Paralympic athletes compete in six different disability groups—amputee, cerebral palsy, visual impairment, spinal cord injuries, intellectual disability, and “les autres” (athletes whose disability does not fit into one of the other categories, including dwarfism).
Does Paralympics include intellectual disability?
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is responsible for overseeing the Paralympic Games, World Championships and Sports Specific Classification. In 2012 the IPC re-included athletes with Intellectual disability in select events in three sports: Swimming, Athletics and Table Tennis.
What is a sports program for persons with mental disabilities?
Generally defined, adaptive sports are sports that are modified to allow people with physical and sometimes mental disabilities to participate. Almost every sport, and many other athletic recreational activities, has an adaptive counterpart. One common example is wheelchair soccer, also referred to as power soccer.
What conditions qualify for the Paralympics?
Those eligible impairments are described below:
- Impaired Muscle Power.
- Impaired Passive Range of Movement (ROM)
- Limb Deficiency.
- Leg Length Difference.
- Short Stature.
- Hypertonia.
- Ataxia.
- Athetosis.
What are the categories for Paralympics?
Categories of disability
- Amputee athletes.
- Cerebral Palsy athletes.
- Vision impaired athletes.
- Wheelchair athletes.
- Les Autres (“the others”)
- Intellectual impairment.
What is Paralympics or adventure sports?
The Paralympic Games are a major international multi-sport event for athletes with physical disabilities or intellectual impairments. Paralympic sports refers to organized competitive sporting activities as part of the global Paralympic movement.
What is a disability specific sport?
Amputee golf. Basketball (intellectual impairment and wheelchair) Blind sports. Blind cricket.
What are the 3 impairment groups?
World Para Swimming caters for three impairment groups – physical, intellectual and vision.
What are the different Paralympic classifications for visually impaired athletes?
Visually impaired athletes compete in classifications 11-13. Those in 11, like 2016 two-time T11 gold medallist Libby Clegg, run blindfolded with a sighted guide. Paralympians with cerebral palsy and conditions causing involuntary movements compete in 31-38.
What is Paralympic classification and how does it work?
Welcome to the labyrinthine world of Paralympic classification. It’s an intricate system grouping athletes by disability, designed to ensure skill, fitness and power decide results at the Games rather than impairment. Here’s a guide to the rules that govern when and where Great Britain will be going for gold in Tokyo.
When did athletes with intellectual disabilities first compete in the Paralympic Games?
Athletes with intellectual disabilities competed for the first time in the 1996 Paralympic Games, in Atlanta. They competed again in Sydney four years later – but a scandal erupted when 10 out of 12 members of the Spanish basketball squad were unmasked as impostors without any disability.
Should intellectually disabled athletes be allowed in the Olympics?
In theory there’s nothing to stop an intellectually disabled athlete from entering the Olympics rather than Paralympics, but competing against athletes without any disabilities would be extremely tough.
