Para-Nordic skiing classification
By the 1990s, there were over ten Nordic skiing classes and a percentage system was developed to allow skiers with different disabilities inside one of three groups to compete against each other.
In the United States, Para-Nordic skiing has events for people with intellectual disability that are run through Special Olympics.
Intellectual disability skiers were allowed to compete in full medal events at the 1998 Winter Paralympics but were subsequently removed because of cheating problems at the 2000 Summer Olympics.
[4][5] Classification for competitors with cerebral palsy is difficult because the levels of spasticity can change as the race progresses.
[14] Disabled Sports USA developed its own classification system for sit skiing that is not used internationally.
In 1981, the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) was created, and took over governance for skiers with visual impairments.
In 2003, ISMWSF merged with ISOD, and changed its name to the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) in 2004.
For their classification system, people with spina bifida were not eligible unless they also had evidence of upper motor neuron dysfunction, caused by associated hydrocephalus.
People with cerebral palsy and epilepsy were eligible provided the condition did not interfere with their ability to compete.
[18] Classification for winter sport started out as a medical one before moving to a functional system.
Norway worked to change this by added sit skiing classifications to the World Championships in 1986.
[22] Functional classification testing was developed in 1989 for Nordic sit skiing, with the same system still being used for the 1998 Winter Paralympics.
[19] By the 1990s, an integrated classification approach was tried in Nordic skiing had been developed using a percentage system that would allow for multiple classes to compete against each other in the same event using a formula to create a time finish that would enable fair comparisons for skiers of different functional ability.
At the same time, there were people including IPC first vice president Jens Bromann who entertained discussions about whether or not blind classifications should be combined into a single class like is done in some other disabilities sports.
[20] The International Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disability was given the task of re-evaluating the classification system for skiers with intellectual disabilities to prevent future abuses following the Spanish basketball team cheating scandal at the 2000 Summer Paralympics using a more reliable system that can be verified to classify competitors.
The visual tests remain the same, except they are done with both eyes open and the use of additional grating cards.
[37] Vision impaired skiers have a sound system that helps them sight for shooting portions in the biathlon.
The guide tells the skier things like when weight should be shifted, elements coming up on the course, and how to position themselves to maximize the diagonal run of the course.
[39] For skiers with a visual impairment, their classification is handled by the International Blind Sports Association.
[42] While a skier is first classified by their national Paralympic committee, their international classification may take place during their first World Cup event.
[15] At the 1998 Winter Paralympics, skiers with intellectual disabilities were eligible to compete as full medal participants in the cross country event despite early initial opposition by the Nagano Organising Committee.
The local organizers believed it would be too difficult to separate intellectual disability skiers into different classes.
[38] At the 2002 Games, the cross country event had three groups of skiers: vision impaired, standing and sitting.
[38] In 2002, for the Winter Paralympics, the Games Classifiers were Birgitta Blomquist, Anne Lannem and Ted Fay.
The Games Classifiers for vision impairment classifications were Roman Tolmatschev, Johan Wirsching and Axel Bolsinger.
[47] Classifications for skiers with intellectual disabilities were not included at these Games because of cheating that took place at the Sydney Summer Paralympics two years earlier.
[33] Going forward, disability sport's major classification body, the International Paralympic Committee, is working on improving classification to be more of an evidence-based system as opposed to a performance-based system so as not to punish elite athletes whose performance makes them appear in a higher class alongside competitors who train less.
