Classifying Ability

    Allowing every athlete with any type of disability to participate in every sport may seem like the easiest approach to make everyone feel included and seen. It correctly aligns with the societal goal of ensuring equal opportunity for any and all athletes. With the wide variety of opportunities, it would decrease the barriers faced by many athletes who possess a disability. Excluding athletes based on the severity of their disability may be discriminatory and seen as restrictive for no particular reason.  On the other had competitive sports are built on the idea of fairness. These athletes are grouped by age, gender, and skill level; this is the same in regular sports and para sports. Para athletes are grouped based on their ability to perform in a specific sport. Grouping these athletes not just because of their medical diagnoses but also how they perform with it ensures that competition remains fair with no advantage of one athlete over another.

   Classification is important in creating a fair environment in sports. For example, having Hunter Woodhall, who has two prosthetic legs, compete against Noah Lyles, who is one of the greatest short sprinters today, is unfair, and we clearly know why. This would create an uneven playing field for athletes. Another example could be an athlete who is blind compared to someone who is missing a leg; they are both different disabilities, but completely different classes, and can not be compared in the same way. Without this structured classification system, an uneven playing field would be created for many athletes across the board.
   The goal for the Paralympics should be to be all-inclusive to those they let compete with the structured classification. The truth of inclusion is not just letting anyone compete under the same conditions, since each disability is different. The inclusivity is about creating fairness of competition that reflects one's disability in a positive way. Paralympic organizations can work towards expanding classification categories to be able to provide a wider range of inclusivity. IPC can develop events for underrepresented disabilities so they are not completely excluded. At a lower level of competition, it is easier to create broader inclusivity, which allows more individuals to compete without strict classification. Inclusion is a priority!
   The IPC has a step-by-step classification system for Paralympic athletes in competition. On the IPC website of Paralympic classification. There is a three-step process for IPC to determine if they are classified. "Athlete Evaluation answers three fundamental questions:1. Does the athlete have  an Eligible Impairment for this sport? 2. Does the athlete’s Eligible Impairment meet the Minimum Impairment Criteria of the sport? 3. Which Sport Class should the athlete be allocated in based on the extent to which the athlete is able to execute the specific tasks and activities fundamental to the sport" (IPC, 2026)? IPC must first determine if they have an underlying health condition, and classify them by type of impairment out of the ten. After determining this, the athlete must meet a minimum impairment criterion for the sport. These criteria are specific to each sport; it is classified according to how severe the impairment is to be considered eligible. If the athlete is eligible, the last step is to decide the athlete's sport class. Not classified by exact disability; classified by the degree of limitation. Putting the athletes in a similar group who contain limitations is present. IPC does this by doing physical and technical assessments, followed by observation of competition. This is the current process and is used today for the classification process.
    There should be a striving for inclusion that creates equal opportunities for participation and success. Maintaining classification systems that are currently in place and continuing to improve them. IPC must continue to respect inclusion and fairness in its classification process. 
Daniel Dias of Brazil competes in the Men's 200m Freestyle S5 Final at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

References 

IPC. (2026). Classification. International Paralympic Committee. https://www.paralympic.org/classification 

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