Wheelchair basketball classification
[3] Historically, the IWBF has had a good and close relationship with the Federation Internationale de Basketball Association.
[5] To be eligible to play wheelchair basketball, competitors must have a physical limitation that prevents them from being able to "run, pivot, or jump at speed and with control, safety.
stability, and endurance of a nondisabled player; and have a permanent physical disability in the lower limb that can be objectively verified by acknowledged medical or paramedical investigations such as measurement, X-ray, CT, MRI, and so on.
"[2] Lower leg amputation competitors are allowed to participate in wheelchair sport following classification rules for them based on functional mobility.
[9] During the 1970s, a debate began to take place in the physical disability sport community about the merits of a medical versus functional classification system.
During this period, people had strong feelings both ways but few practical changes were made to existing classification systems.
Some of the medical classifications for both many sportspeople appeared arbitrary, with people of different functional levels being put into the same class.
In 1982, wheelchair basketball finally made the move to a functional classification system internationally.
While the traditional medical system of where a spinal cord injury was located could be part of classification, it was only one advisory component.
[7][12] The competition demonstrated that ISMGF medical classifiers had issues with correctly placing players into classes that best represented their ability.
[7] The functional classification system used at the 1983 Gold Cup Championships was developed in Cologne based Horst Strokhkendl.
[12] The introduction of a functional classification system also meant that for the first time, amputee players could participate in the sport.
The ISMGF was opposed in some measure to fully moving to a functional classification system for the sport.
This conflict would not officially resolve itself until 1986, when the United States men and women threatened to boycott major tournaments unless the functional system was fully implemented.
[14] Because of issues in objectively identifying functionality that plagued the post Barcelona Games, the IPC unveiled plans to develop a new classification system in 2003.
This classification system went into effect in 2007, with standards based around identifying impaired strength, limb deficiency, leg length differences, and stature.
[3] 4 point players generally have the greatest number of rebounds on the court because of competitive advantage when under the basket in terms of height, stability and strength.
On the other hand, a team may choose to allocate their points in a more balanced manner to allow for increased mobility and handling.
[22] There were 4 classification appeals lodged for wheelchair basketball at the 2000 Summer Paralympics involving 2 athletes which resulted in 2 class changes.
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.
[23] 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.
