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CLASSIFICATIONXIVTECHNICAL DOCUMENT

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1. INTRODUCTION
ITTF Parkinson´s World Table Tennis Championships is an event for players with Parkinson’s disease,
where family members and the general public are proactively invited to assist. It is an eagerly
anticipated and historic event that raises awareness of Parkinson’s disease and showcases theimpact of table tennis on a social, mental and physical level thereby generating a better quality oflife for them. It is considered a huge success as it demonstrates community at its best.
It is an event with more focus on the participation and involvement of all participants, relatives andaccompanying persons to show others an example of what table tennis can do to improve theirhealth.
There were previous ITTF PWTTC held in 2019 and 2021, in both, there were different criteria todefine the classification of the participants. Nevertheless, the classes were already defined, andthe players participated, we didn´t find too many even matches in the competition, so the idea withthe definition of these new criteria for the participants to be classified is to have the classes and thelevels, the closest possible and to enjoy playing matches with people with similar conditions andmatches that could be lost but also could be won.

AB
2. ABBREVIATIONS:
ITTFInternational Table Tennis Federation.

ITTFF

International Table Tennis Federation Foundation.

PDParkinson´s Disease.

PPPing Pong.

PWTTCParkinson´s World Table Tennis Championships.

TT

Table Tennis.

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3. DATA REQUIRED TO DEFINETHE CLASSIFICATION
Since we consider both the Parkinson´s Disease situation and the Table tennis level, we will need to getparameters related to both:a. Year of birth.
b. Year of Parkinson´s disease onset.
c. Parkinson´s disease stage.
d. Table tennis skills level.

4. CRITERIA TO DEFINETHE CLASSIFICATION
a. Age of the participant.
b. Number of years with Parkinson´s disease.
c. Parkinson´s disease stage.
d. Table tennis skills level.

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5. PARKINSON´S DISEASE STAGE
The Parkinson´s disease stage is based on the Hoehn and Yahr Scale which measures how Parkinson’ssymptoms progress and the level of disability. It is separated into 5 different stages.

a. Stage I:• Symptoms at this stage are mild and do not interfere with daily activities.
• Movement symptoms (such as tremors, rigidity, and bradykinesia) affect just one sideof the body (unilateral).
• Mild problems with posture and balance, slight difficulty walking and mild changes
in facial expressions.

b. Stage II:• Symptoms at this stage become worse, making daily activities more difficult. The person is,
however, able to look after themselves.
• Movement symptoms (such as tremors, rigidity, and bradykinesia) affect both sides of thebody (bilateral).
• Difficulty walking, difficulty balancing, poor posture and reduced facial expressions.

c. Stage III:• Symptoms at this stage are more severe than those of stage II. However, the person isstill independent.
• Loss of balance and bradykinesia (slowness of movements) are the hallmark symptomsof this stage.
• Daily activities such as eating, bathing and dressing are significantly impaired.

d. Stage IV:• Independent living is almost impossible at this stage due to limitations in daily activities suchas eating, bathing, dressing, sleeping and walking.
• The person may be able to stand on their own but need assistance to move around.
• A walker may help in the movement without falling.

e. Stage V:• Symptoms at this debilitating stage become so severe that even standing on one’s own
may be impossible.
• The person becomes bedridden and needs a wheelchair to be moved around.
• All daily activities are impaired, requiring an around-the-clock caregiver.
• Symptoms may include delusions (false beliefs that do not change despite conflictingevidence), hallucinations (seeing, feeling or hearing things that are not there) and loss of smell.

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6. TABLE TENNIS SKILLS LEVEL
The table tennis skills level has been created from a table that defines the participants from beginner to+
Advanced (6 categories), according to parameters defined from the serve, the forehand/backhand
strokes, the footwork and the game knowledge/tactics.
The participant needs to check and see which colour below identifies more with their level.
+

3. Intermediate 4. Intermediate+

5. Advance

6. Advance +I can do basic
serve fromboth sides

I can doseveraldifferent
kinds of basicserves

I can do serveswith spin or
speed butcannot apply
both at thesame time

I can doadvanceserves,combiningdifferent
variations ofspeed andspin

I can do very
advanced andstrategic serveswith top, backand side spins
and opponents
have trouble
returning them

I can play
only from onesideI can playfrom bothsides

I can playfrom bothsides withdifferent
speedsI can play fromboth sides withdifferent spins

I can playboth sides withdifferent spins
and speeds

I can playboth sides withdifferent spins
and speeds withconsistency

Howis yourfootwork?

I´m able tokeep one
position andcan only playfrom it

I need tomove but able
to stop andplay a shot

I can move in
one direction
only anddifficult return

I can move inboth directions
and move andplay whenneededI can move
both sides andforwards/
backwards
with different
speedsI can move
both sides andforwards/
backwards withdifferent speeds
anticipating
my opponent´spositions andmovements

Gameknowledge/tactics

I know thattwo players
play and theone loosing
the shot loses
the point

I know basicrules

I know therules andable to see
how theopponentplays

I know therules and I´mable to readthe opponent
actions andmovements but
not using mymovements andshots againstthem

I can read theopponent´sgame and use
my strokes
accordinglyagainst themor using minesto get reaction
from opponent
withoutconsistency

I can read theopponent´sgame and use
my strokes
accordingly
against them orusing mines to
get reaction fromopponent withconsistency

Skill/Level

1. Beginner

2. BeginnerHow
are yourserves?

I can do basic
serve only
from one side

Forehand/backhand

1. Beginner
2. Beginner +3. Intermediate
4. Intermediate +5. Advance
6. Advance +5

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7. LEVELS IN THE CLASSIFICATION
a. Class I: the one with more options of movement and less advance in Parkinson´s Disease, plus
more table tennis skills.

b. Class II: the one with a middle range of movements, Parkinson´s Disease and table tennis skills.
c. Class III: the one with more limited movements and more advance in Parkinson´s Disease,with less table tennis skills.

8. WEIGHT OF EACH OF THE CRITERIATO GET THE FINAL CLASSIFICATION OF
THE PARTICIPANTS
a. Age of the participant:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.

Participant age		
50
participant age
55
participant age
60
participant age
Participant age		

50 years
55 years
60 years
65 years
65 years

10 points.
08 points.
06 points.
04 points.
02 points.

b. Number of years with Parkinson´s disease:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.

Years PD		
04years PD
08years PD
12years PD
Years PD		

04 years
08 years
12 years
16 years
17 years

10 points.
08 points.
06 points.
04 points.
02 points.

c. Parkinson´s disease stage(please, go to paragraph 5 to know the stage):i. Stage I					40 points.
ii. Stage II					30 points.
iii. Stage III					20 points.
iv. Stage IV					10 points.
v. Stage V					00 points.

d. Table tennis skills level(please, go to paragraph 6 to know the skills level):i. Advanced+				40 points.
ii. Advance				32 points.
iii. Intermediate+				24 points.
iv. Intermediate				16 points.
v. Beginner+				08 points.
vi. Beginner				00 points.
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9. OTHERSThe participant could be asked if they want to play in a higher category.

10. CONTACT US
If you have any suggestions, recommendations or questions, don´t hesitate to contact us at:rmontes@foundation.ittf.com(Ramón ORTEGA-MONTES).

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