Athletics

To benefit from everything the sport has to offer, we encourage disabled athletes to access their local athletics club. This is the best place to receive coaching and event specific support in order to develop in the sport. To find your local club, there is a ‘club search’ facility on the UKA website and if you have any specific questions please use the contact details below.

Classification

Classification is an integral part of disability athletics to ensure fair competition. Parallel Success is focussing on athletes who are eligible for the Paralympic Pathway and we are looking for the following:

Athletes with Visual Impairments Dwarf Athletes
Athletes with Learning Disability Amputees
Athletes with Cerebral Palsy Manual Wheelchair Users

Within athletics these are the classification groups. Each group is subdivided into classes depending on the level of impairment (except learning disability). There are strict criteria attached to each class, but using the following basic guidelines please signpost any potential athletes to the classification clinic, taster day and the athletics competition. If you have any questions, please contact UKA.

T – Track
F – Field

T/F 11-13 Athletes with a Visual Impairment
T/F 20 Athletes with a Learning Disability
T/F 31-38 Athletes with Cerebral Palsy
T/F 40-46 Amputee & Les Autres (including Dwarf Athletes)
T 51-54 Wheelchair Racers
F 51-58 Seated Field Athletes

Athletes with a Visual Impairment

Athletes with a visual impairment are not subject to the functional classification process in the same way as athletes with physical impairments. Classification for athletes with a visual impairment involves an eye test that must be carried out by an Ophthalmologist / Optometrist. The athlete will receive an official classification and must bring this information to competitions.

Only athletes who receive a classification of B1-B3 through this system will be eligible for IPC Competition. Please refer to the UKA website for more information.

The form that must be completed by an Ophthalmologist / Optometrist can be found at: www.britishblindsport.org.uk/sightform.doc

Athletes with a Learning Disability

For Parallel Success, athletes with a learning disability are included pending the decision by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) about the reintroduction of class 20 into the Paralympic Games and related IPC Competitions. We will be adhering to the INAS-FID (International Federation for Intellectual Disability Sport) Classification, for more details on who is and is not eligible please contact Mencap Sport or refer to the UKA Website.

Eligibility

This process is purely to enable fair competition and if an athlete is not eligible for the Paralympic Pathway there are other options to ensure the athlete can continue to enjoy the sport. For links to National Disability Sport Organisations and alternative pathways please go to the UKA website (www.uka.org.uk/grassroots/disability-athletics).

Playground to Podium (P2P)

Athletics is one of the six sports involved in the P2P Initiative. P2P will act as one of many ‘feeders’ into Parallel Success and those athletes who are not eligible for the Paralympic Pathway will be signposted to alternative pathways in athletics.