International Paralympic Committee Research Articles

Expert consensus on classification and performance in Paralympic powerlifting: a Delphi study.

In Paralympic sports, classification ensures fair competition by grouping athletes based on their impairments. The International Paralympic Committee has provided scientific principles to guide evidence-based classification procedures. In Paralympic Powerlifting (PPO), athletes compete in one class, divided by sex and bodyweight categories, overlooking impairment impact on performance. This study aimed to establish a consensus among international PPO experts regarding classification and performance issues to guide future research. A two-round Delphi study was conducted involving 26 experts. The study sought to identify the adequacy of the current classification and competition systems, explore the impact of various impairments, and lay the initial groundwork for a performance determinants model. Experts agreed that existing classification and competition systems in PPO do not align with Paralympic standards. Impairments from neurological conditions and those causing anthropometric changes were suggested to have opposing performance impacts. Initial directions for a performance determinants model were outlined, focusing on arm and bar kinematics, anthropometry, and body composition. This study underscores the need for comprehensive research in PPO, revealing critical discrepancies between current classification system and Paralympic standards. Insights into the multifaceted relationship between impairments and performance are provided to shape the future of PPO research.

Peculiarities of sports classification for athletes with mental and physical disabilities

The article discusses the question of determining whether athletes with mental and physical disabilities belong to a certain classification group which determines the athlete's right to participate in the Paralympic Games. It has been established that sports classification is a necessary condition for the participation in competitions of athletes sanctioned by the International Paralympic Committee. It has been proven that in Paralympic sports the result depends not only on the abilities of the athlete, the professionalism of the coach, material and technical support, but also on the preserved movement capabilities of the disabled person. The purpose of the article is to study the peculiarities of the classification of athletes with mental and physical disabilities for participation in the Paralympic Games and Special Olympics. The status of an athlete with mental and physical disabilities in a certain classification group ІІ1, ІІ2, ІІ3 indicates whether the athlete at the national level must undergo an assessment in the future or whether it is permanent. The status of an athlete in a certain classification group II1, II2, II3 at the national level which is determined by a psychologist/classifier after the evaluation procedure, will be one of the following: 1) new: the athlete is given the status of “new” until he visits the first psychological assessment procedure held by a psychologist/ classifier;
 2) under observation (review): if the psychologist/classifier believes that additional psychological assessment procedures are needed, or all primary documents were not provided or the athlete demonstrated a lack of cooperation during the classification; 3) permanent: a) in the case of already passed and approved international classification; b) in the event that the classification group (psychologist/classifier, doctor) is satisfied that the specified impairment of intelligence or other deviations of adaptive behavior, additional impairments of the athlete, his ability to perform certain tasks and actions fundamental for athletics, swimming and table tennis remain stable; 4) inadequate: a) in case of non-compliance with the specified criteria of any classification group; b) in the case of diagnosed atlantoaxial instability in athletes with Down syndrome.

Adaptive Shooting Disciplines: A Scoping Review of the Literature with Bibliometric Analysis.

Para-archery and para-shooting, two very popular adaptive shooting disciplines that have earned their place as major official events in the Paralympic Games, share some similarities, as well as distinctive features in terms of rules, physiological requirements, and equipment used. The International Paralympic Committee has a clear responsibility to ensure that all sports within its jurisdiction, including adaptive shooting, can achieve excellence in their respective fields. To achieve this, the conduct of well-designed studies and rigorous research is essential. Although some research has been conducted in this area, a comprehensive and systematic evaluation is still needed. Therefore, the present study aims to provide a thorough review and synthesis of existing research on adaptive shooting disciplines, identify strengths and gaps, and suggest future directions. Arksey and O'Malley's methodology is leveraged and enhanced with bibliometric and policy analyses to review literature on adaptive shooting. Databases like PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, OvidSP, and EMBASE were searched, focusing on studies in adaptive shooting disciplines and analysing these findings through a blend of thematic and statistical methods. Twenty-four studies totalling 483 para-athletes (299 para-shooters and 184 para-archers) are included in this scoping review, focusing on a range of aspects, including physiological responses (n = 9), research design and measurement methods for evidence-based classification (n = 6), biopsychosocial aspects (n = 3), development of new methods and technologies (n = 4), kinematic and biomechanical assessment (n = 1), and epidemiology of injuries (n = 1). Seven articles focused exclusively on para-archery, thirteen exclusively on para-shooting, and four on both para-archery and para-shooting. In conclusion, the available literature on adaptive shooting disciplines is still very limited, especially regarding para-archery compared to para-shooting. This highlights the need for further research in many key areas to ensure a better understanding of the different disciplines and to provide appropriate support for para-athletes. Future research in para-archery and para-shooting should focus on technological innovations, biomechanical studies, and psychological support to enhance athlete performance and accessibility. Addressing the imbalance between the two disciplines, along with injury prevention and global participation, can drive the sports towards greater inclusivity and equity for para-athletes worldwide.

Year-round injury and illness surveillance in UK summer paralympic sport athletes: 2016–2019

ObjectiveTo identify the priority injuries and illnesses across UK summer Paralympic World Class Programmes (WCP).MethodsFour years (2016–2019) of electronic medical records from 360 athletes across 17 Paralympic WCP sports were...

Dis(abling) conceptions of disability sport: An analysis of institutional change in the Paralympic movement through the lens of boundary and practice work

Using unique archival evidence on the evolution of the Paralympic movement from the mid-1940s to 1989, this paper advances our understanding of how new organisational forms emerge. Our historical narrative identifies a shift from the Games born out of a medically based and rehabilitative cultural ethos to a sport-performance centred, corporate model embodied in the establishment of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) in 1989. We show how the interactions between boundary and practice work enabled and, at times, ‘dis-abled’ the creation of the IPC. Heeding calls to refocus on how institutional change affects, or is affected by, power and inequality, we contribute to business history mainly by unveiling the collective struggle that led to the demise of a normative system of disability sport built upon the legitimacy of medical values and knowledge, and how evolving norms underpinning the way disabled people are viewed within society have influenced this process of change.

Athletes with Disability: Does Emotional Regulation Affect Mental Toughness?

This study aims to determine the contribution of emotional regulation to mental toughness among athletes with disabilities. The approach used in this research is quantitative. The sampling technique used in this study is saturated sampling. All members of the population became participants in this study. A total of 69 athletes with disabilities who are members of the East Java National Paralympic Committee in Indonesia took part in the XVI National Paralympic Week. Participants aged 14–56 years (mean 29.855; SD 12.008) were grouped into three research based disabilities categoriies based on IPC (International Paralympic Committee) namely physical impairment, intellectual impairment, and vision impairment. The instruments used were the IERQ4S (Indonesian Emotion Regulation Questionnaires for Sport) and the Mental Toughness Scale. JASP (Jeffyes’s Amazing Statistic Program) software was used to analyze the data using linear regression. The results of the study show that emotional regulation contributes 57.6% to the mental toughness of athletes with disabilities in Indonesia with p < .001 and r 0.759. Through the emotional regulation mechanism, athletes with disabilities are able to have mental toughness during training and competition. This study has highlighted the contribution that emotional regulation to mental toughness in athletes with disabilities. This study suggests that athletes with disabilities should be aware of the importance of emotional regulation if they want to be mentally tough. As a conclusion, in addition to physical exercise, sports mental training programs in the field of emotional regulation must be designed.

Enforced Ostracism? Analysis of the International Sports Organizations’ Reactions to the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine

The Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 triggered widespread reactions. The global call for the isolation of Russia and its collaborator Belarus has also involved the world of sport, leading to the expulsion of Russian and Belarusian athletes from international competitions. The decisions leading to the expulsion were analyzed from the perspective of their factors, timing, and the international sports organizations’ (ISOs) traditional approach to mixing sport and politics. During these developments, various stakeholders have been exerting pressure on the ISOs by voicing their expectations towards sanctioning Russia and even using the threat of boycott. Multiple Streams Framework has been employed in an attempt to understand the decision-making processes of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), demonstrating that external pressure has played the overriding role in the process leading to the isolation of Russia and Belarus in international sport, marking the continuation of the recent evolution of ISOs’ approach to the interconnection between politics and sport.

Making compromises without a hurting stalemate, the change of the emblem of the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games

The study unveils a unique case in the Paralympic Games through investigating the negotiation between the International Paralympic Committee and the Beijing Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games for the change of the emblem of the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games two years after its official release. Qualitative data is collected through interviews with senior personnel and archival documents and is analysed through employing the Advocacy Coalition Framework to highlight the change in the belief system of the two parties and the interaction between the policy subsystem and the broader political and social economic system. The findings reveal the shift in the belief system of respective Coalitions and the change in the power dynamics. The paper concludes with a discussion concerning the ACF’s four pathways of policy change and a response to one of the questions that is raised in the ACF literature for further researches.

Cluster analysis of multiple impairment measures in evidence-based classification for para-alpine sit skiers.

The International Paralympic Committee has been promoting the development of evidence-based classification to reduce the subjectivity in current decision-making systems. The current study aimed to evaluate the validity of the impairment and performance tests for para-alpine sit skiing classification, and whether cluster analysis of the measures would produce a valid classification structure. Thirty-eight para-alpine sit skiers with different disabilities completed seven tests. During these tests, isometric trunk strength, trunk muscle excitation, trunk range of movement (ROM), and simulated skiing performance (board tilt angle) were assessed. Correlations between the measures and the board tilt angle were calculated. To group athletes, K-means cluster analysis was performed according to how much the impairment measures affected the board tilting. There were significant correlations between all measures and the maximal board tilt angle (r = 0.35-0.81, p < 0.05). The cluster analysis revealed that the introduction of ROM and muscle excitation was an effective supplement to strength measures in improving the classification accuracy (53%-79%). It produced four clusters with strong structures (mean silhouette coefficient = 0.81) and large and significant inter-cluster differences in most measures and performance between clusters (p < 0.05). The cluster analysis produced classes comprising athletes with similar degrees of activity limitation. All tests reported can help establish a more transparent classification system for para-alpine sit skiers. This study also provides a reference for evidence-based classification systems in other Para sports.

Shifting power relations in disability sport and social activism research: an emancipatory approach

ABSTRACT In answer to appeals for more participatory frameworks to advance qualitative methodologies, this article shows how a novel emancipatory approach to disability research produced significant impact and learnings. We (academics and non-academics) explain how ethical problems experienced in traditional qualitative research designed to understand how grassroots disabled activists in the UK were reacting to the International Paralympic Committee’s WeThe15 campaign, led to the emergence of an ‘emancipatory approach to research’. We discuss how a small group of creative non-academic disabled activists, artists and athletes formed a foundational project called Project Group Spirit to unpick concerns about the WeThe15 campaign and formulate activist interventions in the context of Paralympic sport. Three sets of action-orientated activist findings that arose from the project are described: ‘Disabled Athletes and Artists, and their Activism’, ‘Engaging with WeThe15’ and ‘The Moral High Ground’. These themes, we show, provided the groundwork for the group to organise themselves into a wider principled project called the Disability Knowledge Exchange and Impact Group (KEI Group). The article ends by discussing a) the potential impact of the KEI Group b) academic barriers to emancipatory approaches and c) ways to evaluate emancipatory disability research. This article is an example of emancipatory research in action to help foster high-quality participatory frameworks going forward.

Towards an Evidence-Based Classification System for Para Dressage: Associations between Impairment and Performance Measures.

This study follows a previously defined framework to investigate the impact of impairment on performance in Para dressage athletes. Twenty-one elite Para dressage athletes (grades I to V) and eleven non-disabled dressage athletes (competing at Prix St. Georges or Grand Prix) participated. Data were collected in two phases: performing a two minute custom dressage test on a riding simulator while kinematic data were synchronously collected using inertial measurement units (2000 Hz) and optical motion capture (100 Hz), and clinically assessed using a battery of impairment assessment tools administered by qualified therapists. Impairment and performance measures were compared between Para and non-disabled athletes. Significant differences between athlete groups were found for all impairment measures and two performance measures: simulator trunk harmonics (p = 0.027) and athlete trunk dynamic symmetry (p < 0.001). Impairment assessments of sitting function and muscle tone could predict 19 to 35% of the impact of impairment on performance in Para athletes but not in non-disabled athletes. These findings provide the basis for a robust, scientific evidence base, which can be used to aid in the refinement of the current classification system for Para dressage, to ensure that it is in line with the International Paralympic Committee's mandate for evidence-based systems of classification.

The effects of simulated vision impairment on performance in football

ABSTRACT Footballers with vision impairment (VI) are eligible to compete in the Para sport if they meet a minimum impairment criteria (MIC) based on measures of their visual acuity (VA) and/or visual field. Despite the requirements of the International Paralympic Committee Athlete Classification Code that each sport uses an evidence-based classification system, VI football continues to use a medical-based system that lacks evidence to demonstrate the relationship between impairment and performance in the sport. The aim of this study was to systematically simulate vision loss to establish the minimum level of impairment that would affect performance in futsal. Nineteen skilled sighted players completed tests of individual technical skill and anticipation performance under six levels of simulated blur that decreased both VA and contrast sensitivity (CS). VA needed to be reduced to a level of acuity that represents worse vision than that currently used for inclusion in VI football before meaningful decreases in performance were observed. CS did not have a clear effect on football performance. These findings produce the first evidence for the minimum impairment criteria in VI football and suggest a more severe degree of impairment may be required for the MIC.

Expert Views on Evidence-Based Classification for Goalball: A Delphi Study.

Para sport classification aims to minimize the impact of impairments on the outcome of competition. The International Paralympic Committee requires classification systems to be evidence based and sport specific, yet the sport of goalball uses a structure that is not supported by evidence demonstrating its legitimacy for competition. This study aimed to establish expert opinions on how a sport-specific system of classification should be structured in the sport of goalball. Using a three-round Delphi survey, 30 international experts expressed their views across topics linked to goalball classification. Participants were divided as to whether the current system fulfills the aim to minimize the impact of impairment on competition. Most felt that less impairment should be required to compete but that the one-class structure should remain. Experts identified measures of visual function that should be considered and 15 core components of individual goalball performance. Findings constitute a crucial first step toward evidence-based classification in goalball.

A Scoping Review with Bibliometric Analysis of Para-Rowing: State of the Art and Future Directions.

Para-rowing is a format of rowing practiced by people with different types of disabilities, thanks to adapted equipment set-ups and regulations. Para-rowing made its debut recently at the 2008 Paralympic Games. According to the mandate of the "International Paralympic Committee", para-rowers should be enabled to pursue sporting excellence. Therefore, rigorous research is needed in terms of well-designed, high-quality studies. To the best of our knowledge, there are no systematic appraisals of the body of scholarly evidence in the field of para-rowing. As such, a scoping review enhanced by bibliometric analyses was carried out to provide a comprehensive synthesis of knowledge related to para-rowing for the perusal of practitioners and athletes. By mining eighteen major databases, 17 studies were retained in the present review. The included studies were found to focus on a range of aspects involving health, the etiology of injuries (n = 5), psychological and physiological responses (n = 5), performance, biomechanical analysis (n = 4), and new analytical approaches for kinematic assessments and predictions of mechanical outputs in para-rowers (n = 3). The scholarly community on para-rowing consists of 78 researchers, 16 (20.51%) of whom are highly interconnected. The most prolific author was Smoljanović T., from Croatia, with three items/documents. In total, 93.6% of scholars have authored one single document. Topological features indicated a highly fragmented and dispersed, poorly connected community characterized by a high number of clusters and a low strength of connections. In terms of publication years, the first scholarly article dates back to 2008, with four articles (23.5%) published in the current year, showing an increasing interest in this para-sports discipline. Finally, gaps in current research on para-rowing were identified in terms of overlooked topics, including sports nutrition, doping, and psychological aspects in para-rowers other than those with visual impairment.

Stakeholders' Consensus to Guide the Minimum Impairment Criteria in Wheelchair Basketball.

The International Paralympic Committee athlete classification code mandates sports to have defined minimum impairment criteria, describing the minimum level of an eligible impairment an athlete must possess, to be able to participate in that sport. The aim of this study was to establish stakeholders' consensus for the minimum impairment criteria in wheelchair basketball. From a pool of 48 expert stakeholders (identified via an international medical and scientific working group), 39 completed a 4-round Delphi survey. Questions were answered on the method of assessing each eligible impairment, and the level of impairment that should constitute the minimum impairment criteria. This study indicated where stakeholder consensus existed and noted that consensus was developed for impaired muscle power, impaired passive range of motion, leg length difference, hypertonia and ataxia. No consensus was found for limb deficiency and athetosis. Participants raised concerns with using subjective measurement scales for assessing certain impairments, whilst also calling for more quantitative research to be conducted into the level of impairment that should constitute the minimum impairment criteria. For these research findings to form practical minimum impairment criteria that are part of a wheelchair basketball classification system, it is required to examine their feasibility by conducting further research.

The Paralympics on YouTube: Alternative content creation and the digital consumption of the Paralympics

This article aims to explore the digital consumption of the Paralympic Games on the video-sharing platform YouTube to understand how the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) engages consumers in a digital setting, enabling an ‘alternative’ consumption of the event. Using YouTube Data Tools, we have automatically scraped data from 17,701 YouTube videos from Paralympic Games’ channel. After data manipulation and consolidation, statistical analyses were performed in order to understand how the IPC has adapted to the algorithm logic of platforms. Our findings demonstrate that YouTube should be comprehended as complementing and substituting television as the traditional medium of sport consumption. Thus, the digitalisation of the sport industry adapts and continues, rather than revolutionises, the symbiotic sport/media relationship. Whilst digital revolution allows the IPC to reach wider audiences by bypassing a traditional media editorial logic, it does so within the algorithmic logic of platforms resulting from the unpaid digital labour of users.

As taxas de movimentos nulos e válidos no parapowerlifting em competições internacionais

ABSTRACT The Paralympic system adapted the press modality, allowing the participation of people with physical disabilities called para-powerlifting (PPL). The purpose was to establish the rates of valid and invalid movements; identify if factors such as the weight category, gender, or athletes ‘country have an influence on the results; A retrospective study was elaborated in which the results of the null and valid movements made in 12 international events of the 2013-2016 Paralympic cycle were recovered from the official page of the international paralympic committee The results indicate that in these twelve events a total of 6,759 movements were performed, of which 3,264 moves were valid and 2,991 were rated as null, with no significant differences in null movements between men and women. These results indicate the need to review the judging system or the use of visual technologies to reduce the rate of null movements.

A Comparative Analysis Study on Para Athletics’ Track Discipline Change and Performance Trend in the Paralympic Games (2004–2020)

The Paralympics is a world-class sports event that inspires and impresses people around the world, of which athletics is the most medal-competitive event in the Paralympics, with more than 130 countries participating. This study aims to provide baseline data for disabled athletes’ (para athletes’) athletic performance improvement on track, by generating information on athletic performance trends through the identification of para athletics’ discipline change in each Paralympic Games (PG) held between 2004 and 2020, and by analyzing differences in records by discipline level (podium group [winners’ group] and final group [group reaching finals]). To achieve its purpose, this study collected data and analyzed athletics’ track events at five Paralympic Games (2004 Athens PG to 2020 Tokyo PG) organized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and checked changes in disciplines. To analyze athletic performance differences between the podium group and the final group by dividing the disciplines in disabled athletes’ track events in the PG that were consecutively held into men’s division and women’s division, this study used Kruskal–Wallis Test, a nonparametric statistical method. Additionally, this study presented the drawn event record trends of the podium group by discipline in each class through visualization. The results drawn through this study are as follows: First, as a result of analyzing the change in disciplines of disabled athletes’ track events, the number of track disciplines in the 5 PG was Track (T) 61, T51, T52, T48, and T44, respectively. Disciplines in the men’s division showed a gradually decreasing trend. In the women’s division, the track disciplines in the 5 PG were T30, T33, T37, T40, and T36, respectively. The disciplines in the women’s division increased until the Rio 2016 PG. Second, according to an analysis of athletic performance by class of para athletes’ track disciplines by PG (2004–2020), significant differences were found in both the podium and final groups. Third, as a result of analyzing the podium group’s record change trends by para athletes’ track disciplines and classes, the following points were revealed: (1) in the mean record change in the men’s podium group records were improving in most classes; (2) according to the women’s podium group record trend analysis the record improvement was high in T37 and T53 classes. In the T11 and T12 classes improved in each PG. In conclusion, as the PG continued, the number of track events in the men’s division of para athlete disciplines decreased, but records show an improving trend. Meanwhile, the number of disciplines shows an increasing trend in the women’s division, and especially the trend was remarkable after 2012. In conclusion, as Paralympic Games continued, the number of disciplines declined in the men’s division but records show an improving trend. As the number of disciplines decreased, athletes went to other disciplines, so competition became fierce and competitiveness was judged to improve. Meanwhile, in the disciplines of the women’s division increased due to the increasing number of in disciplines available.

A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF THE COVID-19 PREVENTIVE MEASURES AT THE TOKYO 2020 AND BEIJING 2022 OLYMPIC GAMES

National and international sports are well recognized in the international Olympic movement. The Summer and Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games are the major global sporting events, uniting the entire world together for world peace. Managing the health and safety of athletes at these top sporting events is an important task. During the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, sound organisational policies and effective preventive measures to protect athletes from infection at the Olympic Games were essential. Currently, there is not much information on the spread of COVID-19 infection in sports events and the effectiveness of preventive measures. The present study analyses the preventive measures for COVID-19 at Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics and the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. The study is based on the official documents of the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee. It compares the COVID-19 spread and preventive measures taken by the organisers at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games and the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

A Bibliometrics-Enhanced, PAGER-Compliant Scoping Review of the Literature on Paralympic Powerlifting: Insights for Practices and Future Research.

Paralympic powerlifting (PP), formerly known as "International Paralympic Committee" (IPC) powerlifting, is the format of powerlifting adapted for athletes with disabilities, and it differs from the version for able-bodied athletes in that it consists of bench press only. According to the mandate of the IPC, PP athletes should be enabled to achieve sporting excellence. As such, rigorous evidence is needed. However, to the best of our knowledge, there exists no systematic assessment of the body of scholarly evidence in the field of PP. Therefore, the present study was conducted to fill in this gap of knowledge, by conducting a scoping review of the literature enhanced by a bibliometrics analysis and by mining two major scholarly databases (MEDLINE via PubMed and Scopus). The aim was to provide a review/summary of the findings to date to help practitioners and athletes. Thirty-seven studies were retained in the present study. These covered the following thematic areas: (i) warm-up strategies (n = 2); (ii) aspects of training (n = 2); (iii) physiological aspects and responses (n = 2); (iv) psychological aspects and responses (n = 2); (v) biomechanics of bench press (n = 8); (vi) recovery strategy (n = 5); (vii) impact of the disability and type of disability (n = 4); (viii) epidemiology of PP (n = 6); and (ix) new analytical/statistical approaches for kinematics assessments, internal load monitoring, and predictions of mechanical outputs in strength exercises and in PP (n = 6). Bibliometrics analysis of the PP-related scientific output revealed that, despite having already become a paralympic sports discipline in 1984, only in the last few years, PP has been attracting a lot of interest from the community of researchers, with the first scholarly contribution dating back to 2012, and with more than one-third of the scientific output being published this year (2022). As such, this scholarly discipline is quite recent and young. Moreover, the community dealing with this topic is poorly interconnected, with most authors contributing to just one article, and with one single author being a hub node of the author network. Distributions of the number of articles and the authors/co-authors were found to be highly asymmetrical, indicating that this research is still in its infancy and has great room as well as great potential to grow. Reflecting this, many research topics are also overlooked and underdeveloped, with the currently available evidence being based on a few studies.