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1. PARALYMPICS

2. Paralympic Sports
Archery
Athletics
Boccia
Cycling Road
Cycling Track
Equestrian
Football 5-a-side
Football 7-a-side
Goalball
Judo
Powerlifting
Rowing
Sailing
Shooting

3. ARCHERY
• 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.

4. Athletics
• Speed, strength, power and stamina will be on display during
the Athletics competition, the largest sport at the Paralympic
Games. 1,100 athletes compete for 170 gold medals across
track, field and road events.
• Some athletes compete in wheelchairs or throwing frames,
others with prostheses, and others with the guidance of a
sighted companion

5. BOCCIA
• 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.

6. CYCLING ROAD
• Paralympic Cycling was originally developed as a
sport for blind athletes, who first competed using
tandem bicycles. Technological advancements have
since opened up the sport to a wider range of
athletes; as a result, it is now the third largest sport
on the Paralympic programme.

7. CYCLING TRACK
• Paralympic Cycling was originally developed as a
sport for blind athletes, who first competed using
tandem bicycles. Technological advancements have
since opened up the sport to a wider range of
athletes; as a result, it is now the third largest sport
on the Paralympic programme.

8. EQUESTRIAN
• The Equestrian events test the ability of horse and rider
to display both athletic prowess and supreme elegance.
• Athletes with a disability have long taken part in
Equestrian activities, originally as a means of
rehabilitation and recreation. Para-Equestrian Dressage
developed in the 1970s, with the first events held in
Great Britain and Scandinavia. The multi-disability sport
has since spread around the world, and athletes from
more than 40 countries now compete on a regular basis.

9. FOOTBALL 5 –a-SIDE
• One of two forms of Football on the Paralympic
programme, 5-a-side Football is a thrilling, fast-
moving sport. Played by visually impaired athletes
using a ball with a noise-making device inside, the
sport offers skill and drama in equal measure, with
eight teams battling for gold at the new Riverbank
Arena in the Olympic Park.

10. FOOTBALL 7-a-SIDE
• 7-a-side Football is a fast-moving and fiercely
competitive sport played by athletes with
cerebral palsy. At London 2012, the Riverbank
Arena will host eight men’s teams in a 20-
match tournament, culminating in the gold
medal match on 9 September.

11. GOALBALL
• Played competitively in more than 100 countries,
Goalball is one of the most popular Paralympic
sports.
• Since it was developed as a rehabilitation activity
for injured soldiers returning from World War II,
Goalball has spread around the world. Played by
visually impaired athletes using a ball with bells
inside, it is among the most exciting team sports
on the Paralympic programme.

12. JUDO
• The only martial art on the Paralympic programme,
the gripping, grappling sport of Judo offers plenty of
action.
• Developed from jujitsu and established as a sport in
the late 19th century by Dr Jigoro Kano, Judo
requires athletes to employ an intricate mix of attack
and defence. Contested at the Paralympic Games by
visually impaired athletes, the sport’s one-on-one
battles can be tough, tense and explosive, as
competitors grapple for command against
determined opponents.

13. POWERLIFTING
• Powerlifting is a bench-press competition – the
ultimate test of upper-body strength.
• With athletes from more than 100 countries now
involved in international competition, it is one of the
world’s fastest-growing sports. The bench-press
contest offers a tense and dramatic sporting
spectacle, as athletes battle to lift more weight than
their rivals.

14. ROWING

15. SAILING
• 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.
• Although its history dates back centuries, Rowing
only came of age as a competitive sport in the last
200 years. Interest began to increase after Oxford
and Cambridge Universities began their rivalry on the
Thames in 1829, a rivalry that continues today in the
shape of the annual Boat Race. The sport made its
Paralympic debut in Beijing 2008 – when Great
Britain topped the medal table.

16. SHOOTING
• A total of 80 athletes will be sailing for gold in the
waters of Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbour at
the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
• 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.

17. SWIMMING
• With the second largest number of athletes and
events at the Games, Swimming is one of the most
popular Paralympic sports.
• Evidence of people swimming for sport dates all the
way back to Ancient Egyptian and Ancient Greek
times, and it is now a hugely popular activity all over
the world. With 600 swimmers competing in nearly
150 medal events across 10 days in the new Aquatics
Centre, the Swimming competition at the Paralympic
Games promises plenty of excitement.

18. TABLE TENNIS
• With 29 medal events and nearly 300 athletes, Table
Tennis is one of the largest sports on the Paralympic
programme.
• Table Tennis has come a long way from its origins in
the late 19th century, when it developed as an after-
dinner game played by upper-class English families. A
permanent part of the Paralympic programme since
the first Games in 1960, the sport blends power,
speed, skill and subtlety – no wonder it is the biggest
participation sport in the world.

19. SITTING VOLLEYBALL
• With men and women going for gold across 10 days
of quick-paced competition, Sitting Volleyball should
offer plenty of thrills at London 2012.
• 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.

20. WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL
• Wheelchair Basketball is one of the most popular
sports at the Paralympic Games.
• The sport was developed by American World War II
veterans as part of their rehabilitation programme,
but its popularity soon spread around the world.
Now played in more than 80 countries, it is one of
the most dynamic on the Paralympic programme.

21. WHEELCHAIR FENCING
• The Paralympic sport of Wheelchair Fencing features
three different weapons, 100 athletes – and plenty of
action.
• 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.

22. WHEELCHAIR RUGBY
• The Wheelchair Rugby competition will see eight highly-
motivated teams square off in a fiercely competitive battle
for gold.
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.

23. WHEELCHAIR TENNIS
• Wheelchair Tennis was invented in 1976 by Brad
Parks, who had been experimenting with tennis as a
recreational therapy after he was injured in a
freestyle skiing competition.
• Since these humble beginnings, 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.