Paralympic
games
The
Paralympic Games is a major multi-sport international event Involving athletes
with a range of disabilities, including impaired muscle power (eg paraplegia
and quadriplegia, muscular dystrophy, post-polio syndrome, spina bifida),
impaired passive range of movement, limb deficiency ( eg amputation or
dysmelia), leg length difference, short stature, hypertonia, ataxia, athetosis,
vision impairment and intellectual impairment. There are Winter and Summer
Paralympic Games, Which since the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul, South Korea, are
held almost immediately Following the respective Olympic Games. All Paralympic
Games are Governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
The
Paralympics has grown from a small gathering of British World War II veterans
in 1948 to Become One of the largest international sporting events by the early
21st century. Paralympians strive for equal treatment with non-disabled Olympic
athletes, but there is a large funding gap between Olympic and Paralympic
athletes.
The
Paralympic Games are organized in parallel with the Olympic Games, while the
IOC Recognized Special Olympics World Games include athletes with intellectual
disabilities, and the Deaflympics include deaf athletes.
Given the
wide variety of disabilities que Paralympic athletes have, there are Several
categories in Which the athletes compete. The allowable disabilities are broken
down into ten eligible impairment types. The categories are impaired muscle
power, impaired passive range of movement, limb deficiency, leg length
difference, short stature, hypertonia, ataxia, athetosis, vision impairment and
intellectual impairment. These categories are further broken down into
classifications, Which vary from sport to sport. The classification system has
led to cheating controversies revolving around athletes who over-stated Their
disabilities, in addition to the use of performance-enhancing drugs seen in
other events.
Name and symbol
Although the name was originally coined as a
portmanteau combining "paraplegic" (due to its origins the games for
people with spinal injuries) and "Olympic," the inclusion of other
disability groups que meant this was no longer Considered very accurate. The
present formal explanation for the name is That It derives from the Greek
preposition παρά, stop ( "beside" or "alongside") and Thus
Refers to a competition held in parallel with the Olympic Games. The Summer
Games of 1988 held in Seoul was the first team the term "Paralympic" came
into official use.
"Spirit in Motion" is the motto for the
Paralympic movement. The symbol for the Paralympics contains three colors, red,
blue, and green, Which are the colors most widely Represented in the flags of
nations. The colors are each in the shape of an Agito (Which is Latin for
"I move") Which is the name given Beheerder to an asymmetrical
crescent specially designed for the Paralympic movement. The three Agitos
circle central point, Which is the symbol for the athletes congregating from
all points of the globe. The motto and symbol of the IPC Were changed in 2003
to Their current versions. The change was intended to convey the idea que
Paralympians have a spirit of competition and que the IPC to an organization
accomplish it its potential and is moving forward to Achieve it. The vision of
the IPC is, "To enable Paralympic athletes to Achieve sporting excellence
and to inspire and excite the world. „The Paralympic anthem is "Hymn de
l'Avenir" or "Anthem of the Future". It was composed by Thierry
Darnis and ADOPTED the the official anthem in March 1996.
Categories
The IPC has
established ten disability categories, including physical, visual, and
intellectual impairment. Athletes with one of these disabilities can compete in
the Paralympics though not every sport can allow for every disability category.
These categories apply to both Summer and Winter Paralympics.
Physical
Impairment – There are eight different types of physical impairment:
Impaired
muscle power – With impairments in this category, the force generated by
muscles, such as the muscles of one limb, one side of the body or the lower
half of the body is reduced, due to spinal-cord injury, spina bifida or polio.
Impaired
passive range of movement – Range of movement in one or more joints is reduced
in a systematic way. Acute conditions such as arthritis are not included.
Loss of limb
or limb deficiency – A total or partial absence of bones or joints from partial
or total loss due to illness, trauma, or congenital limb deficiency (dysmelia).
Leg-length
difference – Significant bone shortening occurs in one leg due to congenital
deficiency or trauma.
Short stature
– Standing height is reduced due to shortened legs, arms and trunk, which are
due to a musculoskeletal deficit of bone or cartilage structures.
Hypertonia –
Hypertonia is marked by an abnormal increase in muscle tension and reduced
ability of a muscle to stretch. Hypertonia may result from injury, disease, or
conditions which involve damage to the central nervous system (e.g. cerebral
palsy).
Ataxia –
Ataxia is an impairment that consists of a lack of coordination of muscle
movements ( cerebral palsy, Friedreich’s ataxia).
Intellectual
Disability – Athletes with a significant impairment in intellectual functioning
and associated limitations in adaptive behaviour. The IPC primarily serves
athletes with physical disabilities, but the disability group Intellectual
Disability has been added to some Paralympic Games. This includes only elite
athletes with intellectual disabilities diagnosed before the age of 18.
However, the IOC-recognized Special Olympics World Games are open to all people
with intellectual disabilities.
Classification system
Within the
disability categories the athletes still need to be divided according to level
of impairment. The classification systems differ from sport to sport and are
intended to open up sports to as many athletes as possible who can participate
in fair competitions against athletes with similar levels of ability. The
biggest challenge in the classification system is how to account for the wide
variety and severity of disabilities. Consequently, there is a range of
impairment within most classifications .
Medical
classification (until 1980s)
From its
inception until the 1980s, the Paralympic system for classifying athletes
consisted of a medical evaluation and diagnosis of impairment. An athlete's
medical condition was the only factor used to determine what class they
competed in. For example, an athlete who had a spinal cord injury that resulted
in lower limb paresis, would not compete in the same wheelchair race as an
athlete with a double above-knee amputation. The fact that their disability
caused the same impairment did not factor into classification determination,
the only consideration was their medical diagnosis. It was not until views on
disabled athletics shifted from just a form of rehabilitation to an end in
itself, that the classification system changed from medical diagnosis to a
focus on the functional abilities of the athlete.
Sports
There are
twenty-two sports on the Summer Paralympic program and five sports on the
Winter Paralympics program. Within some of the sports are several events. For
example, alpine skiing has downhill, super combined, super-G, slalom, giant
slalom. The IPC has governance over several of the sports but not all of them.
Other international organizations, known as International Sports Federations
(IF), notably the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation
(IWAS), the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA), and the Cerebral
Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CP-ISRA), govern some
sports that are specific to certain disability groups.There are national
chapters for these International Sport Federations including National Paralympic
Committees, which are responsible for recruitment of athletes and governance of
sports at the national level.
Source: Wikipedia