Les Autres sport classification is system used in disability sport for people with locomotor disabilities not included in other classification systems for people with physical disabilities. The purpose of this system is to facilitate fair competition between people with different types of disabilities, and to give credibility to disability sports. It was designed and managed by International Sports Organization for the Disabled (ISOD) until the 2005 merger with IWAS, when management switched to that organization. Classification is handled on the national level by relevant sport organizations.
Designed as a catchall classification system for people with locomotor disabilities, people with a variety of different disabilities are included in the classification system. These include different limb length, polio sequela, Gullian's Syndrome, some types of cerebral palsy, some spinal conditions related to polio, osteogenesis imperfecta and junior rheumatoid arthritis. It does not include people with intellectual disabilities or people who are deaf. LAF1, LAF2 and LAF3 are wheelchair classes, while LAF4, LAF5 and LAF6 are ambulant classes. SS1 and SS2 are classes for people with short stature who otherwise do not fit into traditional Les Autres classes. The classification system was created by ISOD in the 1970s, with Les Autres sportspeople first participating at the 1976 Summer Paralympics. Subsequently, the classification system was expanded to include six classes. Changes have been made to these classes since then while retaining the original six classes.
A variety of sports are open to Les Autres sportspeople including archery, boccia, cycling, equestrian, paracanoe, paratriathlon, powerlifting, rowing, sailing, shooting, swimming, table tennis, track and field, wheelchair American football, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair fencing, wheelchair softball and wheelchair tennis. The classification system has been criticized when used to facilitate competition against people with other disability types for not factoring in things like the impact of exertion on performance.
Purpose
The purpose of Les Autres sport classification is to allow for fair competition between people of different disability types. As a system, its purpose in being created was largely to find a way to include people with certain types of disabilities not covered by other disability sport classification types, but who otherwise fit inside the model and culture of who should be a Paralympic sportsperson. It is also about giving credibility to disability sport by having a system that makes it possible for different types of people to compete against each other.
Governance
Les Autres sport classification was originally created and then governed by the International Sports Organization for the Disabled (ISOD). Currently, classification is overseen by IWAS, having taken over this role following the 2005 merger of ISMWSF and ISOD.
National sport organizations handle classification on the national level. In the United Kingdom, this is the British Amputee and Les Autres Sports Association. In the United States, this is the United States Les Autres Sports Association. The classification system used in the United States has generally matched the international norms, though in track in field there have been five wheelchair classes and five ambulatory classes for Les Autres sportspeople. In Australia, Wheelchair Sports Australia was the governing body for classification for Les Autres sportspeople, with Disability Sports Australia taking over the role following the 2003 merger of Australian Sports Organisation for the Disabled (ASOD), Cerebral Palsy Australian Sports and Recreation Federation (CPASRF) and Wheelchair Sports Australia (WSA).
Disabilities
ISOD eligibility for people in the Les Autres group covers sportspeople with locomotor disabilities regardless of their diagnosis. In practice, this class generally covers people with minimal disabilities who do not use a wheelchair, do not have cerebral palsy and do not have an amputation. This special disability group also includes people with Friedreich's ataxia, Duchenne's, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, arthogyposis, osteogenesis imperfecta and junior rheumatoid arthritis. It also includes people with different limb length, polio sequela, Gullian's Syndrome, some types of cerebral plasy, some spinal conditions related to polio, spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia. The term Les Autres to refer to these disability groups was first used in 1980.