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1. PARALYMICS GAMES
Classification is a unique element of Paralympic sports,
intended to ensure fair competition. As each sport at
the Paralympic Games requires different skills and
competencies, the impact of impairment on the
performance of the athletes varies. That’s why each
sport has its own unique classification rules.

2. Sports
Archery
Athletics
Boccia
Cycling Road
Cycling Track
Equestrian
Football 5-a-side
Football 7-a-side
Goalball
Judo
Powerliftin
Rowling
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. Rowling
• 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.

15. Sailing
• 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.

16. Shooting
• Shooting is a test of accuracy and control, in
which athletes use pistols or rifles to fire at static
targets.
• Having been practised competitively for
centuries, the tough and demanding sport of
Shooting is now popular all over the world. At the
London 2012 Paralympic Games, the 12 events
are being held in the historic surroundings of The
Royal Artillery Barracks, the perfect setting for a
sport that should offer plenty of drama and
tension across eight days of competition.

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.

24. To more information
• http://www.london2012.com/paralympics/sp
orts/
• Copy please.
• Bye Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

25. •FIN