Paralympics
Paralympics: wheelchair basketball risks exclusion in classification row
by Paul MacInnes• Row over the classification of athletes’ impairments
• The sport’s code must be changed by the end of May
Wheelchair basketball faces a race against time to guarantee inclusion in the Paralympics, as a row over the classification of athletes’ impairments threatens its place in Tokyo this summer.
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has served the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) with notice that its classification code must be changed to comply with the IPC’s by the end of May or risk exclusion from the games.
The president of the IPC, Andrew Parsons, said: “We appreciate that wheelchair basketball is one of the most popular sports at the Paralympic Games, but this does not mean that the IWBF is above the rules.
“With less than seven months to go until the Games our disappointment with the IWBF’s reluctance to comply with the IPC Athlete Classification Code has reached breaking point. Substantial work is required to align the IWBF classification rules with [the IPC’s] and to roll out the changes on an operational level.
“We hope this decision will kickstart the IWBF into action because, if not, the worst case scenario is that the sport and its athletes could miss out on inclusion at the Paralympic Games.”
In a further sanction, the IPC has removed wheelchair basketball from the Paralympic programme at the 2024 games in Paris. Any return, according to the IPC, would only be possible given full compliance with the IPC code.
However, in a response to the IPC’s warning letter, the chair of the IWBF’s Classification Commission, Regina Costa, said: “We have been trying to work with IPC for a long time to adjust our regulations to ensure they meet the IPC Classification Code, so for IPC to insinuate that as a federation we have not done anything is incorrect.
“We will continue to work with IPC and hope that they will now engage in a timely manner to our requests as we strive to meet the deadlines they have stipulated. It is important to stress the eligibility of our athletes is not in doubt, merely we use different languages in our classification.”
The IPC will now require every eligible wheelchair basketball athlete to have their eligibility reassessed under their code before 29 May.