CLASSIFICATION CODE

Classification has matured enormously since the Movement first began. Initially Classification was based on medical evaluation, placing little emphasis on assessing the impact on sport. In the 1980s and 1990s many athletes and classifiers recognised this shortcoming and drove the development of functional classification systems, focused more fully on sport performance. 

Over this period there were no unifying principles to guide the development of classification systems and the rate of development varied greatly across Para-sports. 

The International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) Governing Board recognized that to secure the Paralympic Movement's future, Para sports required a more harmonized approach to Classification. The IPC Athlete Classification Code is created to fulfil this mission by supporting and coordinating the development and implementation of accurate, reliable, consistent, and credible sport-focused classification systems. 

We anticipate that the Code will improve continuously, as will the ideas that would form rules, regulations, and policies that evolve with it. 

Following the experience gained in the application of the 2007 Code, the IPC Governing Board initiated a consultation process in 2013 to review and revamp the Code. The review process was a fully collaborative process that involved all Paralympic stakeholders, all of whom sought an enhanced Code that would benefit athletes around the world. 

Over three consultation rounds and the publication of several preliminary drafts, the revised Code was approved by the IPC Governing Board in June 2015 and brought forward as a motion to the General Assembly in November 2015, at which time the motion was passed. 

2015 Athlete Classification Code provides a framework, which aims to permit the Paralympic Movement - athletes, classifiers, administrators and scientists - to manage the challenges and seize the opportunities to allow the realisation of the vision of the Paralympic Movement for the future.