Sport-specific Classification Research Articles

Investigating the relationship between impairment and performance in goalball: A level playing field?

ABSTRACT Currently, all eligible goalball players compete together irrespective of their level of vision impairment, yet it remains unclear whether those with more impairment are disadvantaged during competition. Following the International Paralympic Committee’s requirement for evidence-based, sport-specific classification, this study assessed whether individual goalball performance relates to the level of visual impairment. Using results from the 2016 and 2020 Paralympic Games, players’ sport classes and in-competition key performance statistics (minutes played, throws per minute, goals per minute, penalties conceded per minute, blocks per minute, and goals per throw) were extracted. Players’ visual acuity and visual field results were obtained through the IBSA Sport Administration System. Results showed no statistically significant differences in performance between classes. Further, there were no significant relationships between vision and performance for all six variables for female players. A small but significant positive correlation was found between visual acuity and the number of penalties conceded for male players. Collectively, the results suggest that currently eligible players compete fairly against one another during competitive goalball matches. Results provide support for the existing system of classification whereby all eligible athletes compete against each other irrespective of their level of impairment.

Stressors and coping strategies in esports: a systematic review

ABSTRACT In this systematic review, we provide an overview of stressors and coping strategies in esports, emphasizing the goal of informing applied practice and guiding future research. Guided by the PRISMA guidelines and employing the SPIDER framework, we synthesize findings from 19 studies. Performance stressors such as defeat and performance pressure (e.g. pressure to win) were prominently observed, along with team, social, organizational, and personal stressors. Coping strategies, aligned with Nicholls et al. ((2016). The development of a new sport-specific classification of coping and a meta-analysis of the relationship between different coping strategies and moderators on sporting outcomes. Frontiers in Psychology, 7(11), 1–14), demonstrate internal regulation was the most frequently reported, followed by mastery coping, while goal withdrawal strategies were less frequently reported. Comparing esports to traditional sports highlights the role of social stressors such as social media and public perceptionin esports. However, personal stressors remain relatively unexplored. The review also identifies research gaps in stressor appraisal and communal coping strategies. Future research could delve into personal stressors, considering a wide array of psychological factors, and employing dynamic methodologies. Practical implications revolve around tailored interventions, promoting open communication, mastery coping techniques, and holistic well-being strategies. This review provides a broader understanding of esports stressors and coping strategies, offering a starting point for targeted interventions aimed at enhancing performance and well-being in the distinctive competitive landscape of esports.

Wearable electronic devices in parasports: A focused review on para athlete classification.

Wearable electronic devices are being used to evaluate movement patterns, track workload, prevent injuries, and optimize performance in athletes. Para athletes have unique characteristics to consider separately from the general population. One such difference in competitive parasports includes consideration of athlete classification systems. These sport-specific classification systems consider athletes' eligible medical conditions that lead to permanent physical, visual, and/or intellectual impairments and objectively evaluate the impact of their impairments on sport functions. Para athletes are assigned sport classes and compete with athletes of similar functional levels. This promotes equitable opportunities to compete while minimizing the effect their impairment has on their sport performance. With recent reports of misrepresentation or incorrect and unfair classification providing unfair advantages to some athletes, parasports classification has been controversial. Having an objective, evidence-based, and fair classification system in parasports is critical to maintain the integrity of parasports competition. Wearable electronic devices have potential to provide more objective analysis of movement patterns in para athletes to assist in sport classification. This review identifies and analyzes the available literature on wearable electronic technology and its role in parasports classification. A comprehensive PubMed and Google Scholar search identified six articles included in this review. These studies used inertial sensors, motion capture systems, or surface electromyography in wheelchair basketball, rugby, tennis, sit skiing, and boccia. This review identifies the potential value of wearable electronic devices to assist in parasports classification. Additional studies are needed to create standardized protocols for each sport and sensor type.

A valid and reliable test of technical skill for vision impaired football

ABSTRACT Objectives The International Paralympic Committee requires international federations to develop and implement sport-specific classification guidelines based on scientific evidence. Performance tests are key to developing new evidence-based criteria in football for athletes with vision impairment (VI). Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop a valid and reliable test of technical performance for VI football. Methods To assure content and face validity, the Vision Impaired Football Skills (VIFS) test was based on recommendations from experienced players and coaches. To test construct validity, we compared 24 sighted football players split into two groups based on highest-level of performance but matched on experience. To test reliability participants completed the VIFS three times on two separate days. Results Results supported construct validity through detecting differences in performance times between the two groups (p = .004, g = 1.28 95% CI = 0.41 - 2.15). Bias between visits (.54s ± 2.93s; 95% LoA = -5.21– 6.29) and intraclass correlations (.81, 95% CI = .56 - .92) showed between-day agreement and reliability. Within-day reliability was good after a familiarisation trial. Conclusions Results support the suitability for the VIFS test for classification research. Future work should establish feasibility for players with a VI.

Topical Review: Understanding Vision Impairment and Sports Performance through a Look at Paralympic Classification.

To provide meaningful competition that is equitable for Paralympic athletes, classification systems are vital to determine which athletes are eligible to compete in adapted forms of sports and to group athletes for competition. Our discussion has important implications to inform how we should approach visual function assessment in sports performance. Sport participation positively benefits individuals with low vision. In particular, adapted sports exist to provide people with visual disabilities an avenue for participating in recreational activity. High-performance low-vision athletes can participate in Paralympic sports but need to be properly classified based on the severity of their vision impairment. The model for Paralympic classification was initiated by Sir Ludwig Guttmann in 1952 in a rehabilitation clinic for soldiers with spinal cord injuries. Today, the International Paralympic Committee mandates that international sports federations develop evidence-based sport-specific classification systems to ensure that eligible disabled athletes have an opportunity for meaningful competition. With the current classification system, only visual acuity and visual field measures are considered to determine an athlete's eligibility to compete, leaving room to expand our understanding of visual function requirements for individual sports. In this topical review, we discuss the origins of Paralympic sports, limitations of current classification methods, and requirements toward achieving evidence-based sport-specific evaluation systems.

Conceptual model of sport-specific classification for para-athletes with intellectual impairment

ABSTRACT The present paper describes the conceptual basis of evidence-based classification of para-athletes with intellectual impairment (II). An extensive description of the theoretical and conceptual foundation of the system as currently conceived is provided, as are examples of its applications in the three sports included in the Paralympic programme for II-athletes in 2020 (i.e., athletics, swimming and table tennis). Evidence-based classification for II-athletes is driven by two central questions: i. How can intellectual impairment be substantiated in a valid and reliable way, and ii. Does intellectual impairment limit optimal sport proficiency? Evolution of the system and current best practice for addressing these questions are described, and suggestions for future research and development are provided. Challenges of understanding and assessing a complex (multifaceted and intersectional) impairment in the context of sport also are considered.

Change-of-Direction Ability of Para-Footballers With Cerebral Palsy Under a New Evidence-Based and Sport-Specific Classification System.

This study aimed (1)to explore the validity and reliability of a new and specific change-of-direction (COD) test that requires dribbling skills to classify international footballers with cerebral palsy (CP) and compare it with another valid and reliable COD test without ball dribbling and (2)to probe whether both tests can discriminate between the new CP football classes (ie,FT1, FT2, and FT3) established worldwide in 2018. This study involved 180 international para-footballers with CP from 23 national teams at the 3 regional competitions held in 2018. They performed 2 COD tests, the modified agility test (no dribbling skills) and the dribbling speed test (DST). Reliability was excellent for both the modified agility test (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC]2,1 = .91, SEM = 5.75%) and the DST (ICC2,1 = .92, SEM = 4.66%). The modified agility test and DST results were highly to very highly correlated to one another for the whole group and considering the sport classes (r = .60-.80; P < .001). A 1-way analysis of variance showed significant differences between sport classes in both tests (P < .001). However, among classes, there were significant differences between FT1 and FT2 and FT3 (P < .01, effect size = large) and low to moderate effect sizes between FT2 and FT3 for either test. The DST appears to be valid and reliable to classify CP football players within the new classification system. Regression analysis revealed that 18.2% of the variance in the new sport classes could be explained by the 2 examined tests.

Evidence-based Classification in Track Athletics for Athletes with a Vision Impairment: A Delphi Study.

The Delphi analysis presented here highlights the need for a sport-specific evidence-based classification system for track athletics for athletes with a vision impairment (VI). This system may differ for different race distances. Further research is required to develop a useful test battery of vision tests for classification. The issue of intentional misrepresentation during classification needs particular attention. At present, athletes with VI are placed into competition classes developed on the basis of legal definitions of VI. The International Paralympic Committee Athlete Classification Code states that all sports should have their own classification system designed to reflect the (visual) demands of that individual sport. This project gathered expert opinion on the specific requirements for an evidence-based sport-specific classification system for VI track athletics and to identify any particular issues within track athletics that require further research into their impact on sport performance. A three-round Delphi review was conducted with a panel of 17 people with expertise in VI track athletics. The panel agreed that the current classification system in VI track athletics does not completely minimize the impact of impairment on competition outcome, highlighting the need for improvements. There was clear agreement that the existing measures of vision may fail to adequately reflect the type of vision loss that would impact running performance, with additional measures required. Intentional misrepresentation, where athletes "cheat" on classification tests, remains a serious concern. The panel has identified measures of vision and performance that will inform the development of an evidence-based classification system by better understanding the relationship between VI and performance in track athletics. Issues such as the use of guides and whether the current class system was equitable gave rise to differing opinions within the panel, with these varying across the different running distances.

Activity limitation and match load in para-footballers with cerebral palsy: An approach for evidence-based classification.

Classification is a hot topic in Paralympic sport, making the development of evidence-based and sport-specific classification systems mandatory. However, the development of measurementsfor exploring the relationships between the athletes' impairment and their activity limitation is a considerable scientific challenge in team Paralympic sport such as 7-side football (ie, CP Football). The aims of this study were 1) to describe the activity limitation and external match load (ML) differences among impairment profiles (FT) in international level footballers with cerebral palsy (CPFP) and 2) to analyze the relationship among the activity limitation and external ML variables. Forty-eight international male CPFP (23±7y; 174.7±7.2cm; 69.4±9.2kg; 22.7±2.6kg·m-2 ) participated in this study and were divided according to their impairment profile (FT5/6, FT7, and FT8). Significant differences (P<.05) have been observed among FT profiles in the activity limitation tests (ie, static balance, coordination, vertical jump, horizontal jump, acceleration capacity, and change of direction ability). Additionally, significant differences have been observed among FT profiles in certain ML values (ie, Velmax , High Acc and in Mod and High Dec), where generally, FT8 players reported the best performance values. On the other hand, especially in the FT5/6 and in the FT8 profiles, a large-to-very large significant relationship was observed between the CPFP activity limitation and the ML values. In general, the results of the present study show that players with a lower impairment have less activity limitation and better ML. This study concludes that the potential relationships between the impairments of hypertonia, ataxia, or athetosis and performance in this para-sport might be impairment-specific.

Classifying motor coordination impairment in Para swimmers with brain injury

ObjectivesThe International Paralympic Committee has mandated that International Sport Federations develop sport-specific classification systems that are evidence-based. This study examined the predictive and convergent validity of instrumented tapping tasks to classify motor coordination impairments in Para swimming. DesignCross-sectional. MethodsThirty non-disabled participants and twenty-one Para swimmers with brain injury completed several instrumented tapping tasks as an assessment of upper and lower limb motor coordination. Para swimmers also completed a maximal freestyle swim to obtain a performance measure. The predictive and convergent validity of instrumented tapping tasks was examined by establishing differences in test measures between participants with and without brain injury and defining the strength of association between test measures and maximal freestyle swim speed in Para swimmers, respectively. ResultsRandom forest successfully classified 96% of participants with and without brain injury using test measures derived from instrumented tapping tasks. Most test measures had moderate to high correlations (r=0.54 to 0.72; p<0.01) with maximal freestyle swim speed and collectively explained up to 72% of the variance in maximal freestyle swim performance in Para swimmers with brain injury. ConclusionsThe results of this study evidence the predictive and convergent validity of instrumented tapping tasks to classify motor coordination impairments in Para swimmers with brain injury. These tests can be included in revised Para swimming classification to improve the objectivity and transparency in determining athlete eligibility and sport class for these Para athletes.

International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) Joint Position Stand on the Sport-Specific Classification of Athletes with Vision Impairment

Classification is a defining characteristic of para-sports whereby eligible athletes are allocated a sport class to compete against others with similar activity limitations. To account for the unique characteristics of each sport, para-sports should develop their own classification system using evidence that demonstrates the impact of impairment on performance in that sport. Although the move towards sport-specific classification has progressed in sports for athletes with physical and intellectual impairments, sports for athletes with vision impairment (VI) continue to use the same three classes irrespective of the sport, with classes delineated by legal definitions of low vision and blindness. The aim of this joint International Paralympic Committee/International Blind Sports Federation (IPC/IBSA) Position Stand is to provide guidance for how evidence-based sport-specific classification should be achieved in VI sports. It does so by outlining three conceptual research models (correlation, simulation, and component analysis) that can be used to establish both the minimum impairment required to compete plus the appropriate number of sport classes and their inclusion criteria. The present evaluation of vision relies on measures of visual acuity and field, but new criteria may require a sport-specific combination of additional measures of visual function (e.g. contrast, motion, and light sensitivity) to better account for the impact of VI on sport performance. Moreover, the test procedures used during athlete evaluation (e.g. whether to evaluate both eyes individually or together) should be chosen to better represent the habitual viewing situation experienced in that sport. The development of sport-specific criteria should enhance the legitimacy of competition and encourage increased grassroots participation in VI sports.

Test design and individual analysis in wheelchair rugby

ObjectivesUse a task vehicle of sprint testing in wheelchair rugby (WCR) to explore the impact of small changes to test design using both group and individual analysis. DesignExploratory, repeated measures, on-court study Method25 national or international level wheelchair rugby players completed 5×5m sprints under two conditions: (i) an acceleration from standstill in their own time, and (ii) an ‘active’ start, simulating a key aspect of performance. Video analysis and accelerometer data were used to measure key kinematic and performance variables with a focus on the first three strokes. Each player was grouped into a high-, mid-, or low-point group based on their sport-specific classification score. Group (paired sample t-tests) and individual (meaningful differences, performance coefficients, and Cohen’s d effect sizes) analysis assessed differences between the two conditions. ResultsThe low-point classification group performed significantly slower in the active start (p<0.05). There were no differences in sprint time for the high- and mid-point groups. Mid-point players achieved greater peak accelerations for strokes two and three in the active start (p<0.05). Individual sprint performances varied substantially, ranging from 8% decrease to 14% increase in sprint time for the active start. Meaningful differences in peak accelerations were demonstrated for 23 out of the 25 players. ConclusionsSmall amendments to test design can lead to significant differences in individual athlete performance. Traditional group analyses masked important individual responses to testing conditions. There is need to further consider representative test design, and individual analysis for monitoring physical and skill performance.

Degree of vision impairment influence the fight outcomes in the Paralympic judo: a 10-year retrospective analysis.

In the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) judo Sports Classes B1, B2, and B3 compete against each other within weight- and gender-specific categories. B1 athletes are totally blind, whereas B2 and B3 are partially sighted. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of the degree of vision impairment on fight outcomes. We analyzed 1936 fights from official competitions and compare win ratio in fights between discordant Sports Classes. B1 won B2 ratio was 34.8%, B1 won B3 ratio was 36.5%, B2 won B3 ratio = 50.6%. The B1 percent of IBSA judo athletes decreased from 25.9% in 2007 to 19.4% in 2016, while the total number of participants increased over this period. These findings confirm that blind athletes have fewer chances to win a fight in IBSA Judo and become a member of National Team. Loss of vision functions affects movement coordination, balance, and emotional state, which are important for martial arts and may explain why B1 athletes are more likely to lose competitions against either B2 or B3. Creation of the evidence-based and sport-specific classification system and/or improvement of the technical rules are necessary for fair IBSA Judo competitions.

The Development of a New Sport-Specific Classification of Coping and a Meta-Analysis of the Relationship between Different Coping Strategies and Moderators on Sporting Outcomes.

There is an ever growing coping and sports performance literature, with researchers using many different methods to assess performance and different classifications of coping. As such, it makes it difficult to compare studies and therefore identify how coping is related to performance. Furthermore, there are no quantitative syntheses of the results from these studies. A quantitative synthesis would facilitate a more comprehensive understanding of how coping is associated with athletic performance. In order to accurately compare studies, our first aim was to develop a new coping classification that would make this possible. Firstly, we reviewed the strengths and limitations of the different coping classifications and then identified the commonalities and differences between such classifications. We opted for a three-factor classification of coping, because the evidence suggests that a three-factor classification provides a superior model fit to two-factor approaches. Our new classification of coping was based on an existing model from the developmental literature, which received an excellent model fit. We made some adaptations, however, as our classification was intended for an athletic population. As such, we classified coping as mastery (i.e., controlling the situation and eliminating the stressor), internal regulation (i.e., managing internal stress responses), or goal withdrawal (i.e., ceasing efforts toward goal attainment). Undertaking a meta-analysis, our second aim was to identify which coping strategies correlated with sports performance and whether this relationship varied according to moderator variables. Articles were sourced from online electronic databases and manual journal searches. PRISMA guidelines were used to search, select, and synthesize relevant studies. Random effects meta-analyses were performed to identify associations between coping classification and sport performance. Q, I2, and R2 values assessed heterogeneity. Eighteen published investigations, including 3900 participants and incorporating fifty-nine correlations, indicated an overall positive effect for mastery coping, a negligible negative effect for internal regulation coping, and a negative effect for goal withdrawal strategies. The findings of this meta-analysis could be used by sports practitioners to help them deliver effective coping interventions. In order to maximize performance, practitioners could encourage the use of mastery coping, but advise their athletes not to use goal withdrawal strategies.

Biomechanical Performance Factors for Development of Minimum Disability Requirements in Para-taekwondo – Part 1

Objective: To assess taekwondo sparring performance variables, such as joint ranges of motion, reaction times, and kicking foot speeds, to serve as a framework for developing sport-specific classification in Para-taekwondo competition. Methods: After a standard taekwondo warm up, athletes executed five popular scoring techniques, back kick, cut kick, fast kick, turning kick, and tornado kick five times each (25 total). Kinematic and kinetic variables were recorded by a motion capture system of seven infrared cameras and two force plates. Maximum joint range of motion, foot velocities, and reaction time were calculated. Results: Collapsed over kick, maximum hip abduction motion, maximum hip flexion, maximum knee flexion, peak foot velocity, reaction time for male athletes were 47.8 &plusmn;10.4&deg;, 46.3 &plusmn;7.6&deg;, 105.3 &plusmn;14.0&deg;, 11.5 &plusmn;2.4 m/s, and 0.46 &plusmn;0.06 s respectively. maximum hip abduction motion, maximum hip flexion, maximum knee flexion, peak foot velocity, reaction time for female athletes were 49.1 &plusmn;6.8&deg;, 43.9 &plusmn;11.0&deg;, 94.2 &plusmn;13.7&deg;, 10.9 &plusmn;2.2 m/s, and 0.48 &plusmn;0.11 s respectively. Conclusions: The results of this study provide a foundational framework for future studies designed to compare and assess Para-taekwondo athletes with various physical and neurological impairments. From this, future studies may move towards developing practical on-site sport specific testing methods which may ultimately assist in making taekwondo-specific classification for Para-taekwondo competitions.