|
|
|
|
What Kinds of Sports are Available
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Archery | The competition format is identical to that of the Olympic Games. Archers shoot 72 arrows from a distance of 70 meters at a target of 122 cm. A perfect score is 720. Paralympic archery competition is open to male and female athletes in the categories for amputees, spinal cord injured/wheelchair and cerebral palsy/brain injury/stroke. |
| Basketball | Many of the same rules from its counterpart apply in the wheelchair game. While plays and tactics are similar, special rules, such as those to accommodate dribbling from a wheelchair, are also in place.
Paralympic basketball competition is open to male and female athletes in the categories for amputees, spinal cord injured/wheelchair and cerebral palsy/brain injury/stroke. |
Curling | Wheelchair curling debuted in the 2006 Torino Games as a Paralympic medal event after its success at the World Championships in January 2002 in Scotland.
Paralympic wheelchair curling competition is open to male and female athletes in the categories for amputees, cerebral palsy/brain injury/stroke and Les Autres(Birth defects). |
| Cycling |
Athletes compete on the track (velodrome) and on the roads. Track events generally consist of sprints as short as 200 meters to time trials and pursuits up to 4 km. Relay races consisting of three-person teams are also contested on the track.
Competitions on the roads consist of time trials and road races. Distances range from 5 km to 65 km in length. Paralympic cycling competition open to male and female athletes in the categories for amputees, blind/visually impaired, spinal cord injured/wheelchair and cerebral palsy/brain injury/stroke. |
| Equestrian | Riders compete in two dressage events; a championship test of set movements and a freestyle test to music. There is also a team test for three or four riders. Competitors are judged on their display of horsemanship skills demonstrated through their use of commands for walk, trot and canter.
Paralympic equestrian competition is open to male and female athletes who are classified in the categories for amputees, blind/visually impaired, spinal cord injured/wheelchair and cerebral palsy/brain injury/stroke. |
| Fencing |
Athletes compete in wheelchairs that are fixed to the floor. Though they rely on ducking, half-turns and leaning to dodge their competitors’ touches, fencers can never raise up from the seat. The first fencer to score five touches is declared the winner. Athletes play the best out of three rounds.
Athletes compete in single and team formats. Weapon categories for men include foil, epee and sabre. Women compete in foil and epee. Paralympic fencing competition is open to male and female athletes in the categories for amputees, spinal cord injured/wheelchair and cerebral palsy/brain injury/stroke. |
| Powerlifting |
After the athletes are categorized within the 10 different weight classes (male and female), they each lift three times (competing in their respective weight class). The heaviest "good lift" (within the weight class) is the lift used for final placing in the competition.
Paralympic powerlifting competition is open to male and female athletes in the categories for dwarfs, amputees, spinal cord injured/wheelchair and cerebral palsy/brain injury/stroke. |
| Rowing |
Rowing will be making its first Paralympic appearance in Beijing in 2008.
At the most recent world championhips, in 2004, the events included the arms-only single sculls, the trunk-arms double sculls and the legs-trunk-arms four with coxswain. Paralympic rowing competition is open to male and female athletes. |
| Rugby |
The game was first developed in Canada as a team sport for quadriplegic athletes, and was originally known as "murderball" because of its intense physical nature. After being introduced in the United States, the name was changed to “quad rugby,” but it is also commonly known as wheelchair rugby.
The objective of wheelchair rugby is for a player to carry a ball across the opponent’s goal line in order to score a point. A volleyball is used and must be bounced or passed between teammates at least once every 10 seconds during play. The sport is played in four eight-minute stop-time quarters indoors on a basketball court. Paralympic wheelchair rugby competition is open to male athletes in the categories for amputees, spinal cord injured/wheelchair and cerebral palsy/brain injury/stroke. |
| Sailing |
Two boats have been raced at the Paralympic Games: the 2.4mR, a single-person keelboat, and the Sonar, a three-person keelboat. A third event, the two-person keelboat, will be added to the program for the Beijing Games in 2008.
Paralympic sailing competition is open to male and female athletes in the categories for amputees, blind/visually impaired, spinal cord injured/wheelchair and cerebral palsy/brain injury/stroke. |
| Shooting |
Shooting is divided into rifle and pistol events; air and .22 caliber. Shooting matches athletes of the same gender, with similar disabilities, against each other, both individually and in teams.
Paralympic shooting competition is open to male and female athletes in the categories for amputees, spinal cord injured/wheelchair and cerebral palsy/brain injury/stroke. |
| Skiing - Alpine |
The alpine disciplines include the same events contested in Olympic competition: downhill, slalom, giant slalom and super-G.
Paralympic alpine skiing competition is open to male and female athletes in the categories for amputees, blind/visually impaired, spinal cord injured/wheelchair and cerebral palsy/brain injury/stroke. |
| Skiing - Nordic |
Cross country races range from 2.5 km to 20 km depending on disability and gender.
Biathlon combines elements of cross country skiing and sharp shooting. Athletes ski three 2.5 km loops (7.5 km total), stopping after the first two loops to shoot at five targets (10 targets total). Paralympic nordic skiing competition is open to male and female athletes in the categories for amputees, blind/visually impaired, spinal cord injured/wheelchair and cerebral palsy/brain injury/stroke. |
| Sled Hockey |
Team USA won its first Paralympic medal in the sport – the gold medal – at the Salt Lake Games in 2002. Just as in ice hockey, sled hockey is played with six players (including a goalie) at a time. Players propel themselves on their sledge by use of spikes on the ends of two three-foot-long sticks, enabling a player to push himself as well as shoot and pass. Rinks and goals are regulation Olympic-size. Paralympic sled hockey competition is open to male athletes in the categories for amputees, spinal cord injured/wheelchair and cerebral palsy/brain injury/stroke. |
| Swimming |
Paralympic swimming competitions occur in 50-meter pools and, while competing, no prostheses or assistive devices may be worn. Paralympic swimming competition is open to male and female athletes in the categories for dwarfs, amputees, blind/visually impaired, spinal cord injured/wheelchair, cerebral palsy/brain injury/stroke and Les autres. |
| Table Tennis |
Rules governing Paralympic table tennis are the same as those used by the International Table Tennis Federation, though slightly modified for players using wheelchairs. Paralympic table tennis competition is open to male and female athletes in the categories for amputees, spinal cord injured/wheelchair and cerebral palsy/brain injury/stroke. |
| Tennis |
Wheelchair tennis is played on a standard tennis court and follows many of the same rules as tennis. However, in wheelchair tennis, a player is allowed to let the ball bounce twice, not once, before hitting a return shot. Also, the athlete’s wheelchair is considered to be a part of the body, so rules applying to the player’s body apply to the chair as well.
Paralympic wheelchair tennis competition is open to male and female athletes in the categories for amputees and spinal cord injured/wheelchair. |
| Track & Field |
The rules of Paralympic track and field are almost identical to those of its non-adaptive counterpart.
Paralympic track and field competition is open to male and female athletes in the categories for dwarfs, amputees, blind/visually impaired, spinal cord injured/wheelchair and cerebral palsy/brain injury/stroke. |
| Volleyball |
Adaptive volleyball follows the same rules as its non-adaptive counterpart with a few modifications to accommodate the various disabilities.
In sitting volleyball, the net is about 3.5 feet high, and the court is 10 x six meters with a two-meter attack line. Players are allowed to block serves, but one “cheek” must be in contact with the floor whenever they make contact with the ball. In standing volleyball, a mix of disabilities must be represented on the court at all time to equalize the level of play. Paralympic volleyball competition is open to male and female athletes in the categories for amputees, spinal cord injured/wheelchair and cerebral palsy/brain injury/stroke. |
Web site designed and managed by Internet Marketing Strategies
