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March 11, 2024
Classifiers are an essential part of parasport, but few people know what exactly they do. To get a glimpse of their important work, we spoke to the Head of Wheelchair Curling, World Curling Championships and Development Officer Jiri Sunitil, and the Chief Class Officer of the SD Biosensor World Wheelchair and Mixed Doubles Curling Championships 2024. We spoke to Emily Newell, the founder of FIRE.
Para sports require qualifications to participate. All athletes must go through a so-called classification process that determines whether they are eligible to play.
“This classification consists of two parts. The first is the submission of medical forms and relevant documents regarding the medical condition and disability, which is pre-determined by the classifier,” explains Jiri Sunitil .
“Classifiers are medical personnel, doctors, physical therapists, and they are usually involved in multiple sports.
“Wheelchair curling, wheelchair rugby, para track and field, wheelchair basketball, etc.
“After a preliminary review of the submitted documents by the classification committee, the athlete will be required to undergo a physical examination,” he added.
“Once an athlete obtains eligible status, they are placed on what is called a classification master list. In that list, they receive statuses that have been confirmed as eligible, statuses that have been reclassified for reconsideration, and statuses that have been confirmed as ineligible. can.”
Emily Newell was the chief classifier at this year’s World Championships, and supporting her were 3 classifier panelistsSari Shatil, Park Joo-young, and Park So-young before the team event and one of the panelists Li Pei-hong before the mixed doubles event.
“We work in teams of two. Therefore, the panel consists of two classifiers. Therefore, my role here is both lead classifier and panelist. Lead “Being a classifier, you are more responsible for making sure all rules are followed and that panelists understand what the rules are and how to follow them,” says Emily Newell. I will explain.
“If the committee confirms that the athlete is eligible, they do not need to go to the second panel. If the athlete is found ineligible on the first panel, they will automatically be placed on the second panel. So if an athlete advances to the second panel and they are also assessed as not eligible, that confirms that the athlete is not eligible. There are two chances to qualify,” she added. Ta.
“I’ve been playing this sport since it started with the first classification system, probably in the 1980s or early 1990s. That was the original system, and then it changed. But , I have been consistently classifying ever since,” she says.
Emily Newell is a retired physician who practices physical therapy and rehabilitation. Her work included caring for people with physical disabilities. Given this background, she was very reluctant to implement classification rules.
As for what classification is, she says: “Each parasport has a different classification system because each sport uses the body differently. In wheelchair curling, we test how your lower limbs are. You don’t have to look at your arms. Wheelchair curlers Some people have disabilities in their arms, but we don’t take that into account. It’s just their legs.
“The impairments that we can objectively measure include impairments in leg strength and strength, impairments in tension, amputations, and impairments in large joints and range of motion in the legs, hips, knees, and ankles. and coordination disorders that result in uncoordinated leg movements, and the last one is a combination of above-the-knee amputation on one side and muscle weakness on the other. Inspect them according to the inspection method.
“We use something called a goniometer, which measures range of motion. We also bring a reflex hammer to check reflexes.”
Classification rules may change based on research and evidence. If the rules change, certain categories of athletes will have to undergo reclassification.
“There’s a list of qualifying health conditions, including paraplegia, spinal cord injury, and stroke. But hearing loss, for example, is not a qualifying health condition. People who only have pain are also not qualifying conditions.”
Once an athlete achieves Verified Eligibility status, they do not need to be reclassified.
When asked about the mental aspect of the classification process, she added: “Classification is a very emotional experience for athletes. If they are ineligible, it is a very big blow to them. And to see if they are eligible to participate in international events, I have always believed that athletes should be classified in their own country. It would be a tragedy if they came and were found to be ineligible.
“This is an emotional thing and physiologically it is very difficult for athletes to overcome this classification. So if they can do it in their home country, the stress of participating in an international event will be somewhat alleviated.”
Regarding her commitment to the 2024 World Championships, she said: “We tested four players in the mixed team competition and all four were eligible and we were able to confirm all four players. And in the mixed doubles we had one player tested and that player was also tested. He has been confirmed eligible to play.”
Join world curling during the SD Biosensor World Wheelchair Mixed Doubles Curling Championship 2024 on TikTok. XSearch the hashtag on , Instagram, Facebook, and Weibo #WWhMDCC and #wheelchair curling
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