1. LONDON 2012
PARALYMPIC SPORTS
XABIER MENDOZA

2. PARALYMPIC GAMES
OFFICIAL LONDON 2012 WEBSITE
http://www.london2012.com/paralympics/

3. SPORTS
• Archery • Athletics
• Boccia • Cycling Road
• Cycling Track • Equestiran
• Football 5-a-side • Goalball
• Football 7-a-side • Powerlifting
• Judo • Sailing
• Rowing • Swimming
• Shooting • Sitting Volleyball
• Table Tennis • Wheelchair Fencing
• Wheelchair Basketball • Wheelchair Tennis
• Wheelchair Rugby

5. ARCHERY
• Paralympic Archery featured on
every Paralympic programme
since the inaugural competition
in 1960.
• 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.

6. ATHLETICS
• Some athletes compete Classification: To ensure competition is fair,
athletes are grouped into classes according to
in wheelchairs or how much their impairment impacts on their
throwing frames, others event-specific performance.
with prostheses, and - Classes 11–13 are for athletes with a visual
impairment. - Class 20 is for athletes with an
others with the intellectual impairment. - Classes 31–38 are
guidance of a sighted for athletes with cerebral palsy, with classes 31
companion. to 34 using a wheelchair to compete. - Classes
40–46 are for athletes with a loss of limb or
limb deficiency. - Classes 51–58 cover
wheelchair racers or field athletes who throw
from a seated position.

7. BOCCIA
• Boccia was introduced to the • Boccia is a target sport that tests
Paralympic programme at the muscle control and accuracy,
New York and Stoke Mandeville demanding extreme skill and
1984 Games. 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.

8. CYCLING ROAD
• Road Cycling was introduced as a • There are four types of cycles used in
Paralympic sport at the Stoke Paralympic Cycling:
Mandeville/New York 1984 • – A tandem is used by athletes with
Paralympics. Road Cycling was visual impairment; the athlete sits on
introduced as a Paralympic sport at the back of the tandem with a
the Stoke Mandeville/New York 1984 sighted pilot at the front.
Paralympics. • – A hand cycle, as the name
suggests, has pedals operated by
hand. It has two wheels at the back
and one at the front.
• – A tricycle is normally used by
athletes whose balance would make
them unable to race on a two-
wheeled bicycle.
• – A bicycle is used by all other
athletes, often with modifications.

9. CYCLING TRACK
• The first Track Cycling races at the Paralympic • There are four classes for competition:
Games took place at the Atlanta 1996
Games. - B – athletes with a visual impairment who
compete on a tandem with a sighted pilot on
the front
- H1–H4 – athletes with an impairment that
affects their legs and so compete using a
handcycle
- T1–T2 – athletes with an impairment that
affects their balance and so compete using a
tricycle
- C1–C5 – athletes with an impairment that
affects their legs, arms and/or trunk but
compete using a standard bicycle
• In the H, T and C classes, the lower the
athlete’s class number, the greater the
impact of their impairment on their ability to
cycle. So for example a C1 cyclist will have an
impairment that has more of an impact on
their ability to cycle than a C5 cyclist.

10. EQUESTRIAN
• Equestrian events first appeared • The classification rules of the International
Federation for Equestrian state that
on the Paralympic programme at
athletes with a physical impairment and
the 1984 Games held in Stoke athletes with a visual impairment are
Mandeville and New York, and eligible to compete in the sport at the
have featured at every Games Paralympics.
since Atlanta 1996. • Classification also groups athletes in
classes, defined by the degree to which
they are limited in their ability to perform
activities within that sport.
• There are five classes in Equestrian:
Grades Ia, Ib, II, III and IV.
• Grade Ia is for athletes whose impairment
has the greatest impact on their ability to
ride; through to Grade IV, which is for
athletes whose impairment has the least
impact on their ability to ride.

11. FOOTBALL 5-a-SIDE
• The first national 5-a-side • The classification rules of the
Championships took place in International Federation for
Spain in 1986. Football 5-a-side state that
athletes with a visual
impairment are eligible to
compete in the sport at the
Paralympics.
• All four outfield players must
wear blackout eyeshades to
ensure fairness. The
goalkeeper may be fully
sighted but he is not allowed
to leave his penalty area.
• The football contains ball
bearings to produce a noise
when it moves.

12. FOOTBALL 7-a-SIDE
• 7-a-side Football is a fast-moving • In Football 7-a-side there are four classes and
and fiercely competitive sport they can be described as follows:
played by athletes with cerebral - C5 – athletes whose impairment causes the
palsy. greatest disadvantage on the field of play and
has a significant impact when walking and
• Classification also groups athletes running
in classes, defined by the degree - C6 – athletes with an impairment that have an
to which they are limited in their impact on the control and coordination of their
ability to perform activities within arms, especially when running
that sport. - C7 – athletes with an impairment that affect one
arm and one leg on the same side of the body
- C8 – athletes whose impairments cause the
least disadvantage on the field of play; they
often have involuntary muscle contractions as
well as a tightness in their muscles
• To minimise the impact of impairment on the
outcome of competition teams must include at
least one athlete with either C5 or C6
classification on the pitch and no more than two
C8 players are allowed to play at the same time.

13. GOALBALL
• ntroduced to the Games as • The classification rules of
a demonstration event at the International Federation
the Toronto 1976 Games, for Goalball state that
Goalball was added to the athletes with a visual
Paralympic programme as a impairment are eligible to
full medal sport four years compete in the sport at the
later in Arnhem. Paralympics.
• All athletes wear eyeshades
to ensure fairness and allow
athletes with varying
degrees of visual
impairment to compete
together.

14. JUDO
• Judo first featured on the • Classification also groups athletes in classes,
defined by the degree to which they are limited
Paralympic programme at Seoul in their ability to perform activities within that
1988, with women’s events sport.
• Three classes of athletes compete in Judo: B1,
introduced 16 years later in B2 and B3.
Athens. • B1 athletes are classed as blind, while B2 and
B3 athletes have different degrees of visual
impairment. All athletes compete together.
• B1 athletes have a red circle sewn on to the
sleeves of their judogi (judo suits). This is in
order for the officials to apply the rules
according to their special circumstances.
• For example, the officials will not expect them
to recognise the edge of the contest area,
compared with Judo athletes with limited sight.
• When an athlete is also deaf as well as visually
impaired, a small blue circle will be attached on
the back of the judogi.

15. POWERLIFTING
• After its initial introduction to • The classification rules of the
the Paralympic Games at International Federation for
Tokyo in 1964, when it was Powerlifting state that athletes
billed as Weightlifting, the with a physical impairment in
sport now known as their legs or hips, which would
Powerlifting underwent a prohibit them compete in
major transition. weightlifting are eligible to
compete in the sport at the
Paralympics.
• Competitors are classified by
bodyweight alone in
Powerlifting: athletes with
different impairments
compete for the same medals.

16. ROWING
• Appearing at the Paralympic • Paralympic Rowing has three
Games for only the second categories of classification,
time, the sport of Rowing will indicating the amount of
be held on the waters at Eton functional ability a rower has.
Dorney during London 2012.
• AS – arms and shoulders
• TA – trunk and arms
• LTA – legs, trunk and arms
• A rower may compete in a
higher category, but not a
lower one: AS and TA rowers
may compete in LTA events,
but an LTA athlete may not
compete in a TA race.

17. SAILING
• Sailing for athletes with a disability began • Sailing has three categories of boat at the
Paralympics; Three Person Keelboat, Two Person
to develop as a competitive sport in the
Keelboat and Single Person Keelboat. Each boat
1980s, just over 10 years before it joined uses its own classification points system to make up
the Paralympic programme. Mastery over a team.
ever-changing conditions on open water • Three-Person Keelboat: each athlete is assigned a
requires skill, tactics and nerve. point score between 1 and 7 based on the impact of
the athlete's impairment to perform tasks on the
boat. The lower the point score, the greater the
impact of the athlete’s impairment on their ability
to sail. The total classification points of all three
sailors must not exceed a maximum of 14 points.
• Two-Person Keelboat: athletes are assigned a class
of TPA if they have an impairment with a greater
impact on their ability to sail. TPB athletes have an
impairment with a lesser impact on their ability to
sail. One TPA athlete and one TPB athlete make up
the team of a Two-Person Keelboat
• Single-Person Keelboat: the athlete must meet the
minimum eligibility requirement for the sport, the
equivalent of a point 7 in the Three-Person
Keelboat.

18. SHOOTING
• Shooting is a test of accuracy and • There are two classes in shooting;
control, in which athletes use SH1 and SH2. The differences
pistols or rifles to fire at static between the classes can be
targets. summarised as follows:
• SH1 – athletes who can support
the weight of their firearm
themselves and shoot using a
rifle or pistol.
• SH2 – athletes who use a
shooting stand for support as
they have an impairment that
affects one or both of their arms
and shoot using a rifle only.

19. TABLE TENNIS
• With 29 medal events and nearly • Classification also groups athletes in classes,
defined by the degree to which they are
300 athletes, Table Tennis is one limited in their ability to perform activities
of the largest sports on the within that sport. In Table Tennis there are
Paralympic programme. eleven classes and they can be described as
follows:
• 1–5: athletes with a physical impairment that
affects their legs who compete in a sitting
position, the lower the number, the greater
the impact the impairment has on an
athlete’s ability to compete
• 6–10: athletes with a physical impairment
who compete from a standing position, the
lower the number, the greater the impact
the impairment has on an athlete’s ability to
compete
• 11: athletes with intellectual impairment

20. SITTING VOLLEYBALL
• Sitting Volleyball emerged in the • Classification also groups athletes in
Netherlands in the 1950s, a classes, defined by the degree to which
combination of Volleyball and a they are limited in their ability to perform
German game called Sitzbal. It really activities within that sport.
began to increase in popularity
during the 1960s, and has since • In Sitting Volleyball, there are two
grown into one of the most fast- categories of classification: Disabled (D)
paced and exciting Paralympic sports. and Minimally Disabled (MD). As these
It is now played by athletes in more names suggest, D athletes have an
than 50 countries around the world. impairment that has a greater impact on
the field of play than MD players.
• A number of players with the class MD
played standing volleyball and picked up a
significant injury to their ankle or knee,
making them eligible to compete in Sitting
Volleyball.
• A maximum of one MD player may be on
the court for each team at any one time.

21. WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL
• The sport was developed by • Classification also groups athletes
American World War II veterans in classes, defined by the degree
as part of their rehabilitation to which they are limited in their
programme, but its popularity ability to perform activities within
soon spread around the world. that sport.
• In Wheelchair Basketball there
are eight classes from 1.0 for a
player with the least physical
function, increasing by 0.5 per
class through to 4.5 for the most
physical function.
• To minimise the impact of types
of impairment on the outcome of
competition, the total on-court
point value during play for each
team of five players cannot
exceed 14.

22. WHEELCHAIR FENCING
• Although sword fighting dates • Classification also groups athletes
back thousands of years, Fencing in classes, defined by the degree
as we now understand it came of to which they are limited in their
age as a sport in the 19th century. ability to perform activities within
Developed in the years after that sport. In Wheelchair Fencing
World War II at Stoke Mandeville, there are two classes: Category A
the birthplace of the Paralympic and Category B.
Games, Wheelchair Fencing is a • Category A athletes have good
fierce, fast-moving battle of trunk control and their fencing
tactics and technique. arm is not affected by their
impairment.
• Category B athletes have an
impairment that affects either
their trunk or their fencing arm.

23. WHEELCHAIR RUGBY
• Wheelchair Rugby was invented in 1977 • Classification also groups athletes in
by a group of Canadian quadriplegic classes, defined by the degree to which
athletes, who were looking for an they are limited in their ability to perform
alternative to Wheelchair Basketball that activities within that sport.
would allow players with reduced arm and • In Wheelchair Rugby every player is
hand function to participate on equal assigned a point value based on their
terms. The sport they created, which functional ability. There are seven classes
incorporates some elements of Basketball, from 0.5 for a player with the least
Handball and Ice Hockey, has since grown physical function increasing by 0.5 per
into a thrilling and intense spectacle, and class through to 3.5 for the most physical
is enormously popular with Paralympic function.
spectators around the world. • To minimise the impact of types of
impairment on the outcome of
competition, the total on-court point
value during play for each team of four
players cannot exceed 8. For each female
player a team fields on court, the
maximum points level increases by 0.5.

24. WHEELCHAIR TENNIS
• Since Wheelchair Tennis was • Classification also groups athletes in
invented in 1976 by Brad Parks, the classes, defined by the degree to
sport has grown at an amazing rate: which they are limited in their ability
now fully integrated into all four to perform activities within that
Grand Slam Tennis events, and with sport. In Wheelchair Tennis there are
more than 170 tournaments on the two classes, Open and Quad:
ITF’s own Wheelchair Tennis Tour, it is
more popular than ever. • Open class is for athletes with an
impairment of one or both legs but
does not affect their arms or hands.
• Quad class athletes have an
impairment that affects their arms
and legs, which limits their ability to
handle the racket and to move their
wheelchair compared with Open
class athletes. Men and women
compete together in the Quad
events.

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Mendoza Michelena is licensed under a
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