Cerebral palsy sport classification is a classification system used by sports that include people with cerebral palsy (CP) with different degrees of severity to compete fairly against each other and against others with different types of disabilities. In general, Cerebral Palsy-International Sports and Recreation Association (CP-ISRA) serves as the body in charge of classification for cerebral palsy sport, though some sports have their own classification systems which apply to CP sportspeople.
People with cerebral palsy were first included at the Paralympic Games in 1980 in Arnhem, the Netherlands at time when there were only four CP classes. In the next few years, a CP sports specific international organization, CP-ISRA, was founded and took over the role of managing classification. The system then started to move away from a medical based classification system to a functional classification system. This was not without controversy as it represented a move to allow people with different types of disabilities to compete against each other, and there was pushback as a result. A major overhaul of classification took place during the 2000s. At the same, individual sports began to develop their own sport specific classification systems.
The classification system developed by the CP-ISRA includes eight classes: CP1, CP2, CP3, CP4, CP5, CP6, CP7 and CP8. These classes can be generally grouped into upper wheelchair, wheelchair and ambulatory classes. CP1 is the class for upper wheelchair, while CP2, CP3 and CP4 are general wheelchair classes. CP5, CP6, CP7 and CP8 are ambulatory classes. Other sports either use a version of this system, have a completely different system, or have a system with one class for which members of certain CP classes are eligible to participate. The process for classification is sport specific. It generally includes a medical exam, observation in training and observation in competition.
CP sports classification, and disability sport classification, is not a system without criticism. Complaints about it include that it creates unfairness when CP sportspeople have to compete against sportspeople with other types of disabilities, that it discourages participation of people with the most severe forms of CP, and that changes to the system can leave sportspeople unprepared.
Purpose
The purpose of classification is to ensure fair competition between sportspeople with different severities of disabilities. The system is designed to measure functional ability, not skill. The classification system does not use a performance based one as such a system would be unfair.
Governance
The CP sport classification system is generally governed by Cerebral Palsy-International Sports and Recreation Association (CP-ISRA). The organization was founded in 1978 to assist sportspeople who have cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, stroke, or a related condition. Classification is also handled on the national level by CP sport organizations. In the United States, it is the United States Cerebral Palsy Association.
The CP-ISRA, and its national member organizations, have historically been charged with maintaining the classification system for a number of sports including athletics, swimming, cycling and cross-country. Some sports have their own classifying process and bodies charged with governing classification. International Federation of CP Football serves as the classifying body for 7-a-side football. International Paralympic Table Tennis Committee, a subcommittee of the International Table Tennis Federation, is in charge of classification for table tennis. The World Taekwondo Federation's Para-Taekwondo Classification code serves as the governing document for para-Taekwondo.
Disability types and definitions
The cerebral palsy sport classification system is designed for people with several types of paralysis and movement including quadriplegia, triplegia, diplegia, hemiplegia, monoplegia, spasticity, athetosis, and ataxia. Quadriplegia impacts the whole body, including the head, torso and all the limbs. Triplegia impacts three of the four limbs. Diplegia is when there is greater functional use of the lower limbs than the upper limbs. Hemiplegia, is a type of paralysis that effects one side of the body. Monoplegia is a condition that impacts only one limb. Spasticity limits muscle movement as a result of tightness in muscle.