2.6 History of Sport for Individuals with a Physical Disability

in Rome, Italy, in 1960 featuring 400 athletes from 23 countries. Since then they have taken place every four years.

In 1976 the first Winter Games in Paralympics history were held in Sweden, and as with the Summer Games, have taken place every four years, and include a Paralympics Opening Ceremony and Paralympics Closing Ceremony.

Today, the Paralympics are elite sports events for athletes with physical and sensory disabilities. They emphasize the participants’ athletic achievements rather than their impairments. The movement has grown dramatically since its first days. The number of athletes participating in the Summer Paralympic Games has increased from 400 athletes from 23 countries in Rome in 1960 to 4,342 athletes from 159 countries in Rio 2016, including 528 Events across 22 sports.

2.7 Born of International Paralympic Committee

Finally, on 22 September 1989, the International Paralympic Committee was founded as an international non-profit organisation in Dusseldorf, Germany, to act as the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement. The word “Paralympic” derives from the Greek preposition “para” (beside or alongside) and the word “Olympic”.Its meaning is that Paralympics are the parallel Games to the Olympics and illustrates how the two movements exist side-by-side.9

Paralympic sports refers to competitive sporting activities organized as part of the global Paralympic movement, comprising all the sports contested in the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. Globally, the International Paralympic Committee is recognized as the leading organization, with direct governance of nine Paralympic sports, and responsibility for the Paralympic Games. Other international organizations, 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 sports that are specific to certain impairment groups. In addition, certain single-sport federations govern specific sports for athletes with a disability, either as part of an able-bodied sports federation such as the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) or as a sports federation specifically for athletes with a disability such as the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation and the International Wheelchair Rugby Federation.

2.8 Classification of Paralympic sport

Paralympic Sport incorporates opportunities for a wide range of athletes with a physical impairment, which are outlined in further detail below. The presence of an eligible impairment is a prerequisite but not the sole criterion of entry into a particular Paralympic Sport. It is not sufficient simply to have one of the below impairment types; the athlete must also meet the minimum eligibility criteria as set out by the specific sporting body.

9 ibid