International Standard for Eligible Impairments
September 2016

International Paralympic Committee
Adenauerallee 212-214
53113 Bonn, Germany

Tel. +49 228 2097-200
Fax +49 228 2097-209

www.paralympic.org
info@paralympic.org

Introduction
The fundamental purpose of the IPC Athlete Classification Code (the Code) is to uphold
confidence in Classification and advance participation by a wide range of Athletes. To achieve
this purpose, the Code details policies and procedures common across all sports and setsprinciples to be applied by all Para sports.
The Code is complemented by International Standards that provide technical and operational
standards for specific aspects of Classification to be carried out by all Signatories in a mannerthat Athletes and other Paralympic stakeholders understand and have confidence in.
Compliance with these International Standards is mandatory. This International Standard for
Eligible Impairments should be read in conjunction with the Code and the other InternationalStandards.

PurposeThe purpose of the International Standard for Eligible Impairments is to define what an Eligible
Impairment is in Para sports, thereby ensuring that Para sports are reserved for those that havean Eligible Impairment.

Definitions
This International Standard uses the defined terms from the Code. Further defined terms
specific to this International Standard are:Diagnostic Information: medical records and/or any other documentation that enables theInternational Sport Federation to assess the existence or otherwise of an Eligible
Impairment or Underlying Health Condition.
Eligibility Assessment Committee: an ad hoc body formed to assess the existence orotherwise of an Eligible Impairment.
Evaluation Session: the session an Athlete is required to attend for a Classification Panel:to assess that Athlete’s compliance with the Minimum Impairment Criteria for a sport; andto allocate a Sport Class and Sport Class Status depending on the extent to which thatAthlete is able to execute the specific tasks and activities fundamental to the sport.
Head of Classification: a person appointed by International Sport Federation to direct,administer, co-ordinate and implement Classification matters for that International Sport
Federation.

International Standard for Eligible Impairments – September 20162

Health Condition: a pathology, acute or chronic disease, disorder, injury or trauma.
Underlying Health Condition: a Health Condition that may lead to an Eligible Impairment.

International Standard for Eligible Impairments – September 2016

31

General Provisions

1.1

The Code and the International Standards (including this International Standard)
designate certain Impairments as ‘Eligible Impairments’.

1.2

International Sport Federations must, by way of their Classification Rules, specify that
any Athlete wishing to compete in a sport must have an Eligible Impairment. A
reference to ‘sport’ in this International Standard includes an individual discipline
within a sport.

1.3

International Sport Federations must, by way of their Classification Rules, specify theEligible Impairment an Athlete must have in order to compete in a sport, and that theEligible Impairment must be Permanent.

[Comment to Article 1.3: While some sports include Athletes with all Eligible Impairments (for exampleathletics, swimming), other sports are limited to one Impairment (for example goalball) or a selection ofImpairments (for example equestrian, cycling). Each International Sport Federation must define forwhich Eligible Impairments they provide sports opportunities.]

1.4

In order to be satisfied that an Athlete has an Eligible Impairment, the InternationalSport Federation, in its discretion, may require an Athlete to provide evidence of any
one or more of the following:

1.4.1

the Eligible Impairment;

1.4.2

that the Eligible Impairment is Permanent; and/or

1.4.3

an Underlying Health Condition.

2Eligible Impairments

The Eligible Impairments in the Paralympic Movement are:2.1

Impaired Muscle Power
Athletes with Impaired Muscle Power have a Health Condition that either reduces oreliminates their ability to voluntarily contract their muscles in order to move or togenerate force.
Examples of an Underlying Health Condition that may lead to Impaired Muscle Power
include spinal cord injury (complete or incomplete, tetra-or paraplegia or paraparesis),muscular dystrophy, post-polio syndrome and spina bifida.

2.2Impaired Passive Range of Movement

International Standard for Eligible Impairments – September 20164

Athletes with Impaired Passive Range of Movement have a restriction or a lack ofpassive movement in one or more joints.
Examples of an Underlying Health Condition that may lead to Impaired Passive Rangeof Movement include arthrogryposis and contracture resulting from chronic joint
immobilisation or trauma affecting a joint.
2.3

Limb Deficiency
Athletes with Limb Deficiency have total or partial absence of bones or joints as aconsequence of trauma (for example traumatic amputation), illness (for example
amputation due to bone cancer) or congenital limb deficiency (for example dysmelia).

2.4

Leg Length Difference
Athletes with Leg Length Difference have a difference in the length of their legs as aresult of a disturbance of limb growth, or as a result of trauma.

2.5

Short Stature
Athletes with Short Stature have a reduced length in the bones of the upper limbs,
lower limbs and/or trunk.
Examples of an Underlying Health Condition that may lead to Short Stature include
achondroplasia, growth hormone dysfunction, and osteogenesis imperfecta.

2.6Hypertonia
Athletes with hypertonia have an increase in muscle tension and a reduced ability of amuscle to stretch caused by damage to the central nervous system.
Examples of an Underlying Health Condition that may lead to Hypertonia include
cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury and stroke.

2.7

AtaxiaAthletes with Ataxia have uncoordinated movements caused by damage to the central
nervous system.
Examples of an Underlying Health Condition that may lead to Ataxia include: cerebral
palsy, traumatic brain injury, stroke and multiple sclerosis.

2.8

Athetosis
Athletes with Athetosis have continual slow involuntary movements.
Examples of an Underlying Health Condition that may lead to Athetosis include cerebral
palsy, traumatic brain injury and stroke.

International Standard for Eligible Impairments – September 2016

52.9

Vision Impairment
Athletes with Vision Impairment have reduced or no vision caused by damage to the eye
structure, optical nerves or optical pathways, or visual cortex of the brain.
Examples of an Underlying Health Condition that may lead to Vision Impairment include
retinitis pigmentosa and diabetic retinopathy.

2.10Intellectual Impairment
Athletes with an intellectual Impairment have a restriction in intellectual functioning
and adaptive behaviour in which affects conceptual, social and practical adaptive skills
required for everyday life. This Impairment must be present before the age of 18.

[Comment to Article 2: Many other Impairments exist, but the Paralympic Movement originates from thecreation of an umbrella organisation by the ‘International Organisations of Sport for Disabled’ (IOSDs)and by their respective national members. Today, and as a result of the activities of the IOSDs thatfounded the IPC and are currently in membership of the IPC, the Paralympic Movement identifies ten(10) Eligible Impairments.
Consequently, any other new ‘Eligible Impairment’ may only be introduced in a Para sport subject toapproval of the IPC General Assembly.
The list of Eligible Impairments is an exhaustive list – an Athlete must have one of these Eligible
Impairments in order to participate in Para sport. The list of Eligible Impairments also includes examplesof Underlying Health Conditions that may lead to an Eligible Impairment. These examples are notexhaustive.]

3Non-Eligible Impairments

3.1

Any Impairment that is not listed in this International Standard as an EligibleImpairment is referred to as a Non-Eligible Impairment.

3.2An Athlete who has a Non-Eligible Impairment and an Eligible Impairment may beevaluated by a Classification Panel in accordance with the International Standard onAthlete Evaluation on the basis of the Eligible Impairment, provided the Non-Eligible
Impairment does not affect the Classification Panel’s ability to allocate a Sport Class.

[Comment to Article 3.2: For example, an Athlete with severe osteoarthritis may have Impaired Passive
Range of Movement (an Eligible Impairment) and have pain (a Non-Eligible Impairment). If the presenceof pain restricts a Classification Panel’s ability to conduct an Evaluation Session the Athlete might not beallocated a Sport Class (see Article 11, International Standard for Athlete Evaluation), notwithstandingthat the Athlete has an Eligible Impairment]International Standard for Eligible Impairments – September 201663.3

To assist International Sport Federations, examples of Non-Eligible Impairments
include, but are not limited to, the following:

3.3.1

Pain;

3.3.2

Hearing impairment;

3.3.3

Low muscle tone;

3.3.4

Hypermobility of joints;

3.3.5

Joint instability, such as unstable shoulder joint, recurrent dislocation of a joint;

3.3.6

Impaired muscle endurance;

3.3.7

Impaired motor reflex functions;

3.3.8

Impaired cardiovascular functions;

3.3.9

Impaired respiratory functions;3.3.10

Impairment metabolic functions; and3.3.11

Tics and mannerisms, stereotypes and motor perseveration.

[Comment to Article 3.3: the list of Non-Eligible Impairments in Article 3.3 is not a complete list. The aimof the list is to assist International Sport Federations in developing clear rules and guidelines regardingeligibility.]

3.4

4An Athlete who has a Non-Eligible Impairment (including but not limited to one of theNon-Eligible Impairments listed above) but who does not have an Eligible Impairment
will not be eligible to compete in Para sport.

Health Conditions that are not Underlying Health Conditions

4.1

A number of Health Conditions do not lead to an Eligible Impairment and are not
Underlying Health Conditions. If an Athlete has both a Health Condition that will notlead to an Eligible Impairment and an Underlying Health Condition the Athlete may beeligible to compete in Para sports.

4.2

An Athlete who has a Health Condition (including, but not limited to, one of the Health
Conditions listed below) but who does not have an Underlying Health Condition will not
be eligible to compete in Para sport.

4.3

Health Conditions that:

4.3.1

primarily cause pain;

International Standard for Eligible Impairments – September 20167

4.3.2

primarily cause fatigue;

4.3.3

primarily cause joint hypermobility or hypotonia; or

4.3.4

are primarily psychological or psychosomatic in nature,
do not lead to an Eligible Impairment.

4.4

Examples of Health Conditions that primarily cause pain include myofacial paindysfunction syndrome, fibromyalgia or complex regional pain syndrome.

4.5

An example of a Health Condition that primarily causes fatigue is chronic fatigue
syndrome.

4.6

An example of a Health Condition that primarily causes hypermobility or hypotonia isEhlers-Danlos syndrome.

4.7

Examples of Health Conditions that are primarily psychological or psychosomatic innature include conversion disorders or post-traumatic stress disorder.

[Comment to Article 4: the Health Conditions listed in this Article are examples only - there are manyother Health Conditions that do not lead to an Eligible Impairment. The aim of the list is to assist
International Sport Federations in developing clear rules and guidelines regarding eligibility.]

5Establishing
Condition

Eligible

Impairment

andUnderlying

Health5.1

Any Athlete who wishes to compete in an International Competition must satisfy therelevant International Sport Federation that he or she has an Eligible Impairment before
he or she can participate in an Evaluation Session with a Classification Panel (asdescribed in the International Standard for Athlete Evaluation).

5.2

The International Sport Federation may require an Athlete to demonstrate that he or
she has an Underlying Health Condition in order to establish that he or she has anEligible Impairment.

[Comment to Article 5.2: International Sport Federations are strongly recommended to require Athletes todemonstrate an Underlying Health Condition if they intend to participate in a sport on the basis that they
have one or more of the following Eligible Impairments: Impaired Muscle Power, Impaired Passive Rangeof Movement, Hypertonia, Ataxia, Athetosis, Vision Impairment and Intellectual Impairment.]

International Standard for Eligible Impairments – September 201685.3

The International Sport Federation must determine if an Athlete has an Eligible
Impairment or an Underlying Health Condition (if such a determination is required). TheInternational Sport Federation may require an Athlete to provide it with Diagnostic
Information in order to make this determination. In such instances the InternationalSport Federation may appoint an Eligibility Assessment Committee if it considers thisnecessary in order to assess the Diagnostic Information.

[Comment to Article 5.3: the primary requirement is to determine whether or not an Athlete has anEligible Impairment. For some Athletes, this will be a straightforward matter and not require theproduction of any Diagnostic Information (for example, if an Athlete has a Limb Deficiency). For otherAthletes, Diagnostic Information may be required to enable the International Sport Federation to be surethat an Athlete has an Eligible Impairment, or that the Athlete has an Underlying Health Condition (forexample, so that the International Sport Federation can be sure that the Eligible Impairment isPermanent).
An International Sport Federation should exercise careful discretion and form an Eligibility Assessment
Committee only in situations where it needs specialist assistance in determining if an Athlete has anEligible Impairment or an Underlying Health Condition. For example, an Athlete has Impaired Muscle
Power, but it is not clear to an International Sport Federation what the origin of the Impaired Muscle
Power is, and/or whether the Impaired Muscle Power is Permanent. In that case, the International Sport
Federation might feel that determining these issues would be assisted by the forming of an Eligibility
Assessment Committee.]

5.4

The process by which an Eligibility Assessment Committee is formed and considers
Diagnostic Information must comply with the following provisions:

5.4.1

The Head of Classification will notify the relevant National Body that Diagnostic
Information must be provided on behalf of the Athlete. The Head of Classification
will explain what Diagnostic Information is required, and the purposes for which itis required.

5.4.2

The Head of Classification will set timelines for the production of Diagnostic
Information.

5.4.3

The Head of Classification will appoint an Eligibility Assessment Committee. TheEligibility Assessment Committee must, if practicable, be comprised of the Headof Classification and at least two other experts with appropriate medical
qualifications. All members of the Eligibility Assessment Committee must signappropriate confidentiality undertakings.

International Standard for Eligible Impairments – September 201695.4.4

If the Head of Classification does not believe that he or she holds the necessarycompetencies to assess the Diagnostic Information, the Head of Classification will
not participate in the review of the Diagnostic Information, but will assist theEligibility Assessment Committee.

5.4.5

Wherever possible all references to the individual Athlete and the source of theDiagnostic Information should be withheld from the Eligibility Assessment
Committee. Each member of the Eligibility Assessment Committee will review
Diagnostic Information and decide whether it establishes the existence of anEligible Impairment.

5.4.6

If the Eligibility Assessment Committee concludes that the Athlete has an EligibleImpairment the Athlete will be permitted to complete Athlete Evaluation with aClassification Panel.

5.4.7

If the Eligibility Assessment Committee is not satisfied that the Athlete has anEligible Impairment the Head of Classification will provide a decision to this effectin writing to the relevant National Body or National Paralympic Committee. TheNational Body or National Paralympic Committee will be given an opportunity tocomment on the decision and may provide further Diagnostic Information to theEligibility Assessment Committee for review. If the decision is subsequentlyrevised, the Head of Classification will inform the National Body or National
Paralympic Committee.

5.4.8

If the decision is not changed, the Head of Classification will issue a final decision
letter to the National Body or National Paralympic Committee.

5.4.9

The Eligibility Assessment Committee may make its decisions by a majority. If theHead of Classification is part of the Eligibility Assessment Committee, he/she mayveto any decision if he or she does not agree that the Diagnostic Information
supports the conclusion that the Athlete has an Eligible Impairment.

5.5

66.1

An International Sport Federation may delegate one or more of the functions describedabove to a Classification Panel.

Sport Class Not Eligible
If an International Sport Federation determines that an Athlete does not have anEligible Impairment it must allocate Sport Class Not Eligible to that Athlete, anddesignate the Athlete with Sport Class Status Confirmed.

International Standard for Eligible Impairments – September 2016106.2An Athlete who is allocated Sport Class Not Eligible because the Athlete does not havean Eligible Impairment has no right to any further evaluation or assessment by theInternational Sport Federation and the provisions in the International Standard forAthlete Evaluation relating to Sport Class Not Eligible do not apply.

6.3

If another International Sport Federation has allocated an Athlete with Sport Class Not
Eligible because the Athlete does not have an Eligible Impairment the InternationalSport Federation may do likewise without the need for the process detailed in Article 5of this International Standard.

[Comment to Article 6: an Athlete who does not have an Eligible Impairment will not be eligible tocompete in Para sport, and so must be allocated with Sport Class Not Eligible. International Sport
Federations are encouraged, subject to the International Standard for Classification Data Protection andapplicable privacy laws, to share data regarding Athletes who have been allocated Sport Class Not Eligible
for this reason.
The allocation of Sport Class Not Eligible by a Classification Panel is subject to an automatic reassessment by a separate Classification Panel, as provided for in the International Standard for Athlete
Evaluation. The determination as to whether an Athlete has an Eligible Impairment is not subject to any
such automatic review, even if the determination is made by a Classification Panel empowered by theInternational Sport Federation to make that determination.]International Standard for Eligible Impairments – September 201611