F2, also T2 and SP2, is a wheelchair sport classification that corresponds to the neurological level C7. Historically, it was known as 1B Complete, 1A Incomplete. People in this class are often tetraplegics. Their impairment effects the use of their hands and lower arm, and they can use a wheelchair using their own power.
F3, also T3 and SP3, is a wheelchair sport classification that corresponds to the neurological level C8. Historically, it was known as 1C Complete, and 1B Incomplete. F3 sportspeople have functional issues related to the muscles in their throwing arm, though they have enough control over their fingers to grip a throwing implement normally. They have no functional trunk control.
F4, also T4 and SP4, is a wheelchair sport classification that corresponds to the neurological level T1- T7. Historically, it was known as 1C Incomplete, 2 Complete, or Upper 3 Complete. People in this class have normal upper limb function, and functional issues with muscles below the nipple line.
F5, also SP5, is a wheelchair sport classification that corresponds to the neurological level T8 - L1. Historically, it was known as Lower 3, or Upper 4. People in this class have some trunk function and good sitting balance. They have problems with hip function, that reduces their ability to rotate their spines.
F6, also SP6, is a wheelchair sport classification that corresponds to the neurological level L2 - L5. Historically, this class has been known as Lower 4, Upper 5. People in this class have good sitting balance, and good forward and backward movement of their trunk. They have some use of their thighs and can press their knees together.
F7, also SP7, is a wheelchair sport classification that corresponds to the neurological level S1- S2. Historically, it has been referred to as Lower 5. It is characterized by people having their lower limb muscles strength and function impacted. People in the SP7 class generally have good sitting balance and some trunk movement backwards and forwards. One side may be stronger than the other.
F8, also SP8, is a standing wheelchair sport classification open to people with spinal cord injuries, with inclusion based on a functional classification on a points system for lower limb functionality. Sportspeople in this class need to have less than 70 points. The class has largely been used in Australia and the United States. F8 has largely been eliminated because of a perceived lack of need internationally for a standing wheelchair class. Sports this class participates in include athletics, swimming and wheelchair basketball. In athletics, participation is mostly in field events.
Wheelchair sport classification is a system designed to allow fair competition between people of different disabilities, and minimize the impact of a person's specific disability on the outcome of a competition. Wheelchair sports is associated with spinal cord injuries, and includes a number of different types of disabilities including paraplegia, quadriplegia, muscular dystrophy, post-polio syndrome and spina bifida. The disability must meet minimal body function impairment requirements. Wheelchair sport and sport for people with spinal cord injuries is often based on the location of lesions on the spinal cord and their association with physical disability and functionality.
