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Paralympic Sports Information

The Paralympic sports comprise all the sports contested in the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. As of 2010, the Summer Paralympics include 20 sports and disciplines and about 420 events,[1] and the Winter Paralympics include 5 sports and disciplines and about 64 events. The number and kinds of events may change from one Paralympiad to another.

The Paralympic Games are a major international multi-sport event for athletes with physical disabilities. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and Cerebral Palsy. Paralympic sports refers to organized competitive sporting activities as part of the global Paralympic movement. These sports are organized and run under the supervision of the International Paralympic Committee and other international sports federations.

Contents

History

Archery: Lindsey Carmichael from the United States, at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing.

Organized sport for persons with physical disabilities developed out of rehabilitation programs. Following the Second World War, in response to the needs of large numbers injured ex-service members and civilians, sport was introduced as a key part of rehabilitation. Sport for rehabilitation grew into recreational sport and then into competitive sport. The pioneer of this approach was Ludwig Guttmann of the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England. In 1948, while the Olympic Games were being held in London, England, he organized a sports competition for wheelchair athletes at Stoke Mandeville. This was the origin of the Stoke Mandeville Games, which evolved into the modern Paralympic Games.

Organization

The Paralympic symbol.

Globally, the International Paralympic Committee is recognized as the leading organization, with direct governance of thirteen sports and responsibility over the Paralympic Games and other multi-sport, multi-disability events. Other international organizations, notably the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS), the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA), and the Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CP-ISRA) govern some sports that are specific to certain disability groups. In addition, certain single-sport federations govern sports for athletes with a disability, either as part of an able-bodied sports federation such as the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI), or as a disabled sports federation such as the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation.

At the national level, there are a wide range of organizations that take responsibility for Paralympic sport, including National Paralympic Committees, which are members of the IPC, and many others.

Disability categories

Cycling: Karissa Whitsell and Mackenzie Woodring (pilot) from the United States, compete in Beijing 2008. Biathlon: Andy Soule from the United States, at the 2010 Paralympics in Vancouver. Swimming at the 2008 Summer Paralympics

Athletes who participate in Paralympic sport are grouped into six major categories, based on their type of disability:

The disability category determines who athletes compete against and which sports they participate in. Some sports are open to multiple disability categories (e.g. cycling), while others are restricted to only one (e.g. Five-a-side football). In some sports athletes from multiple categories compete, but only within their category (e.g. athletics), while in others athletes from different categories compete against one another (e.g. swimming).

Classification

A major component of Paralympic sport is classification. Classification provides a structure for competition which allows athletes to compete against others with similar disabilities or similar levels of physical function. It is similar in aim to the weight classes or age categories used in some able-bodied sports.

Athletes are classified through a variety of processes that depend on their disability group and the sport they are participating in. Evaluation may include a physical or medical examination, a technical evaluation of how the athlete performs certain sport-related physical functions, and observation in and out of competition. Each sport has its own specific classification system which forms part of the rules of the sport.

Summer Paralympics

Current summer sports

The following table lists the currently practiced Paralympic sports:

Wheelchair basketball: Iran vs South Africa at the 2008 Summer Paralympics.
Sport Categories Governing body Paralympic Games status
Archery ALA, CP, WC IPC Summer sport (1960–present)
Athletics ALA, CP, ID, VI, WC IPC Summer sport (1960–present)
Boccia CP CP-ISRA Summer sport (1984–present)
Cycling ALA, CP, VI, WC IPC Summer sport (1988–present)
Equestrian ALA, CP, VI, WC FEI Summer sport (1996–present)
Diving WC FEI Summer sport (1996–present)
Football 5-a-Side VI IBSA Summer sport (2004–present)
Football 7-a-Side CP CP-ISRA Summer sport (1984–present)
Goalball VI IBSA Summer sport (1980–present)
Judo VI IBSA Summer sport (1988–present)
Powerlifting ALA, CP, WC IPC Summer sport (1964–present)
Rowing ALA, CP, VI, WC IFDS Summer sport {2008–present}
Sailing ALA, CP, VI, WC IFDS Summer sport (2000–present)
Shooting ALA, CP, VI, WC IPC Summer sport (1976–present)
Swimming ALA, CP, ID, VI, WC IPC Summer sport (1960–present)
Table tennis ALA, CP, WC IPC Summer sport (1960–present)
Volleyball ALA WOVD Summer sport (1976–present)
Wheelchair basketball WC, ALA IWBF Summer sport (1960–present)
Wheelchair fencing WC IWAS Summer sport (1960–present)
Wheelchair rugby WC IWRF Summer sport (2000–present)
Wheelchair tennis WC ITF Summer sport (1992–present)

Discontinued summer sports

Sport Categories Governing body Paralympic Games status
Basketball ID ID INAS-FID Summer sport (1996–2000)
Lawn bowls ALA, CP, VI, WC, IPC Summer sport (1968–1988, 1996)
Snooker WC IWAS Summer sport (1960–1976, 1984–1988)
Dartchery Summer sport (1960–1980)
Weightlifting Summer sport (1964–1992)
Wrestling Summer sport (1980–1984)

Winter Paralympics

Current winter sports

Alpine skiing: Talan Skeels-Piggins from Great Britain at the Winter Paralympics 2010 in Vancouver.
Sport Categories Governing body Paralympic Games status
Alpine skiing ALA, CP, VI, WC IPC Winter sport (1976–present)
Ice sledge hockey ALA, CP, WC IPC Winter sport (1994–present)
Nordic skiing: Biathlon Cross-country skiing ALA, CP, VI, WC IPC Winter sport (1988–present) Winter sport (1976–present)
Wheelchair curling WC ICF Winter sport (2006–present)

Discontinued winter sports

Sport Categories Governing body Paralympic Games status
Ice sledge racing Winter sport (1980–1988, 1994–1998)

Abbreviations

See also

Notes

The categories listed represent all those groups that participate in this sport at some level. Not all these categories are represented in competition at the Paralympic Games.

The governing bodies listed represent those organizations responsible for the broadest level of participation. In some cases, other disability-specific organizations will also have some governance of athletes in that sport within their own group. For example, the IPC governs multi-disability athletics competitions such as the Paraympic Games; however, CP-ISRA, IBSA, and IWAS provide single-disability events in athletics for athletes with cerebral palsy, visually impaired athletes, and wheelchair and amputee athletes respectively.

Paralympic Games status details the years these sports were practiced as full medal events at the Paralympic Games.

References

  1. ^ "The Government of Canada Congratulates Canada's Athletes at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Summer Games". pch.gc.ca. http://www.pch.gc.ca/pc-ch/infoCntr/cdm-mc/index-eng.cfm?action=doc&DocIDCd=CHG081435. Retrieved 2010-04-20.

External links

Paralympic Games
Summer Games
Winter Games
Sports at the Paralympic Games
Summer sports
Winter sports
Past sports
Demonstration sports
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