Para-alpine skiing classification
The classifications are grouped into three general disability types: standing, blind and sitting.
Classification governance is handled by International Paralympic Committee Alpine Skiing.
Some classification systems are governed by bodies other than International Paralympic Committee Alpine Skiing, such as the Special Olympics.
At the time, equipment had yet to be developed to allow participation for skiers with spinal cord injuries.
Skiers are classified based on medical assessment, and their body position when they ski.
The para-alpine skiing classification system ensures fair competition in the sport by categorising skiers according to their functional mobility or vision impairment.
[7] Classification for competitors with cerebral palsy is difficult because the levels of spasticity can change as the race progresses.
[10] Beyond the level of vision impairment, research done at the Central Institute on Employment Abilities of the Handicapped in Moscow has found differences in functional capabilities based on differences in visual acuity, which plays a significant role in skiing.
In 1980, there were two governing bodies handling classification, ISOD and the International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation (ISMWSF).
ISMWSF was in charge of classification for athletes with spinal cord related disabilities.
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.
People with cerebral palsy or non-progressive brain damage were eligible for classification by them.
For their classification system, people with spina bifida were not eligible unless they had medical evidence of loco-motor dysfunction.
People with cerebral palsy and epilepsy were eligible provided the condition did not interfere with their ability to compete.
[19] Classification for winter sport started out as a medical one before moving to a functional system.
[19] One athlete from Austria with a spinal disability as a result of polio competed in an alpine event.
[13] In 1985, Swedish Brigitta Blomqwist, Swiss Andre Deville and Austrian Richard Altenberger began to develop a classification system for mono-skiing.
Norway worked to change this by adding sit-skiing classifications to the World Championships in 1986.
The Games Classifiers for vision impairment classifications were Roman Tolmatschev, Johan Wirsching and Axel Bolsinger.
At the time, sport administrators were trying to get disability skiing into able bodied competitions like the Olympics.
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.
[19] The three-group classification system, which utilized the Realistic Handicap Competition and Kreative Renn Ergebnis Kontrolle (RHC-KREK), was used for the first time at the Paralympics.
The system has been criticized because it relies on historical data from individual skiing competitors inside their own class, without taking into account conditions that could slow a skier such as temperature, visibility and precipitation.
[32] 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.
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.
[37] Sit-skiers who are in the wheelchair group are assessed based on the residual muscle strength and level of spinal cord injury.
[37] For skiers with a visual impairment, their classification is handled by the International Blind Sports Association.
[12] At the 1988 Games, the Giant Slalom was an exhibition event for amputee classified skiers.
This list was then sent to National Paralympic Committees (NPC) by 27 April 2001, with an ability to send in amendments again by 7 August 2001.
