The (non)sense of the present-day classification system of sports for the disabled, regarding paralysed and amputee athletes

Abstract

In order to guarantee fair competition amongst athletes, suffering from spinal paralysis with different neurological levels, a classification-system on a medical basis was introduced at the beginning of the annual Stoke Mandeville Paraplegic Games in the 1950s. The system was set up in such a way, that athletes with comparable degrees of disability were put together in the same class, in principle not depending on the actual sporting events. Subsequently a similar system was introduced for amputee athletes, and this system is still being used. In view of the large number of competitors, the Olympic Games for the Disabled in 1980 in the Netherlands were the basis for a statistical research analysis on the acquired data, studying the results of competition in connection with the medical classification data. The following types of sports were looked at: athletics, swimming, archery and weight-lifting. The objective was, to justify the (theoretical) medical classification-system by means of (practical) actual figures (results of competition). As a basic method the 'zero-hypothesis' has been used. Specifically the 'Student's t distribution' has been used in view of the small samples. The interim conclusion is, that the present-day classification-system is good with regards to those with poliomyelitis, and to tetraplegic and paraplegic sports people both with complete or incomplete lesions competing together, but the number of classes requires to be diminished in several sports events. The same research analysis of the results of the Olympic Games for the Disabled of 1984 will be made in order to compare the two studies and to make final conclusions.

Full text

  
 
    
     
   
 
    
          
  

          
         
           
               
            
           
    
            
 
            
  
           
      
            
        
              
         
    

            
    

        
    
      
      



      
         
          
        
    
           
         
            
            
       
        
             

            
          
           
  
            
            
           
          
  
          
         
  
            
        
      
            
          
         
            
         
          

              
           
          
          
           

    
            
            


 

             
              
             
           
   
  
   

   
    
     
   
  
     
   
    
     
   
   
        
      

 
 
  


  

 
    

 
    
         

              
       

   
        
      
    
  
           
             
          
        
             
         
         

      
            
            
           
         
     
           

         
 
           
 
          
      
 
      
           

            

            
          
              

             
             
             
             
                

              

              
             
               
                 
    
             
                 
         

 
        
           
          
          

           

              
        


 
          

        
         
    
            
         
           

          
            
        

      
          
        
     
      

        

   
 D      

   
   


   
    

  


 
 


 
 
 
  


 
 


    

 
 
 �  

  
 
  
   

  
         
       

      
  
 
 

        








 

 
 
 
 
  

 

 
 

 

       



  

 

                





  
 

  
 

  
 
 
 
 
    



 
 
 




           
        
    
  
         
     
     
      
      
     
     
      
     
        
 


 
  
 
 
    


  

   

 

         

  
 
     

    
  
  
  
  



    

 
     






   
 
                  


 

 





 
 

  
 
  
 


 
 

           
    
  