LONDON 2012 PARALYMPIC SPORTS

XABIER MENDOZA

PARALYMPIC GAMESOFFICIAL LONDON 2012 WEBSITE

http://www.london2012.com/paralympics/

SPORTS

• Archery• Boccia• Cycling Track• Football 5-a-side • Football 7-a-side• Judo• Rowing• Shooting• Table Tennis• Wheelchair Basketball• Wheelchair Rugby

• Athletics• Cycling Road• Equestiran• Goalball• Powerlifting• Sailing• Swimming• Sitting Volleyball• Wheelchair Fencing• Wheelchair Tennis

ARCHERY• Paralympic Archery featured on

every Paralympic programme since the inaugural competition in 1960.

• Skill, concentration and nerves of steel will all be on show at the Archery competition at London 2012.

• Although Archery was originally developed as a means of rehabilitation and recreation for people with a physical disability, it rapidly evolved into the internationally competitive sport on show at the Games today.

ATHLETICS

• Some athletes compete in wheelchairs or throwing frames, others with prostheses, and others with the guidance of a sighted companion.

Classification: To ensure competition is fair, athletes are grouped into classes according to how much their impairment impacts on their event-specific performance.- Classes 11–13 are for athletes with a visual impairment.- Class 20 is for athletes with an intellectual impairment.- Classes 31–38 are for athletes with cerebral palsy, with classes 31 to 34 using a wheelchair to compete.- Classes 40–46 are for athletes with a loss of limb or limb deficiency.- Classes 51–58 cover wheelchair racers or field athletes who throw from a seated position.

BOCCIA

• Boccia was introduced to the Paralympic programme at the New York and Stoke Mandeville 1984 Games.

• Boccia is a target sport that tests muscle control and accuracy, demanding extreme skill and concentration at the highest level.

• Believed to have Ancient Greek origins, Boccia is a tough test of nerve, tactics and skill. Played on a rectangular court by individuals, pairs and teams, the sport offers both tension and excitement, as athletes aim to land balls close to a target ball, across a series of demanding ends. The sport is similar to boules or petanque.

CYCLING ROAD• Road Cycling was introduced as

a Paralympic sport at the Stoke Mandeville/New York 1984 Paralympics. Road Cycling was introduced as a Paralympic sport at the Stoke Mandeville/New York 1984 Paralympics.

• There are four types of cycles used in Paralympic Cycling:

• – A tandem is used by athletes with visual impairment; the athlete sits on the back of the tandem with a sighted pilot at the front.

• – A hand cycle, as the name suggests, has pedals operated by hand. It has two wheels at the back and one at the front.

• – A tricycle is normally used by athletes whose balance would make them unable to race on a two-wheeled bicycle.

• – A bicycle is used by all other athletes, often with modifications.

CYCLING TRACK

• The first Track Cycling races at the Paralympic Games took place at the Atlanta 1996 Games.

• There are four classes for competition:

- B – athletes with a visual impairment who compete on a tandem with a sighted pilot on the front

- H1–H4 – athletes with an impairment that affects their legs and so compete using a handcycle

- T1–T2 – athletes with an impairment that affects their balance and so compete using a tricycle

- C1–C5 – athletes with an impairment that affects their legs, arms and/or trunk but compete using a standard bicycle

• In the H, T and C classes, the lower the athlete’s class number, the greater the impact of their impairment on their ability to cycle. So for example a C1 cyclist will have an impairment that has more of an impact on their ability to cycle than a C5 cyclist.

EQUESTRIAN• Equestrian events first appeared

on the Paralympic programme at the 1984 Games held in Stoke Mandeville and New York, and have featured at every Games since Atlanta 1996.

• The classification rules of the International Federation for Equestrian state that athletes with a physical impairment and athletes with a visual impairment are eligible to compete in the sport at the Paralympics.

• Classification also groups athletes in classes, defined by the degree to which they are limited in their ability to perform activities within that sport.

• There are five classes in Equestrian: Grades Ia, Ib, II, III and IV.

• Grade Ia is for athletes whose impairment has the greatest impact on their ability to ride; through to Grade IV, which is for athletes whose impairment has the least impact on their ability to ride.

FOOTBALL 5-a-SIDE

• The first national 5-a-side Championships took place in Spain in 1986.

• The classification rules of the International Federation for Football 5-a-side state that athletes with a visual impairment are eligible to compete in the sport at the Paralympics.

• All four outfield players must wear blackout eyeshades to ensure fairness. The goalkeeper may be fully sighted but he is not allowed to leave his penalty area.

• The football contains ball bearings to produce a noise when it moves.

FOOTBALL 7-a-SIDE• 7-a-side Football is a fast-moving

and fiercely competitive sport played by athletes with cerebral palsy.

• Classification also groups athletes in classes, defined by the degree to which they are limited in their ability to perform activities within that sport.

• In Football 7-a-side there are four classes and they can be described as follows:

- C5 – athletes whose impairment causes the greatest disadvantage on the field of play and has a significant impact when walking and running

- C6 – athletes with an impairment that have an impact on the control and coordination of their arms, especially when running

- C7 – athletes with an impairment that affect one arm and one leg on the same side of the body

- C8 – athletes whose impairments cause the least disadvantage on the field of play; they often have involuntary muscle contractions as well as a tightness in their muscles

• To minimise the impact of impairment on the outcome of competition teams must include at least one athlete with either C5 or C6 classification on the pitch and no more than two C8 players are allowed to play at the same time.

GOALBALL

• ntroduced to the Games as a demonstration event at the Toronto 1976 Games, Goalball was added to the Paralympic programme as a full medal sport four years later in Arnhem.

• The classification rules of the International Federation for Goalball state that athletes with a visual impairment are eligible to compete in the sport at the Paralympics.

• All athletes wear eyeshades to ensure fairness and allow athletes with varying degrees of visual impairment to compete together.

JUDO• Judo first featured on the

Paralympic programme at Seoul 1988, with women’s events introduced 16 years later in Athens.

• Classification also groups athletes in classes, defined by the degree to which they are limited in their ability to perform activities within that sport.

• Three classes of athletes compete in Judo: B1, B2 and B3.

• B1 athletes are classed as blind, while B2 and B3 athletes have different degrees of visual impairment. All athletes compete together.

• B1 athletes have a red circle sewn on to the sleeves of their judogi (judo suits). This is in order for the officials to apply the rules according to their special circumstances.

• For example, the officials will not expect them to recognise the edge of the contest area, compared with Judo athletes with limited sight.

• When an athlete is also deaf as well as visually impaired, a small blue circle will be attached on the back of the judogi.

POWERLIFTING

• After its initial introduction to the Paralympic Games at Tokyo in 1964, when it was billed as Weightlifting, the sport now known as Powerlifting underwent a major transition.

• The classification rules of the International Federation for Powerlifting state that athletes with a physical impairment in their legs or hips, which would prohibit them compete in weightlifting are eligible to compete in the sport at the Paralympics.

• Competitors are classified by bodyweight alone in Powerlifting: athletes with different impairments compete for the same medals.

ROWING

• Appearing at the Paralympic Games for only the second time, the sport of Rowing will be held on the waters at Eton Dorney during London 2012.

• Paralympic Rowing has three categories of classification, indicating the amount of functional ability a rower has.

• AS – arms and shoulders• TA – trunk and arms• LTA – legs, trunk and arms• A rower may compete in a

higher category, but not a lower one: AS and TA rowers may compete in LTA events, but an LTA athlete may not compete in a TA race.

SAILING• Sailing for athletes with a disability began

to develop as a competitive sport in the 1980s, just over 10 years before it joined the Paralympic programme. Mastery over ever-changing conditions on open water requires skill, tactics and nerve.

• Sailing has three categories of boat at the Paralympics; Three Person Keelboat, Two Person Keelboat and Single Person Keelboat. Each boat uses its own classification points system to make up a team.

• Three-Person Keelboat: each athlete is assigned a point score between 1 and 7 based on the impact of the athlete's impairment to perform tasks on the boat. The lower the point score, the greater the impact of the athlete’s impairment on their ability to sail. The total classification points of all three sailors must not exceed a maximum of 14 points.

• Two-Person Keelboat: athletes are assigned a class of TPA if they have an impairment with a greater impact on their ability to sail. TPB athletes have an impairment with a lesser impact on their ability to sail. One TPA athlete and one TPB athlete make up the team of a Two-Person Keelboat

• Single-Person Keelboat: the athlete must meet the minimum eligibility requirement for the sport, the equivalent of a point 7 in the Three-Person Keelboat.

SHOOTING

• Shooting is a test of accuracy and control, in which athletes use pistols or rifles to fire at static targets.

• There are two classes in shooting; SH1 and SH2. The differences between the classes can be summarised as follows:

• SH1 – athletes who can support the weight of their firearm themselves and shoot using a rifle or pistol.

• SH2 – athletes who use a shooting stand for support as they have an impairment that affects one or both of their arms and shoot using a rifle only.

TABLE TENNIS

• With 29 medal events and nearly 300 athletes, Table Tennis is one of the largest sports on the Paralympic programme.

• Classification also groups athletes in classes, defined by the degree to which they are limited in their ability to perform activities within that sport. In Table Tennis there are eleven classes and they can be described as follows:

• 1–5: athletes with a physical impairment that affects their legs who compete in a sitting position, the lower the number, the greater the impact the impairment has on an athlete’s ability to compete

• 6–10: athletes with a physical impairment who compete from a standing position, the lower the number, the greater the impact the impairment has on an athlete’s ability to compete

• 11: athletes with intellectual impairment

SITTING VOLLEYBALL• Sitting Volleyball emerged in the

Netherlands in the 1950s, a combination of Volleyball and a German game called Sitzbal. It really began to increase in popularity during the 1960s, and has since grown into one of the most fast-paced and exciting Paralympic sports. It is now played by athletes in more than 50 countries around the world.

• Classification also groups athletes in classes, defined by the degree to which they are limited in their ability to perform activities within that sport.

• In Sitting Volleyball, there are two categories of classification: Disabled (D) and Minimally Disabled (MD). As these names suggest, D athletes have an impairment that has a greater impact on the field of play than MD players.

• A number of players with the class MD played standing volleyball and picked up a significant injury to their ankle or knee, making them eligible to compete in Sitting Volleyball.

• A maximum of one MD player may be on the court for each team at any one time.

WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL

• The sport was developed by American World War II veterans as part of their rehabilitation programme, but its popularity soon spread around the world.

• Classification also groups athletes in classes, defined by the degree to which they are limited in their ability to perform activities within that sport.

• In Wheelchair Basketball there are eight classes from 1.0 for a player with the least physical function, increasing by 0.5 per class through to 4.5 for the most physical function.

• To minimise the impact of types of impairment on the outcome of competition, the total on-court point value during play for each team of five players cannot exceed 14.

WHEELCHAIR FENCING• Although sword fighting

dates back thousands of years, Fencing as we now understand it came of age as a sport in the 19th century. Developed in the years after World War II at Stoke Mandeville, the birthplace of the Paralympic Games, Wheelchair Fencing is a fierce, fast-moving battle of tactics and technique.

• Classification also groups athletes in classes, defined by the degree to which they are limited in their ability to perform activities within that sport. In Wheelchair Fencing there are two classes: Category A and Category B.

• Category A athletes have good trunk control and their fencing arm is not affected by their impairment.

• Category B athletes have an impairment that affects either their trunk or their fencing arm.

WHEELCHAIR RUGBY• Wheelchair Rugby was invented in 1977

by a group of Canadian quadriplegic athletes, who were looking for an alternative to Wheelchair Basketball that would allow players with reduced arm and hand function to participate on equal terms. The sport they created, which incorporates some elements of Basketball, Handball and Ice Hockey, has since grown into a thrilling and intense spectacle, and is enormously popular with Paralympic spectators around the world.

• Classification also groups athletes in classes, defined by the degree to which they are limited in their ability to perform activities within that sport.

• In Wheelchair Rugby every player is assigned a point value based on their functional ability. There are seven classes from 0.5 for a player with the least physical function increasing by 0.5 per class through to 3.5 for the most physical function.

• To minimise the impact of types of impairment on the outcome of competition, the total on-court point value during play for each team of four players cannot exceed 8. For each female player a team fields on court, the maximum points level increases by 0.5.

WHEELCHAIR TENNIS

• Since Wheelchair Tennis was invented in 1976 by Brad Parks, the sport has grown at an amazing rate: now fully integrated into all four Grand Slam Tennis events, and with more than 170 tournaments on the ITF’s own Wheelchair Tennis Tour, it is more popular than ever.

• Classification also groups athletes in classes, defined by the degree to which they are limited in their ability to perform activities within that sport. In Wheelchair Tennis there are two classes, Open and Quad:

• Open class is for athletes with an impairment of one or both legs but does not affect their arms or hands.

• Quad class athletes have an impairment that affects their arms and legs, which limits their ability to handle the racket and to move their wheelchair compared with Open class athletes. Men and women compete together in the Quad events.

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