Are you wanting to get active, meet new people and participate at your local athletics club?
Athletics can help you connect to a range of opportunities where you can be involved in athletics activities and programs at your local club as well as participate in mainstream and state competitions.
We also have an elite pathway program that offers you the opportunity to represent Australia at the Paralympics.
What is Classification?
Classification is an assessment process, which allows us to group athletes whose disability causes similar limitations in a particular sport in order to allow for meaningful competition. Classification involves an assessment of impairments and how this affects running, throwing and jumping for athletics. A class describes the severity of the impairment and how it impacts on sports performance. People with similar impairments should compete against each other to make competition fair. Eligible physical impairments are hypertonia (e.g. Cerebral palsy, acquired brain injury), ataxia (e. Cerebral palsy), athetosis (e.g. Cerebral palsy), impaired muscle power (e.g. Spinal cord injury, muscular dystrophy), impaired range of motion (e.g. Arthrogryposis), limb deficiency (e.g. Amputation, dysmelia), leg length difference (e.g. Trauma to growth plate) and short stature. Please note there is an established minimal impairment criterion that a child must meet to be eligible.
Three Types of Classification
Provisional Classification
Provisional Classification is for those athletes who wish to compete at local club, school, regional and state level. For more information, please click on the link below.Â
National Level Classification
National Level Classification is for those athletes that wish to compete at a national level. The next National Level Classification for physical impairments in Queensland will be in Townsville on July 27th-28th, 2022 at the Challenge Games. For more information, please click on the links below.
National Level Classification Townsville
Classification Finder Calendar
International Classification
Athletes who are wishing to represent Australia overseas or at any international event will require an international level classification.
More Information
Athletics Australia manages the National Classification Structure for Para-athletics and partners with four National Sports Organisations in delivering classification. In total there are five impairment groups recognised. For more information about physical and other classifications please click on the link below.