4.5-point player
Amputees are put into this class depending on the length of their stumps and if they play using prosthetic legs.
Players in this class include Australia's Brad Ness, Troy Sachs and Justin Eveson.
[8] A number of disability groups are eligible to compete in this class, including people with amputations and with spinal cord injuries.
[9][10] Because of the potential for balance issues related to having an amputation, during weight training, amputees are encouraged to use a spotter when lifting more than 15 pounds (6.8 kg).
[9] Lower limb amputations effect a person's energy cost for being mobile.
To keep their oxygen consumption rate similar to people without lower limb amputations, they need to walk slower.
[13] People in this class use around 41% more oxygen to walk or run the same distance as someone without a lower limb amputation.
In some cases, prolong heel contact or knees remaining fulling extended is a problem with training in how to use the prosthesis.
[9][15] A4 basketball players use around 7% more oxygen to walk or run the same distance as someone without a lower limb amputation.
"[17] In Australia, this class means combined lower plus upper limb functional problems.
"[21] It can also mean in Australia that the athlete is "ambulant with moderately reduced function in one or both lower limbs.
[21] The original classification system for wheelchair basketball was a 3 class medical one managed by ISMGF.
[22] Some of the players currently in this class would have been ineligible to play because they did not meet eligible medical definitions for minimal disability.
The practice of strapping had begun by lower-point players earlier in the sports history to give them better trunk control.
[22] The classification was created by the International Paralympic Committee and has roots in a 2003 attempt to address "the overall objective to support and co-ordinate the ongoing development of accurate, reliable, consistent and credible sport focused classification systems and their implementation.
This policy was put into place in 2014, with the goal of avoiding last minute changes in classes that would negatively impact athlete training preparations.
All competitors needed to be internationally classified with their classification status confirmed prior to the Games, with exceptions to this policy being dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
[27] Sometimes the health examination may not be done on site for amputees because the nature of the amputation could cause not physically visible alterations to the body.
[28] For wheelchair basketball, part of the classification process involves observing a player during practice or training.
[30] In Australia, wheelchair basketball players and other disability athletes are generally classified after they have been assessed based on medical, visual or cognitive testing, after a demonstration of their ability to play their sport, and the classifiers watching the player during competitive play.
[31] Australians Brad Ness, Troy Sachs and Justin Eveson are 4.5-point players.
[35] Joey Johnson, Patrick Anderson and David Eng are a 4.5-point players for the Canadian men's national team.
[39] This version is supposed by the International Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Sports Federation,[39] and played in Japan.
[40] Twin basketball has a three-point classification system based on the evaluation of the mobility of people with cervical cord injuries.
