The countdown to the XI Paralympic Summer Games from 18 to 29 October 2000 in Sydney, Australia has begun. A record number of 123 countries have confirmed their entries for the Sydney 2000 Paralympics, making this the second-largest international sporting event of the year and the largest Games in the history of the Paralympics. It is a significant increase on both the Atlanta and Barcelona Paralympic Games and reflects the strong growth of the Paralympic movement internationally. A total of 550 gold medals are to be won across the 18 summer sports on the Sydney 2000 Paralympic program. Fencing, for example, is played out on the same area format as the Olympic version, the difference being that competitors sit in wheelchairs fixed to the ground, but which allow freedom of body movement.
Tennis courts are of standard size, with the same net height and outer court lines.
However, the wheelchair tennis player is allowed two bounces of the ball. Players attempt to avoid this concession and this quickens the speed of the game. Sitting volleyball is played on a smaller court with a lower net than both standing volleyball and the Olympic version. Boccia is a test of control and accuracy, played by cerebral palsy athletes. Players try to propel leather balls as close as possible to a white ball that serves as the target.