Para alpine skiing classification is the classification system for Para alpine skiing, designed to ensure fair competition between alpine skiers with different types of disabilities. The classifications are grouped into three general disability types: standing, blind and sitting. Classification governance is handled by International Paralympic Committee Alpine Skiing. Prior to that, several sport governing bodies dealt with classification including the International Sports Organization for the Disabled (ISOD), International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation (ISMWSF), International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) and Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CP-ISRA). Some classification systems are governed by bodies other than International Paralympic Committee Alpine Skiing, such as the Special Olympics. The sport is open to all competitors with a visual or physical disability. It is not open to people with intellectual disabilities.
The first classification systems for Para alpine skiing were developed in Scandinavia in the 1960s, with early systems designed for skiers with amputations. At the time, equipment had yet to be developed to allow participation for skiers with spinal cord injuries. The goal of the early classification systems was to be functional but ended up being medical classification systems. At the first Winter Paralympics in 1976, there were two classifications for the sport. By the 1980s, classification existed for skiers with cerebral palsy. At that time, with inspiration from wheelchair basketball classification, efforts were made to make classification more of a functional system. Ten classes existed by the 1980s, and since then, efforts have been made to improve the efficiency of classification by reducing the number of classes so fewer medals can be rewarded.
Competition rules for classes use rules set by or modified from rules created by the International Ski Federation. For skiers with visual impairments, guides are used to assist the skier down the course. For standing skiers, different class rules determine what sort of equipment is allowed in competition, such as one pole, two poles or no poles, or one or two skis. Sit skiers use a specially designed ski called a mono-ski. Skiers are classified based on medical assessment, and their body position when they ski. Blind skiers are evaluated purely on a medical assessment.
Definition The Para alpine skiing classification system ensures fair competition in the sport by categorising skiers according to their functional mobility or vision impairment. Classification for amputees is based on their mobility with the use of an assistive device.
People with cerebral palsy in classifications from CP1 to CP8 are covered by skiing classifications. Skiers from CP5 to CP8 compete standing up with the use of equipment. The blind classifications are based on medical classification, not functional classification. In 1995, the classifications for skiing were LW1, LW2, LW3, LW4, LW5/7, LW6/8, and LW9, where LW stands for Locomotor Winter. There were three sit-ski classifications: LW10, LW11 and LW12. Classification for competitors with cerebral palsy is difficult because the levels of spasticity can change as the race progresses.
There are 9 standing classifications, on a gradient of most severe being LW1 and LW9 being the least severe. Sit skiing has three classifications, LW10, LW11 and LW12. These are grouped from the most severe at LW10 to least severe at LW12. LW10 have T5-T10 paraplegia.
In 2010, there were three vision impaired classifications, B1, B2 and B3. These classifications based on a gradient with B1 being the most severe and B3 being the least severe, with B3 skiers having vision around 2/60 to 6/60. Beyond the level of vision impairment, research done at the Central Institute on Employment Abilities of the Handicapped in Moscow has found differences in functional capabilities based on differences in visual acuity, which plays a significant role in skiing.
In 1997, one of the international alpine skiing classifiers was Mirre Kipfer. She said "Sometimes athletes try to cheat, to hide what they can really do. They are athletes who want to be in a class that is more advantageous to for them. In testing and classification they don't show what they can really do.They try to show that they are not able to do some movement, and that is why we have started functional testing." She goes on to say "The second problem is that when you have a very good athlete who is very well trained in the sport, you don't want to punish that person for their good performance. He or she might be an elite athlete doing a very good sport performance, and you might be tempted to say 'OK, he is doing so well he must be in another class.' We do try to get fewer classes so that we don't get, for example, 10 or 12 gold medals in alpine sports. We try to review the classes, but you always have borderline classes and it is always difficult. In winter the aim is to have three classes, like sitting, standing and blind: that is certainly the future that we are all looking to."
+ Standing classes Class Description Typical equipment LW 1Double leg amputation above the knee, moderate to severe cerebral palsy, or equivalent impairment Two skis, two outriggers LW 2Single leg amputation above the knee One ski, two outriggers LW 3Double leg amputation below the knee, mild cerebral palsy, or equivalent impairment Two skis, two poles LW 4Single leg amputation below the knee Two skis, two poles LW5/7-1Double arm amputation above the elbow Two skis, no poles LW 5/7-2Double arm amputation, one above and one below the elbow Two skis, no poles LW 5/7-3Double arm amputation below the elbow Two skis, no poles LW6/8.1Single arm amputation above the elbow Two skis, one pole LW 6/8.2Single arm amputation below the elbow Two skis, one pole LW9.1Amputation or equivalent impairment of one arm and one leg above the knee Choice of equipment LW9.2Amputation or equivalent impairment of one arm and one leg below the knee Choice of equipment
+ Sitting classes (monoskiers) Class Description LW10.1Paraplegia with no upper abdominal function and no functional sitting balance LW 10.2Paraplegia with some upper abdominal function and no functional sitting balance LW11Paraplegia with fair functional sitting balance LW12.1Paraplegia with some leg function and good sitting balance LW 12.2Double leg amputation above the knees
+ Visually impaired classes Class Description B1Totally blind B2Visual acuity of less than 2/60 B3Visual acuity of 2/60 to 6/60
Governance
Para alpine skiing is governed by the International Paralympic Committee Alpine Skiing. In the sport's early history, the International Sports Organization for the Disabled (ISOD), founded in 1964, governed the sport. In 1980, there were two governing bodies handling classification, ISOD and the International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation (ISMWSF). ISMWSF was in charge of classification for athletes with spinal cord related disabilities. In 1981, the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) was created, and took over governance for skiers with visual impairments. In 2003, ISMWSF merged with ISOD, and changed its name to the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) in 2004.
While the Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CP-ISRA) has an interest in the sport because it is open to people with cerebral palsy, it is not governed by them. In 1983, the rules for this sport and approval for classification was done by the CP-ISRA, but in 2002, the rules governing the sport, including classification, were set by the 1994 IPC Handbook. In the United States, the sport is governed by Disabled Sports USA for skiers with functional mobility, and governed by the United States Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) for skiers with vision impairment, while Special Olympics governs the sport and classification for people with intellectual disabilities.
Eligibility The sport is open to all competitors with a visual or physical disability. It is not open to people with intellectual disabilities. In 1983, Cerebral Palsy-International Sports and Recreation Association (CP-ISRA) set the eligibility rules for classification for this sport. They defined cerebral palsy as a non-progressive brain lesion that results in impairment. People with cerebral palsy or non-progressive brain damage were eligible for classification by them. The organisation also dealt with classification for people with similar impairments. For their classification system, people with spina bifida were not eligible unless they had medical evidence of loco-motor dysfunction. People with cerebral palsy and epilepsy were eligible provided the condition did not interfere with their ability to compete. People who had strokes were eligible for classification following medical clearance. Competitors with multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy and arthrogryposis were not eligible for classification by CP-ISRA, but were eligible for classification by International Sports Organisation for the Disabled for the Games of Les Autres. The sport was not open to competitors with intellectual disabilities in 2002.
History The earliest classification systems for the sport were developed in Scandinavia. Classification for winter sport started out as a medical one before moving to a functional system. The original classification system was for amputees, with classification based on the type of amputation as determined by a medical expert. Other classes of disability were not eligible to compete. During the 1970s, equipment was developed for skiers with spinal injuries and a classification system had yet to become fully developed for the sport.
Going into the first winter Paralympic Games, the 1976 Winter Paralympics, the organisers had a difference of opinion with Paralympic Games founder Ludwig Guttmann, because they wanted a functional classification, not medical classification system, from the onset. They largely succeeded, although the system that ended up being used was developed in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, based on equipment utilised by the skier instead of a true functional classification system. The 1976 Winter Paralympics were the first time that classifications other than spinal cord injury classifications competed at the Paralympic Games. There were only two classifications for alpine skiing. One athlete from Austria with a spinal disability as a result of polio competed in an alpine event. He was able to ski from a standing position and competed against amputee skiers.
In 1983, classification for cerebral palsy competitors in alpine skiing was done by the Cerebral Palsy-International Sports and Recreation Association. The classification used the classification system designed for track events. There were five cerebral palsy classifications. During the 1980s, there were 3 sit-ski classes and 7 other classes. During the 1980s, while not formally part of the Para skiing classification system, intellectual disability alpine skiing events did exist as part of the Special Olympics programme.