Eligibility for competition to be able to compete at WheelWOD sanctioned competition
WheelWOD use a version established guidelines presented by International Paralympic Committee. If you do not fit these categories you can by email request a specific classification review.
Divisions for Strongest Adaptive Athlete:
Upper Impairment
Lower Impairment
Visual Impairment
Seated
Neurological Impairment
Minimal or Temporary Impairment
Eligible Impairments for competition
The first step in disability sport classification is to determine if the athlete has an eligible impairment.
The Paralympic Movement offers sport opportunities for athletes that have an impairment that belongs to one of the ten eligible impairment types. We are going to be using these guide lines along with the CrossFit 10 physical domains to make your assesment.
This is a General description of the 10 eligible impairment types:
Impairment: Explanation
Impaired muscle power: Reduced force generated by muscles or muscle groups, such as muscles of one limb or the lower half of the body, as caused, for example, by spinal cord injuries, spina bifida or polio
Impaired passive range of movement: Range of movement in one or more joints is reduced permanently, for example due to arthrogryposis. Hypermobility of joints, joint instability, and acute conditions, such as arthritis, are not considered eligible impairments.
Limb deficiency: Total or partial absence of bones or joints as a consequence of trauma (e.g. car accident), illness (e.g. bone cancer) or congenital limb deficiency (e.g. dysmelia).
Leg length difference: Bone shortening in one leg due to congenital deficiency or trauma.
Short stature: Reduced standing height due to abnormal dimensions of bones of upper and lower limbs or trunk, for example due to achondroplasia or growth hormone dysfunction.
Hypertonia: Abnormal increase in muscle tension and a reduced ability of a muscle to stretch, due to a neurological condition, such as cerebral palsy, brain injury or multiple sclerosis.
Ataxia: Lack of co-ordination of muscle movements due to a neurological condition, such as cerebral palsy, brain injury or multiple sclerosis.
Athetosis: Generally characterised by unbalanced, involuntary movements and a difficulty in maintaining a symmetrical posture, due to a neurological condition, such as cerebral palsy, brain injury or multiple sclerosis.
Visual impairment: Vision is impacted by either an impairment of the eye structure, optical nerves or optical pathways, or the visual cortex.
Intellectual Impairment: currently not a classification for WheelWOD events
The Paralympic Movement adopted the definitions for the eligible impairment types as described in the World Health Organization International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (2001, World Health Organization, Geneva)
WheelWOD will accept all physical impairment types that fall into the categories above.
The presence and permanency of one of the sport’s eligible impairments is a prerequisite to participate, but not the sole criterion. This Competition has a temporary or minimal impairment category. This will include temporarily injured athletes and athletes that have an impairment but it does not affect the athlete in the above at a level deemed classifiable in regular CrossFit Competition. Email [email protected] for questions on eligibility.
Still not sure?
Overall ask yourself the following questions:
Does your impairment significantly affect 1 or more of the CrossFit identified 10 general physical skills?
Endurance
Stamina
Strength
Flexibility
Power
Speed
Coordination
Agility
Balance
Accuracy
If the answer is yes then you probably qualify and can submit a request for review from our committee.