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The Paralympics involves 22 sports but not all disability categories are allowed to compete in each event. Each sport has different physical demands and therefore has its own set of classifications. 

Select a sport to find out more about its classification and eligible impairments.

You can also read about the ten eligible impairments below.

Ten eligible impairments

The Paralympic Movement offers sport opportunities for athletes with physical, visual and/or intellectual impairments that have at least one of the following 10 eligible impairments:

• Impaired muscle power

Explanation: Reduced force generated by muscles or muscle groups, may occur in one limb or the lower half of the body, as caused, for example, by spinal cord injuries, Spina Bifida or Poliomyelitis. 

• Impaired passive range of movement

Explanation: Range of movement in one or more joints is reduced permanently. Joints that can move beyond the average range of motion, joint instability, and acute conditions, such as arthritis, are not considered eligible impairments. 

• Limb deficiency

Explanation: Total or partial absence of bones or joints, from birth or as a consequence of trauma (e.g. car accident or amputation) or illness (e.g. bone cancer). 

• Leg length difference

Explanation: Bone shortening in one leg from birth or trauma. 

• Short stature

Explanation: Reduced standing height due to abnormal dimensions of bones of upper and lower limbs or trunk, for example due to achondroplasia or growth hormone dysfunction. 

• Hypertonia

Explanation: Abnormal increase in muscle tension and a reduced ability of a muscle to stretch, which can result from injury, illness or a health condition such as cerebral palsy. 

• Ataxia 

Explanation: Lack of co-ordination of muscle movements due to a neurological condition, such as cerebral palsy, brain injury or multiple sclerosis. 

• Athetosis 

Explanation: Generally characterised by unbalanced, uncontrolled movements and a difficulty in maintaining a symmetrical posture, due to cerebral palsy, brain injury, multiple sclerosis or other conditions. 

• Visual impairment

Explanation: Vision is impacted by either an impairment of the eye structure, optical nerve/ pathways or the part of the brain controlling vision (visual cortex). Read more about visual impairments.

• Intellectual impairment

Explanation: A limitation in intellectual functioning and adaptive behaviour as expressed in conceptual, social and practical adaptive skills, which originates before the age of 18.

Visual impairment

The following is the general structure used for the classification of athletes with a visual impairment. 

B1

These athletes have a very low visual acuity and/or no light perception. 

B2

Athletes with a B2 sport class have a higher visual acuity than athletes competing in the B1 sport class and/or a visual field of less than five degrees radius. 

B3

Athletes with a B3 (or equivalent) sport class have the least severe visual impairment eligible for Paralympic sport. They have the highest visual acuity and/or a visual field of less than 20 degrees radius. 

Although these are the standardised sport classes for athletes with a visual impairment the names they are given will differ by sport.

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Amputee is the first (alphabetically) of the six major disability categories at the Paralympic Games.

The disability includes athletes who have at least one major joint in a limb missing, i.e. elbow, wrist, knee or ankle and therefore a person with a partial or total loss of at least one limb.

Depending on the parasport some amputees compete as wheelchair athletes.

In the Paralympics amputee is abbreviated to ALA (standing for Amputee and Les Autres) as the two disability categories compete in the same events.

The Paralympic sports participated in by amputee athletes are:

Archery

Archery is open to athletes with a physical disability.

Classification is broken up into three classes:

W1 -  Spinal Cord and Cerebral Palsy athletes with impairment in all four limbs

W2 -  Wheelchair users with full arm function

Standing -  Amputee, Les Autres and Cerebral Palsy standing athletes. Some athletes in the standing group will sit on a high stool for support but will still have their feet touching the ground.

Athletics

Athletics is open to all disability groups and uses a functional classification system.

A brief classification guide is as follows: (prefixing F for field athletes or T for track athletes)

F or T 11-13 are Visually Impaired

F or T 20 are Learning Difficulty

F or T 31-38 are Cerebral Palsy

F or T 41- 46 Amputee and Les Autres

T 51- 54 Wheelchair track athletes

F51- 58 Wheelchair field athletes

Cycling

Cycling is open to Amputee, Les Autres, Cerebral Palsy and Visually Impaired athletes who compete in individual road race and track events.

Classification is split into divisions 2, 3 and 4 for athletes with Cerebral Palsy, athletes in division two being the most severely handicapped progressing to division 4 which includes physically more able athletes.

Visually Impaired athletes compete together with no separate classification system. They ride in tandem with a sighted guide.

Amputee, Spinal Cord Injury and Les Autres competitors compete within the classification groupings:

LC1 - essentially for riders with upper limb disabilities

LC2 - essentially for riders with disabilities in one leg but who are able to pedal normally

LC3 - essentially for riders with a handicap in one lower limb who will usually pedal with one leg only

LC4 - for riders with disabilities affecting both legs.

Equestrian

Equestrian is open to all disability groups, with riders divided into four grades.

Grade 1 incorporates severely disabled riders with Cerebral Palsy, Les Autres and Spinal Cord Injury

Grade 2 incorporates Cerebral Palsy, Les Autres, Spinal Cord injury and Amputee riders with reasonable balance and abdominal control.

Grade 3 incorporates Cerebral Palsy, Les Autres, Amputee, Spinal Cord Injury and totally Blind athletes with good balance, leg movement and co-ordination.

Grade 4 incorporates Cerebral Palsy, Les Autres, Amputee, Spinal Cord injury and Visually Impaired. This last group comprises ambulant athletes with either impaired vision or impaired arm/leg function.

Powerlifting

Powerlifting is open to athletes with a physical disability.

Classification is by weight category as in able bodied powerlifting competition.

Sailing

Sailing is open to Amputee, Cerebral Palsy, Visually Impaired, Wheelchair and Les Autres athletes.

Classification for the Sonar is based on a functional points system with a minimum of 1 point for severely disabled athletes rising by scale to a high of 7 points for less disabled athletes. Each crew of three is allowed a maximum of 14 points between them.

The two-person Skud includes one severely disabled sailor, and one person with minimal disability. At least one of the crew must be female.

The singled handed 2.4m can be crewed regardless of points but the sailor must have at least a minimum level of disability. The characteristics of the boat allow the sailors to compete on equal terms with able bodied sailors.

Shooting

Shooting is open to athletes with a physical disability.

There are only two classes of competition, Wheelchair and Standing.

Swimming

Classification is divided into three groups:

S1 to S10 are those with Physical Impairment. S1 will have the most severe impairment and an S10 a lesser impairment, for example a hand amputation.

S11 to S13 are those with a Visual Impairment. S11 will have little or no vision, S12 can recognise the shape of a hand and have some ability to see, S13 greater vision than the other two classes but less than 20 degrees of vision.

S14 is for athletes with a Learning Difficulty.

Table Tennis

Table tennis is open to athletes with a physical or Learning Difficulty spread over 11 classes.

Classes 1 to 5 encompass athletes competing from a Wheelchair with class 1 being the most severely disabled and class 5 the least disabled.

Classes 6 to 10 comprise ambulant athletes with class 6 the most severely disabled and class 10 the least.

Class 11 is for athletes with a Learning Difficulty.

Volleyball

Volleyball is open to athletes with a physical disability and has both a sitting and standing event.

In sitting volleyball the court is smaller than standard and has a lower net.

Standing volleyball uses a full sized court and normal height net.

In the sitting games the only classification is the minimal disability ruling; athletes may compete if they have a disability that prevents them from competing on equal terms with able bodied athletes.

Cerebral palsy is the second (alphabetically) of the six major disability categories at the Paralympic Games.

The disability includes athletes who have a disorder of movement and posture due to damage to an area, or areas, of the brain that control and coordinate muscle tone, reflexes, posture and movement.

Cerebral means brain-centred while palsy is a lack of muscle control.  In the Paralympics, Cerebral palsy is abbreviated to CP.

The Paralympic sports participated in by Cerebral Palsy athletes are:

Archery

Archery is open to athletes with a physical disability.

Classification is broken up into three classes:

W1 -  Spinal Cord and Cerebral Palsy athletes with impairment in all four limbs

W2 -  Wheelchair users with full arm function

Standing -  Amputee, Les Autres and Cerebral Palsy standing athletes. Some athletes in the standing group will sit on a high stool for support but will still have their feet touching the ground.

Athletics

Athletics is open to all disability groups and uses a functional classification system.

A brief classification guide is as follows: (prefixing F for field athletes or T for track athletes)

F or T 11-13 are Visually Impaired

F or T 20 are Learning Difficulty

F or T 31-38 are Cerebral Palsy

F or T 41- 46 Amputee and Les Autres

T 51- 54 Wheelchair track athletes

F51- 58 Wheelchair field athletes

Boccia

Cycling

Cycling is open to Amputee, Les Autres, Cerebral Palsy and Visually Impaired athletes who compete in individual road race and track events.

Classification is split into divisions 2, 3 and 4 for athletes with Cerebral Palsy, athletes in division two being the most severely handicapped progressing to division 4 which includes physically more able athletes.

Visually Impaired athletes compete together with no separate classification system. They ride in tandem with a sighted guide.

Amputee, Spinal Cord Injury and Les Autres competitors compete within the classification groupings:

LC1 - essentially for riders with upper limb disabilities

LC2 - essentially for riders with disabilities in one leg but who are able to pedal normally

LC3 - essentially for riders with a handicap in one lower limb who will usually pedal with one leg only

LC4 - for riders with disabilities affecting both legs.

Equestrian

Equestrian is open to all disability groups, with riders divided into four grades.

Grade 1 incorporates severely disabled riders with Cerebral Palsy, Les Autres and Spinal Cord Injury

Grade 2 incorporates Cerebral Palsy, Les Autres, Spinal Cord injury and Amputee riders with reasonable balance and abdominal control.

Grade 3 incorporates Cerebral Palsy, Les Autres, Amputee, Spinal Cord Injury and totally Blind athletes with good balance, leg movement and co-ordination.

Grade 4 incorporates Cerebral Palsy, Les Autres, Amputee, Spinal Cord injury and Visually Impaired. This last group comprises ambulant athletes with either impaired vision or impaired arm/leg function.

Football

Football is open to athletes with cerebral palsy and includes classes 5, 6, 7 and 8.  All classes comprise ambulant athletes; class 5 being the least physically able, progressing through to class 8 who are minimally affected. Teams must include at least one athlete from either class 5 or 6.

Sailing

Sailing is open to Amputee, Cerebral Palsy, Visually Impaired, Wheelchair and Les Autres athletes.

Classification for the Sonar is based on a functional points system with a minimum of 1 point for severely disabled athletes rising by scale to a high of 7 points for less disabled athletes. Each crew of three is allowed a maximum of 14 points between them.

The two-person Skud includes one severely disabled sailor, and one person with minimal disability. At least one of the crew must be female.

The singled handed 2.4m can be crewed regardless of points but the sailor must have at least a minimum level of disability. The characteristics of the boat allow the sailors to compete on equal terms with able bodied sailors.

Swimming

Classification is divided into three groups:

S1 to S10 are those with Physical Impairment. S1 will have the most severe impairment and an S10 a lesser impairment, for example a hand amputation.

S11 to S13 are those with a Visual Impairment. S11 will have little or no vision, S12 can recognise the shape of a hand and have some ability to see, S13 greater vision than the other two classes but less than 20 degrees of vision.

S14 is for athletes with a Learning Difficulty.

Table Tennis

Table tennis is open to athletes with a physical or Learning Difficulty spread over 11 classes.

Classes 1 to 5 encompass athletes competing from a Wheelchair with class 1 being the most severely disabled and class 5 the least disabled.

Classes 6 to 10 comprise ambulant athletes with class 6 the most severely disabled and class 10 the least.

Class 11 is for athletes with a Learning Difficulty.

Volleyball

Volleyball is open to athletes with a physical disability and has both a sitting and standing event.

In sitting volleyball the court is smaller than standard and has a lower net.

Standing volleyball uses a full sized court and normal height net.

In the sitting games the only classification is the minimal disability ruling; athletes may compete if they have a disability that prevents them from competing on equal terms with able bodied athletes.

Intellectual Disability is the third (alphabetically) of the six major disability categories at the Paralympic Games.

A person with an intellectual disability must have substantial limitation in present functioning characterised by intellectual functioning (the American Association of Mental Retardation defines this as an IQ of 70 or below), limitations in two or more of the following adaptive skill areas: communication, self-care, home living, social skills, community use, self-direction, health and safety, functional academics, leisure and work and have acquired their condition before age 18.

Intellectual Disability athletes were banned from Paralympic competition after a cheating scandal at the Sydney 2000 Summer Paralympics, where a number of the members of Spain's basketball team were discovered not to be suffering from an intellectual disability.

After 9 years of campaigning from various groups involved with parasport, the IPC voted to reinstate Intellectual Disability athletes into the Paralympic Games on 21 November 2009.

In the Paralympics, Intellectual Disability is abbreviated to ID.

Although the parasports that Intellectual Disability Athletes will compete in at the next Paralympic Games have not yet been confirmed, it is likely that they will be included in at least:

Athletics

Athletics is open to all disability groups and uses a functional classification system.

A brief classification guide is as follows: (prefixing F for field athletes or T for track athletes)

F or T 11-13 are Visually Impaired

F or T 20 are Learning Difficulty

F or T 31-38 are Cerebral Palsy

F or T 41- 46 Amputee and Les Autres

T 51- 54 Wheelchair track athletes

F51- 58 Wheelchair field athletes

Cycling

Cycling is open to Amputee, Les Autres, Cerebral Palsy and Visually Impaired athletes who compete in individual road race and track events.

Classification is split into divisions 2, 3 and 4 for athletes with Cerebral Palsy, athletes in division two being the most severely handicapped progressing to division 4 which includes physically more able athletes.

Visually Impaired athletes compete together with no separate classification system. They ride in tandem with a sighted guide.

Amputee, Spinal Cord Injury and Les Autres competitors compete within the classification groupings:

LC1 - essentially for riders with upper limb disabilities

LC2 - essentially for riders with disabilities in one leg but who are able to pedal normally

LC3 - essentially for riders with a handicap in one lower limb who will usually pedal with one leg only

LC4 - for riders with disabilities affecting both legs.

Football

Football is open to athletes with cerebral palsy and includes classes 5, 6, 7 and 8.  All classes comprise ambulant athletes; class 5 being the least physically able, progressing through to class 8 who are minimally affected. Teams must include at least one athlete from either class 5 or 6.

Swimming

Classification is divided into three groups:

S1 to S10 are those with Physical Impairment. S1 will have the most severe impairment and an S10 a lesser impairment, for example a hand amputation.

S11 to S13 are those with a Visual Impairment. S11 will have little or no vision, S12 can recognise the shape of a hand and have some ability to see, S13 greater vision than the other two classes but less than 20 degrees of vision.

S14 is for athletes with a Learning Difficulty.

Table Tennis

Table tennis is open to athletes with a physical or Learning Difficulty spread over 11 classes.

Classes 1 to 5 encompass athletes competing from a Wheelchair with class 1 being the most severely disabled and class 5 the least disabled.

Classes 6 to 10 comprise ambulant athletes with class 6 the most severely disabled and class 10 the least.

Class 11 is for athletes with a Learning Difficulty.

Volleyball

Volleyball is open to athletes with a physical disability and has both a sitting and standing event.

In sitting volleyball the court is smaller than standard and has a lower net.

Standing volleyball uses a full sized court and normal height net.

In the sitting games the only classification is the minimal disability ruling; athletes may compete if they have a disability that prevents them from competing on equal terms with able bodied athletes.

Les Autres is the fourth (alphabetically) of the six major disability categories at the Paralympic Games.

Les Autres is French for 'the others' and is a term used to describe athletes with a range of conditions which result in locomotive disorders that don't fit into the traditional classification systems of the established disability groups.

Participants include those with dwarfism, multiple sclerosis or other disabilities.

In the Paralympics, Les Autres is abbreviated to ALA (standing for Amputee and Les Autres as the two disability categories compete in the same events).

The Paralympic sports participated in by Les Autres athletes are:

Archery

Archery is open to athletes with a physical disability.

Classification is broken up into three classes:

W1 -  Spinal Cord and Cerebral Palsy athletes with impairment in all four limbs

W2 -  Wheelchair users with full arm function

Standing -  Amputee, Les Autres and Cerebral Palsy standing athletes. Some athletes in the standing group will sit on a high stool for support but will still have their feet touching the ground.

Athletics

Athletics is open to all disability groups and uses a functional classification system.

A brief classification guide is as follows: (prefixing F for field athletes or T for track athletes)

F or T 11-13 are Visually Impaired

F or T 20 are Learning Difficulty

F or T 31-38 are Cerebral Palsy

F or T 41- 46 Amputee and Les Autres

T 51- 54 Wheelchair track athletes

F51- 58 Wheelchair field athletes

Cycling

Cycling is open to Amputee, Les Autres, Cerebral Palsy and Visually Impaired athletes who compete in individual road race and track events.

Classification is split into divisions 2, 3 and 4 for athletes with Cerebral Palsy, athletes in division two being the most severely handicapped progressing to division 4 which includes physically more able athletes.

Visually Impaired athletes compete together with no separate classification system. They ride in tandem with a sighted guide.

Amputee, Spinal Cord Injury and Les Autres competitors compete within the classification groupings:

LC1 - essentially for riders with upper limb disabilities

LC2 - essentially for riders with disabilities in one leg but who are able to pedal normally

LC3 - essentially for riders with a handicap in one lower limb who will usually pedal with one leg only

LC4 - for riders with disabilities affecting both legs.

Equestrian

Equestrian is open to all disability groups, with riders divided into four grades.

Grade 1 incorporates severely disabled riders with Cerebral Palsy, Les Autres and Spinal Cord Injury

Grade 2 incorporates Cerebral Palsy, Les Autres, Spinal Cord injury and Amputee riders with reasonable balance and abdominal control.

Grade 3 incorporates Cerebral Palsy, Les Autres, Amputee, Spinal Cord Injury and totally Blind athletes with good balance, leg movement and co-ordination.

Grade 4 incorporates Cerebral Palsy, Les Autres, Amputee, Spinal Cord injury and Visually Impaired. This last group comprises ambulant athletes with either impaired vision or impaired arm/leg function.

Powerlifting

Powerlifting is open to athletes with a physical disability.

Classification is by weight category as in able bodied powerlifting competition.

Sailing

Sailing is open to Amputee, Cerebral Palsy, Visually Impaired, Wheelchair and Les Autres athletes.

Classification for the Sonar is based on a functional points system with a minimum of 1 point for severely disabled athletes rising by scale to a high of 7 points for less disabled athletes. Each crew of three is allowed a maximum of 14 points between them.

The two-person Skud includes one severely disabled sailor, and one person with minimal disability. At least one of the crew must be female.

The singled handed 2.4m can be crewed regardless of points but the sailor must have at least a minimum level of disability. The characteristics of the boat allow the sailors to compete on equal terms with able bodied sailors.

Shooting

Shooting is open to athletes with a physical disability.

There are only two classes of competition, Wheelchair and Standing.

Swimming

Classification is divided into three groups:

S1 to S10 are those with Physical Impairment. S1 will have the most severe impairment and an S10 a lesser impairment, for example a hand amputation.

S11 to S13 are those with a Visual Impairment. S11 will have little or no vision, S12 can recognise the shape of a hand and have some ability to see, S13 greater vision than the other two classes but less than 20 degrees of vision.

S14 is for athletes with a Learning Difficulty.

Table Tennis

Table tennis is open to athletes with a physical or Learning Difficulty spread over 11 classes.

Classes 1 to 5 encompass athletes competing from a Wheelchair with class 1 being the most severely disabled and class 5 the least disabled.

Classes 6 to 10 comprise ambulant athletes with class 6 the most severely disabled and class 10 the least.

Class 11 is for athletes with a Learning Difficulty.

Volleyball

Volleyball is open to athletes with a physical disability and has both a sitting and standing event.

In sitting volleyball the court is smaller than standard and has a lower net.

Standing volleyball uses a full sized court and normal height net.

In the sitting games the only classification is the minimal disability ruling; athletes may compete if they have a disability that prevents them from competing on equal terms with able bodied athletes.

Visually Impaired is the fifth (alphabetically) of the six major disability categories at the Paralympic Games.

The disability includes athletes who have any condition which interferes with 'normal' vision.  This incorporates the entire range of vision difficulties from correctable conditions through to total blindness.

In the Paralympics, Visually Impaired is abbreviated to VI.

The Paralympic sports participated in by Visually impaired athletes are:

Athletics

Athletics is open to all disability groups and uses a functional classification system.

A brief classification guide is as follows: (prefixing F for field athletes or T for track athletes)

F or T 11-13 are Visually Impaired

F or T 20 are Learning Difficulty

F or T 31-38 are Cerebral Palsy

F or T 41- 46 Amputee and Les Autres

T 51- 54 Wheelchair track athletes

F51- 58 Wheelchair field athletes

Cycling

Cycling is open to Amputee, Les Autres, Cerebral Palsy and Visually Impaired athletes who compete in individual road race and track events.

Classification is split into divisions 2, 3 and 4 for athletes with Cerebral Palsy, athletes in division two being the most severely handicapped progressing to division 4 which includes physically more able athletes.

Visually Impaired athletes compete together with no separate classification system. They ride in tandem with a sighted guide.

Amputee, Spinal Cord Injury and Les Autres competitors compete within the classification groupings:

LC1 - essentially for riders with upper limb disabilities

LC2 - essentially for riders with disabilities in one leg but who are able to pedal normally

LC3 - essentially for riders with a handicap in one lower limb who will usually pedal with one leg only

LC4 - for riders with disabilities affecting both legs.

Equestrian

Equestrian is open to all disability groups, with riders divided into four grades.

Grade 1 incorporates severely disabled riders with Cerebral Palsy, Les Autres and Spinal Cord Injury

Grade 2 incorporates Cerebral Palsy, Les Autres, Spinal Cord injury and Amputee riders with reasonable balance and abdominal control.

Grade 3 incorporates Cerebral Palsy, Les Autres, Amputee, Spinal Cord Injury and totally Blind athletes with good balance, leg movement and co-ordination.

Grade 4 incorporates Cerebral Palsy, Les Autres, Amputee, Spinal Cord injury and Visually Impaired. This last group comprises ambulant athletes with either impaired vision or impaired arm/leg function.

Goalball

Goalball is open to visually impaired athletes who must wear "black out" masks to ensure all participants can compete equally, therefore eliminating the need for classification.

Judo

Judo is open to visually impaired athletes.  There is no classification as such, participants being divided into weight categories in the same way as able-bodied judo athletes.

Powerlifting

Powerlifting is open to athletes with a physical disability.

Classification is by weight category as in able bodied powerlifting competition.

Sailing

Sailing is open to Amputee, Cerebral Palsy, Visually Impaired, Wheelchair and Les Autres athletes.

Classification for the Sonar is based on a functional points system with a minimum of 1 point for severely disabled athletes rising by scale to a high of 7 points for less disabled athletes. Each crew of three is allowed a maximum of 14 points between them.

The two-person Skud includes one severely disabled sailor, and one person with minimal disability. At least one of the crew must be female.

The singled handed 2.4m can be crewed regardless of points but the sailor must have at least a minimum level of disability. The characteristics of the boat allow the sailors to compete on equal terms with able bodied sailors.

Swimming

Classification is divided into three groups:

S1 to S10 are those with Physical Impairment. S1 will have the most severe impairment and an S10 a lesser impairment, for example a hand amputation.

S11 to S13 are those with a Visual Impairment. S11 will have little or no vision, S12 can recognise the shape of a hand and have some ability to see, S13 greater vision than the other two classes but less than 20 degrees of vision.

S14 is for athletes with a Learning Difficulty.

Wheelchair is the sixth (alphabetically) of the six major disability categories at the Paralympic Games.

In order to be eligible to compete in this category an athlete must generally have at least a 10% loss of function of their lower limbs.  Some of the more common conditions which may result in individuals being eligible include: traumatic paraplegia and quadriplegia, spina bifida, poliomyelitis, amputees, cerebral palsy and all non ambulant les autres athletes.

In the Paralympics, Wheelchair is abbreviated to WC.

The Paralympic sports participated in by Wheelchair athletes are:

Archery

Archery is open to athletes with a physical disability.

Classification is broken up into three classes:

W1 -  Spinal Cord and Cerebral Palsy athletes with impairment in all four limbs

W2 -  Wheelchair users with full arm function

Standing -  Amputee, Les Autres and Cerebral Palsy standing athletes. Some athletes in the standing group will sit on a high stool for support but will still have their feet touching the ground.

Athletics

Athletics is open to all disability groups and uses a functional classification system.

A brief classification guide is as follows: (prefixing F for field athletes or T for track athletes)

F or T 11-13 are Visually Impaired

F or T 20 are Learning Difficulty

F or T 31-38 are Cerebral Palsy

F or T 41- 46 Amputee and Les Autres

T 51- 54 Wheelchair track athletes

F51- 58 Wheelchair field athletes

Boccia

Boccia is open to athletes with Cerebral Palsy who compete from a wheelchair.

Classification is split into four groups:

BC1 - Athletes are either throwers or foot players (with Cerebral Palsy).  Athletes may compete with an assistant

BC2 - For throwing players (with Cerebral Palsy).  Players may not have an assistant

BC3 - Athletes (with severe disability) who use an assistive device and may be assisted by a person, but this assistant must keep their back to the court.

BC4 - For throwing players. Players may not have an assistant (Non Cerebral Palsy).

Powerlifting

Powerlifting is open to athletes with a physical disability.

Classification is by weight category as in able bodied powerlifting competition.

Sailing

Sailing is open to Amputee, Cerebral Palsy, Visually Impaired, Wheelchair and Les Autres athletes.

Classification for the Sonar is based on a functional points system with a minimum of 1 point for severely disabled athletes rising by scale to a high of 7 points for less disabled athletes. Each crew of three is allowed a maximum of 14 points between them.

The two-person Skud includes one severely disabled sailor, and one person with minimal disability. At least one of the crew must be female.

The singled handed 2.4m can be crewed regardless of points but the sailor must have at least a minimum level of disability. The characteristics of the boat allow the sailors to compete on equal terms with able bodied sailors.

Table Tennis

Table tennis is open to athletes with a physical or Learning Difficulty spread over 11 classes.

Classes 1 to 5 encompass athletes competing from a Wheelchair with class 1 being the most severely disabled and class 5 the least disabled.

Classes 6 to 10 comprise ambulant athletes with class 6 the most severely disabled and class 10 the least.

Class 11 is for athletes with a Learning Difficulty.

Volleyball

Volleyball is open to athletes with a physical disability and has both a sitting and standing event.

In sitting volleyball the court is smaller than standard and has a lower net.

Standing volleyball uses a full sized court and normal height net.

In the sitting games the only classification is the minimal disability ruling; athletes may compete if they have a disability that prevents them from competing on equal terms with able bodied athletes.

Wheelchair Basketball

Basketball is open to wheelchair athletes.

Wheelchair athletes are classified according to their physical ability and are given a points rating between 1 - 4.5.  One pointers being the most severely disabled and 4.5 the least disabled.  A team on court comprises five players and may not exceed a total of 14 points at any given time. 

Wheelchair Fencing

Fencing is open to wheelchair athletes.

There are only three classes:

Class A incorporates those athletes with good balance and recovery and full trunk movement;

Class B those with poor balance and recovery but full use of one or both upper limbs;

Class C athletes with severe physical impairment in all four limbs. 

Wheelchair Rugby

Athletes are classified on a points system similar to wheelchair basketball, with the most severely disabled athlete being graded 0.5 points rising to 3.5 points for the physically more able.  Each team has four players and is allowed a maximum of 8 points on court at any one time. 

Winter Paralympics return to Europe

The 2006 Winter Paralympic Games, the ninth winter Paralympics, took place in Turin, Italy in a move that saw the Paralympics come back to Europe for the first time since Lillehammer twelve years earlier.  These were the first Winter Paralympic Games to be held in Italy.

The Games were officially opened by Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi at the 28,000 capacity Stadio Olimpico.  The Stadium which was constructed in 1933 for the FIFA World Cup 1934, and was renamed Stadio Grande Torino (Grand Stadium of Turin) after the 2006 Winter Paralympic Games in a tribute to the Torino players who died in the Superga air disaster on May 4, 1949.

The Games mascot was Aster, a star-shaped snowflake similar in design to the Olympic mascots Neve and Gliz.  The Games were also the first Paralympic Games to feature a live webcast of events, hosted by ParalympicSport.TV

Russia topped the medal table with 33 medals, 13 of which were gold. Germany finished the Games in second place while the Ukraine was third; hosts Italy taking a respectable 9th place in the overall medal table.

Date Games were held: March 10- 19

Number of nations represented: 39

Number of competitors: 486

Number of medals awarded: 174

Winter Paralympics arrive in the USA for the first time

Although the USA had hosted the Winter Olympics in 1960 and again in 1980, the country had never hosted the Winter Paralympics.  The 2002 Winter Paralympics marked the Games' first visit to the USA as they reached their third continent (having been staged in Europe numerous times and in Asia in 1998).

The Games were officially opened by the US President George W Bush at the 45,000 capacity Rice-Eccles Stadium on the campus of the University of Utah.

At the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Paralympics Ragnhild Myklebust of Norway won five gold medals in skiing and biathlon.  This feat meant that Myklebust became the most successful Winter Paralympic athlete of all time having won an astonishing 27 medals, 22 of them gold, over five consecutive Games.  She won Paralympic medals in short, middle and long distance cross-country races, relays, the biathlon and ice-sledge racing.

Germany topped the medal table with 33 medals, 17 of which were gold. Hosts USA finished the Games in second place while Norway finished in third.

Date Games were held: March 7 - 16

Number of nations represented: 36

Number of competitors: 416

Number of medals awarded: 276

Winter Paralympics head to Asia for the first time

In 1998, the Seventh Winter Paralympics were staged in Nagano, Japan visiting Asia for the first time in their history.  In fact it was the first time that the Winter Paralympics had been staged outside of Europe.  The Games were officially opened by Crown Prince Naruhito at the 10,000 capacity M-Wave Stadium.

The Games consisted of 34 events in four parasports: alpine skiing, ice-sledge hockey, ice-sledge racing, and Nordic skiing (the parasport of Nordic skiing comprised two disciplines: biathlon and cross-country skiing).

Norway claimed 40 medals, 18 of which were gold and finished top of the medals table.  Germany finished the Games in second place while the USA took the third in an exact repeat of the top three at the Lillehammer Games fours years earlier.

Date Games were held: March 5 - 14

Number of nations represented: 32

Number of competitors: 571

Number of medals awarded: 367