Entry is eligible to male and female athletes with a physical disability that prevents them from fairly competing with able-bodied players.
[6] 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.
[7] Male and female athletes with a physical disability (as defined by the IPC) can compete in Quad (tetraplegia) or Open divisions.
[3] Lower leg amputation competitors are allowed to participate in wheelchair sport following classification rules for them based on functional mobility.
[3] At the 1992 Summer Paralympics, wheelchair disability types were eligible to participate, with classification being run through an independent classifier.
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.
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.