Disability Categories

Athletes will compete from five disability categories with athletes grouped according to their different level of impairment.

Amputee

This includes athletes who have at least one major joint in a limb missing, for example the elbow, wrist, knee or ankle.

Cerebral palsy

This is a disorder of movement and posture due to damage to an area, or areas, of the brain that control and coordinate muscle tone, reflexes, posture and movement.

Wheelchair

Generally athletes compete in this category if they have at least 10% loss of function in their lower limbs. Common conditions include traumatic paraplegia and quadriplegia, spina bifida, poliomyelitis, amputees, cerebral palsy and all non ambulant les autres athletes.

Vision Impaired

Athletes come under this classification if they have any condition which interferes with "normal" vision.This incorporates the entire range of vision difficulties from correctable conditions through to total blindness.

Les Autres

This French term for "the others" is used to describe athletes with a range of conditions, such as dwarfism, that don't fit into the traditional classification systems of the established groups.

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Sports Disability Categories

Athletics

A letter F is for field athletes, T determines those who compete on the track while the number refers to their disability.

11-13: track and field athletes who are visually impaired
20: track and field athletes who are intellectually disabled
31-38: track and field athletes with cerebral palsy
41-46: track and field amputees and les autres
T 51-56: wheelchair track athletes
F 51-56: wheelchair field athletes
40 - track and field dwarf athletes

Swimming

Classes 1-10 are allocated to swimmers with a physical disability.
Classes 11-13 are allocated to swimmers with a visual impairment

The prefix S denotes the class for Freestyle, Backstroke and Butterfly
The prefix SB denotes the class for Breaststroke
The prefix SM denotes the class for Individual Medley

The range is from the swimmers with severe disability (S1, SB1, SM1) to those with the minimal disability (S10, SB9, SM10).

Swimmers can also compete in Multi-Disability Events (MD)

Track Cycling

Athletes with cerebral palsy (CP) are split into four divisions according to the level of their disability where class four comprises the more physically able. Visually impaired athletes (B/VI) compete together with no separate classification systems. They ride in tandem with a sighted guide (pilot). Amputee, spinal cord injury and les autres competitors compete within the specific groups:

LC1: Riders with upper limb disabilities
LC2: Riders with disabilities in one leg but who can pedal normally
LC3: Riders with a handicap in one lower limb who will usually pedal with one leg only
LC4: Riders with disabilities affecting both legs

Wheelchair Basketball

Basketball is only open to wheelchair athletes.

Athletes are classified according to their physical ability and are given a points rating between 1 - 4.5. One pointers being the most severely disabled and 4.5 the least disabled. Each team fields five players but may not exceed a total of 14 points at any given time.

For further information see the BBC Sport site for disability classification.