A1 (classification)

A1 is an amputee sport classification used by the International Sports Organization for the Disabled (ISOD).for people with acquired or congenital amputations. This class is for sportspeople who have both legs amputated above the knee. Their amputations impact their sport performance, including having balance issues, increased energy costs, higher rates of oxygen consumption, and issues with their gait. Sports people in this class are eligible to participate in include athletics, swimming, sitting volleyball, archery, weightlifting, badminton, lawn bowls, sitzball and wheelchair basketball.

This class is for people who have both legs amputated above the knee. This classification is sometimes abbreviated as A/K. In competing in other sports, this class may have a different name:

Lawn bowls: LB1.

Sitting volleyball: Open.

Sitzball: Open.

Ten-pin bowling: TPB8.

Wheelchair basketball: 3 point player, 3.5 point player

Wheelchair fencing: 3

The nature of a person's amputations in this class can effect their physiology and sports performance. Lower limb amputations effect a person's energy cost for being mobile. To keep their oxygen consumption rate similar to people without lower limb amputations, they need to walk slower. People in this class use around 120% more oxygen to walk or run the same distance as some one without a lower limb amputation.

People in this class can have a number of problems with their gait. There are a number of different causes for these issues, and suggested ways to modify them. For a gait that involves the knee buckling, there are a number of causes including the heel being too firm, excessive heel leverage, incorrect alignment of the prosthetic knee or weak hip extensions. All but the last can be fixed by making adjustments to the prosthetic. The last is fixed by doing more gait training. If the prosthetic foot is rotating at heel strike, the cause is likely a poor socket fit or rotation. This is fixed by adjusting the socket.

Prosthetic fitting and functionality in this class can differ depending on where, between the knee and hip, the amputation exists. The lower the amputation, the greater the lever the prosthetic user has using prosthesis and the more control they have in its usage. The higher the amputation, the less control they have. This can result in problems with balance.

Because of the potential for balance issues related to having an amputation, during weight training, amputees are encouraged to use a spotter when lifting more than 15 pounds (6.8 kg).

This classification was set up by ISOD, with the current version adopted in 1992 and then modified in 1993. IWAS was created following the merger of ISOD and International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation (ISMGF) in 2005. Subsequently, IWAS became the classification governing body for some amputee sports. In a few cases for wheelchair events run by IWAS, CP-ISRA parallel classes may be used to allow wheelchair using amputees to compete in these events. In the case of A2, this means that CP3 sportspeople from CP-ISRA may be in their class.

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