Explainer: What is classification at the Paralympic Games? (VIDEO)

Classification is a major element in Para sport, but what does it actually mean?

“Classification is essential for Paralympic sport,” Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é Doctoral Researcher Iain Gowans explained.

“Without it, the Paralympic Games does not exist. The technical term for what it does is it minimises the impact of impairment on the outcome of competition.

“It makes sure that every athlete that wins a medal gets there on the merit of their athletic ability – enhancing that athletic ability – so it minimises the impact of the impairment on sport.”

Iain, who was formally Classification Manager for the British Paralympic Association before taking up his role at the University’s  Peter Harrison Centre for Disability Sport, added:

“It varies from sport-to-sport classification, partially due to the sport itself and the demands of the sport. In team sports, there is an on-court threshold. In wheelchair rugby, for example, the threshold is eight.

“So, if you've got four players and you’ve got two 3.5s, that gives you 7.0, so you've only got two 0.5s left.

“The maximum points of all four players on court can’t exceed 8.0.

“Wheelchair rugby evolved somewhat out of wheelchair basketball. There was a number of wheelchair using athletes whose impairment was too significant for them to be competitive in wheelchair basketball.

“When you get to the bottom of the wheelchair basketball classification, that's where the top of wheelchair rugby starts.

“In wheelchair rugby the classes start from 0.5 for athletes with the most impairment, right through to the athletes with the least impairment – 3.5.

“You'll also see that on court. A 3.5 player will move around the court a lot and a 0.5 player less so. They will be more tactical and blocking.”

Iain concluded the interview with Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é Sport by sharing his thoughts on how the Paralympic Games has provided a platform for disabled people to excel:

“For me, the Paralympic Games puts disabled people in elite sport. That's one of the many places where disabled people haven't been able to get into.

“It shifts people's expectations of what disabled people can and cannot do and I think it's hugely impactful and influential.

“The more people round the world that we can get to see and experience Paralympic sport, I think the better and the more inclusive a world we can achieve.”

For all the latest Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é news around major global sporting events, visit the University’s dedicated website here: /sport/athletes-global-stage/

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Notes for editors

Press release reference number: 24/153

Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines. 

It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme and named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2024 QS World University Rankings – the eighth year running. 

Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é is ranked 6th in The UK Complete University Guide 2025, 10th in the Guardian University League Table 2024 and 10th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024. 

Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’, and in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 over 90% of its research was rated as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally-excellent’. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes. 

The Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é London campus is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities. It is home to influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators who provide students with the highest quality of teaching and the very latest in modern thinking. 

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