The Fact Zone has information on the background of Paralympic Sport as well as the history of the BT Paralympic World Cup. Also provided in this section is information on the disability classifications.

Background to Paralympic Sport

• Paralympic Sports are for athletes with physical and mental disabilities
• In 1960 the first Paralympic Games was held in Rome with 400 athletes were invited from 23 countries
• Since 1960, Paralympic Sport has become more and more popular- over 4200 athletes from over 148 countries competed at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics!

There are many famous Paralympic Athletes such as:
o Oscar Pistorius
o Tanni Grey-Thompson
o Ellie Simmonds
o Natalie du Toit 
o Adrian Adepitan

The BT Paralympic World Cup

0 Staged since 2005 in Manchester
0 Largest annual international multi-sport competition in elite disability sport
0 Team Format was successfully introduced in 2010 and consists of four Teams: Great Britain [Blue], Europe [Green], Americas [Red] and Rest of the World [Yellow]
0 Welcomes hundreds of Paralympics each year and has welcomed athletes from over 28 countries
0 In 2011 three world records were broken in athletics competition
0 Over 14,600 people attended in 2011 with athletics attracting over 7,600 people which broke the attendance record for a disability sport event in the UK

Sports that are involved in the 2012 BT Paralympic World Cup include: Athletics, Wheelchair Basketball, Football 7-a-side, Boccia and Sitting Volleyball

Each year we welcome school children to attend the event and offer school groups Free Tickets. In 2012 we will continue this tradition and you can be the first to receive updates on the BT PWC by signing up for our newsletter.

Paralympic Classification

In all Paralympic Sports a classification system is used to try and equal out the ability of each person this is called functional Classification and is different for each sport.

Classification is simply a structure for competition. Like wrestling, boxing and weightlifting, where athletes are categorised by weight classes, athletes with disabilities are grouped in classes defined by the degree of function presented by the disability.

Classification is an ongoing process. When an athlete starts competing, they are allocated a class that may be reviewed throughout the athlete's career. Sports certify individuals to conduct the process of classification and these officials are known as classifiers.

Disability Classifications

Amputee- athletes with at least one major joint or lib missing (arm, ankle, elbow, leg)
Cerebral Palsy- athletes who suffer from a disorder of movement, coordination, reflexes and muscle tone due to damage in an area of the brain
Visual Impairment- athletes with a visual impairment ranging from partially sighted to total blindness
Wheelchair- athletes with spinal cord injuries, polio and lower limb amputations as well as other athletes who require wheelchairs
Les Autres (other)- athletes with a disability or condition that does not fall into any of the above categories (eg: dwarfism or multiple sclerosis)