Paralympic sports facts for kids

Ice Sledge Hockey: United States (blue shirts) vs Japan (white shirts) during the 2010 Paralympics in Vancouver.

The Paralympic sports comprise all the sports contested in the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. As of 2020, the Summer Paralympics included 22 sports and 539 medal events, and the Winter Paralympics include 5 sports and disciplines and about 80 events. The number and kinds of events may change from one Paralympic Games to another.

The Paralympic Games are a major international multi-sport event for athletes with physical disabilities or intellectual impairments. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. Paralympic sports refers to organized competitive sporting activities as part of the global Paralympic movement. These sports are organized and run under the supervision of the International Paralympic Committee and other international sports federations.

History

Archery: Lindsey Carmichael from the United States, at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing.

Organized sport for persons with physical disabilities developed out of rehabilitation programs. Following World War II, in response to the needs of large numbers of 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 organized 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.

Organization

The Paralympic symbol

Globally, the International Paralympic Committee is recognized as the leading organization, with direct governance of nine sports, and responsibility over the Paralympic Games and other multi-sport, multi-disability events. Other international organizations, notably the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS), the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA), International Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disability (INAS) 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 organizations that take responsibility for Paralympic sport, including National Paralympic Committees, which are members of the IPC, and many others.

Disability categories

Cycling: Karissa Whitsell and Mackenzie Woodring (pilot) from the United States, compete in Beijing 2008

Biathlon: Andy Soule from the United States, at the 2010 Paralympics in Vancouver.

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

Physical Impairment - There are eight different types of physical impairment recognized by the movement:

• Impaired muscle power - With impairments in this category, the force generated by muscles, such as the muscles of one limb, one side of the body or the lower half of the body is reduced, e.g. due to spinal-cord injury, spina bifida or polio.
• Impaired passive range of movement - Range of movement in one or more joints is reduced in a systematic way. Acute conditions such as arthritis are not included.
• Loss of limb or limb deficiency - A total or partial absence of bones or joints from partial or total loss due to illness, trauma, or congenital limb deficiency (e.g. dysmelia).
• Leg-length difference - Significant bone shortening occurs in one leg due to congenital deficiency or trauma.
• Short stature - Standing height is reduced due to shortened legs, arms and trunk, which are due to a musculoskeletal deficit of bone or cartilage structures.
• Hypertonia - Hypertonia is marked by an abnormal increase in muscle tension and reduced ability of a muscle to stretch. Hypertonia may result from injury, disease, or conditions which involve damage to the central nervous system (e.g. cerebral palsy).
• Ataxia - Ataxia is an impairment that consists of a lack of coordination of muscle movements (e.g. cerebral palsy, Friedreich’s ataxia).
• Athetosis - Athetosis is generally characterized by unbalanced, involuntary movements and a difficulty maintaining a symmetrical posture (e.g. cerebral palsy, choreoathetosis).

Visual Impairment - Athletes with visual impairment ranging from partial vision, sufficient to be judged legally blind, to total blindness. This includes impairment of one or more component of the visual system (eye structure, receptors, optic nerve pathway, and visual cortex). The sighted guides for athletes with a visual impairment are such a close and essential part of the competition that the athlete with visual impairment and the guide are considered a team. Beginning in 2012, these guides (along with sighted goalkeepers in 5-a-side football became eligible to receive medals of their own.

Intellectual Disability - Athletes with a significant impairment in intellectual functioning and associated limitations in adaptive behaviour. The IPC primarily serves athletes with physical disabilities, but the disability group Intellectual Disability has been added to some Paralympic Games. This includes only elite athletes with intellectual disabilities diagnosed before the age of 18. However, the IOC-recognized Special Olympics World Games are open to all people with intellectual disabilities.

The disability category determines who athletes compete against 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). Events in the Paralympics are commonly labelled with the relevant disability category, such as Men's Swimming Freestyle S1, indicating athletes with a severe physical impairment, or Ladies Table Tennis 11, indicating athletes with an intellectual disability.

Classification

Swimming at the 2008 Summer Paralympics

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 non-disabled 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 factors into the rules for Olympic competition in the sport.

Summer Paralympics

Current summer sports

The following table lists the currently practiced Paralympic sports,

Wheelchair basketball: Iran vs South Africa at the 2008 Summer Paralympics.

Sport			Eligible impairments			Governing body	Paralympic Games status
			Physical	Visual	Intellectual
Archery			Yes			WA	Summer sport (since 1960)
Athletics			Yes	Yes	Yes	IPC	Summer sport (since 1960)
Badminton			Yes	Yes	Yes	BWF	Summer sport (since 2020)
Boccia			Yes			BISFed	Summer sport (since 1984)
Canoeing			Yes			ICF	Summer sport (since 2016)
Climbing			Yes	Yes		IFSC	Summer sport (to be added in 2028)
Cycling:	Track cycling		Yes	Yes		UCI	Summer sport (since 1988)
	Road cycling		Yes	Yes		UCI	Summer sport (since 1984)
Equestrian			Yes	Yes		FEI	Summer sport (since 1996)
Football 5-a-Side				Yes		IBSA	Summer sport (since 2004)
Goalball				Yes		IBSA	Summer sport (since 1980)
Judo				Yes		IBSA	Summer sport (since 1988)
Powerlifting			Yes			IPC	Summer sport (since 1964)
Rowing			Yes	Yes		FISA	Summer sport (since 2008)
Shooting			Yes	Yes		IPC	Summer sport (since 1976)
Swimming			Yes	Yes	Yes	IPC	Summer sport (since 1960)
Table tennis			Yes		Yes	ITTF	Summer sport (since 1960)
Taekwondo			Yes	Yes	Yes	WT	Summer sport (since 2020)
Triathlon			Yes	Yes		ITU	Summer sport (since 2016)
Volleyball			Yes			WOVD	Summer sport (since 1976)
Wheelchair basketball			Yes			IWBF	Summer sport (since 1960)
Wheelchair fencing			Yes			IWAS	Summer sport (since 1960)
Wheelchair rugby			Yes			IWRF	Summer sport (since 2000)
Wheelchair tennis			Yes			ITF	Summer sport (since 1992)

Discontinued summer sports

Sport			Eligible impairments			Governing body	Paralympic Games status
			Physical	Visual	Intellectual
Basketball ID					Yes	INAS-FID	Summer sport (1992, 2000)
Football ID					Yes	INAS-FID	Summer sport (1992)
Football 7-a-Side			Yes			CP-ISRA	Summer sport (1984–2016)
Lawn bowls			Yes	Yes		IPC	Summer sport (1968–1988, 1996)
Sailing			Yes	Yes		IFDS	Summer sport (2000–2016)
Snooker			Yes			IWAS	Summer sport (1960–1976, 1984–1988)
Dartchery			Yes			IPC	Summer sport (1960–1980)
Weightlifting			Yes			IPC	Summer sport (1964–1992)
Wrestling				Yes			Summer sport (1980–1984)

Future summer sports

On June 12, 2024, the organizing committee for the 2028 Summer Paralympics in Los Angeles, announced they would propose Paraclimbing (a variation on sport climbing, which has been an Olympic sport since 2020). The IPC executive voted to approve the proposal during a meeting on June 26, 2024.

Winter Paralympics

Current winter sports

Alpine skiing: Talan Skeels-Piggins from Great Britain at the Winter Paralympics 2010 in Vancouver.

Sport			Eligible impairments			Governing body	Paralympic Games status
			Physical	Visual	Intellectual
Alpine skiing			Yes	Yes	Yes	FIS	Winter sport (since 1976)
Para ice hockey			Yes			IPC	Winter sport (since 1994)
Nordic skiing:	Biathlon		Yes	Yes		IBU	Winter sport (since 1988)
	Cross-country skiing		Yes	Yes		FIS	Winter sport (since 1976)
Wheelchair curling			Yes			WCF	Winter sport (since 2006)
Para-Snowboarding			Yes			FIS	Winter sport (since 2014)

Discontinued winter sports

Sport			Eligible impairments			Governing body	Paralympic Games status
			Physical	Visual	Intellectual
Ice sledge racing			Yes				Winter Sport (1980–1988, 1994–1998)

Possible future winter sports

Bob Balk, the chairman of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletes' Council, launched a campaign in early 2012 to have sliding sports (bobsleigh, luge and skeleton) included at the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

At the meeting in Madrid, Spain, on 10 and 11 September 2018, the IPC executive board announced that Para Bobsleigh had failed in some evaluation criteria and would not be part of the official program for the 2022 Winter Paralympic Games.

Abbreviations

• Governing bodies:
  • BISFed — Boccia International Sports Federation
  • BWF — Badminton World Federation
  • CP-ISRA — Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association
  • IFDS — International Association for Disabled Sailing
  • IBSA — International Blind Sports Federation
  • ICF — International Canoe Federation
  • ICF — International Curling Federation
  • FEI — International Federation for Equestrian Sports
  • IPC — International Paralympic Committee (including Paralympic athletics, Paralympic DanceSport, Paralympic swimming, Paralympic shooting, Paralympic powerlifting, Para-alpine skiing, Paralympic biathlon, Paralympic cross-country skiing, Para ice hockey, Para snowboarding)
  • INAS-FID — International Sports Federation for Persons with an Intellectual Disability
  • FISA — International Rowing Federation
  • ITTF — International Table Tennis Federation
  • ITF — International Tennis Federation
  • ITU — International Triathlon Union
  • IWAS — International Wheelchair and Amputee Sport Federation
  • IWBF — International Wheelchair Basketball Federation
  • IWRF — International Wheelchair Rugby Federation
  • UCI — International Cycling Union
  • WCF — World Curling Federation
  • WA — World Archery
  • WOVD — World Organization Volleyball for Disabled

See also

In Spanish: Deportes paralímpicos para niños

• Olympic sports