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* Paralympic Background

History

Organised 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 organised 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.

Organisation

No single organisation is fully responsible for governing Paralympic sport. Globally, the International Paralympic Committee is recognised as the leading organisation, with direct governance of thirteen sports and responsibility over the Paralympic Games and other multi-sport, multi-disability events. Other international organisations, 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 organisations that take responsibility for Paralympic sport, including National Paralympic Committees, which are members of the IPC, and many others.

Disability Categories

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

• Amputee: Persons with a partial or total amputation of at least one limb.
• Cerebral palsy: Persons who have a non-progressive neurological disorder resulting from cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, or stroke, or similar disabilities affecting muscle control, balance or coordination.
• Intellectual disability: Persons who have a significant impairment in intellectual functioning with associated limitations in adaptive behaviour. (This category of is currently suspended from international competitions governed by the IPC.)
• Les autres: From the French for the others, this includes persons with a mobility impairment or other loss of physical function that does not fall strictly into one of the other five categories. Participants include those with dwarfism, multiple sclerosis or other disabilities.
• Visually impaired: Persons who have a non-correctable vision impairment ranging from partially sighted to total blindness.
• Wheelchair: Persons with a disability that requires them to compete using a wheelchair. This includes most athletes with spinal cord injuries as well as other athletes who require wheelchairs, including some lower limb amputees, persons with polio, and other disabilities.
  
  The disability category affects which athletes compete 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.

2008 Paralympic Sports

The 2008 Paralympics will include competition in the following;

Archery

Athletics

• Discus
• Shotput
• Long Jump
• Triple Jump
• Javelin
• Women 100m, 200m, 800m, 1500m, 5000m
• Men 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 5000m
• Men 4 X 100m, 4 X 400m
• Men Pentathlon
• Men Marathon
• Women Marathon

Boccia - Boccia can be played by individuals, pairs, or teams of three. The aim of the game is to throw leather balls - coloured red or blue (which side gets which is determined by a coin toss) - as close as they can to a white target ball, or jack. The jack is thrown first, then each side takes turns to propel their ball towards the jack. The balls can be moved with hands, feet, or, if the competitor's disability is severe, with an assistive device. At the end of each round, or end, the referee measures the distance of the balls closest to the jack, and awards points accordingly - one point for each ball that is closer to the jack than the opponent's closest ball. The team/player with the highest number of points at the end of play is the winner.

The number of ends and balls in each end depends on the side makeup. Individual competition consists of four ends and six balls per player per end, whilst paired competition is four ends and six balls per pair per end (three per player). Team competition is six ends, and six balls per team per end (two per player).

Road Cycling

Track Cycling

Equestrian

Football – 5 a side & 7 a side

Goalball - a team sport designed for blind athletes. Participants compete in teams of three, and try to throw a ball that has bells embedded in it, into the opponents' goal. They must use the sound of the bell to judge the position and movement of the ball. Games consist of two 10 minute halves. Blindfolds allow partially sighted players to compete on an equal footing with blind players.

Powerlifting

Rowing

Sailing

Shooting

Swimming

Volleyball (sitting)

Wheelchair Basketball

Wheelchair Fencing

Wheelchair Rugby

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* Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paralympic_sports