Wheelchair basketball classification

Wheelchair basketball classification is the system that allows for even levels of competition on the court for wheelchair basketball based on functional mobility. The classifications for the sport are 1 point player, 2 point player, 3 point player, 4 point player and 4.5 point player, the greater the player's functional ability. Classification for the sport is set by the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation.

Classification in wheelchair basketball plays an important role in the sport as the classification uses total points of players to determine who can be on the court. The classifications for the sport are 1 point player, 2 point player, 3 point player, 4 point player and 4.5 point player. The higher the point number, the greater the player's functional ability. With five players on the court, the total number of points may not exceed fourteen. There has been sustained criticism of the classification system as being overly complex from players, coaches and leagues. These criticisms have been documented in academic research published in 1986, 1990, 1995 and 1997.

Classification for the sport is set by the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF). Going into the 2012 Summer Paralympics, the classification system dates to 2004 and was created by the IWBF Player Classification Commission. In 1999, the United States based National Wheelchair Basketball Association governed over their own wheelchair basketball classification system because they did not like the system used by the IWBF, finding it to complex. The system they use and oversea is based on a classification assigning players a maximum of three points. Historically, the IWBF has had a good and close relationship with the Federation Internationale de Basketball Association. At the same time, IWBF have striven to maintain independent governance of their support.

As of 2012^[update], people with physical disabilities are eligible to compete in this sport. To be eligible to play wheelchair basketball, competitors must have a physical limitation that prevents them from being able to "run, pivot, or jump at speed and with control, safety. stability, and endurance of a nondisabled player; and have a permanent physical disability in the lower limb that can be objectively verified by acknowledged medical or paramedical investigations such as measurement, X-ray, CT, MRI, and so on." Lower leg amputation competitors are allowed to participate in wheelchair sport following classification rules for them based on functional mobility.

...
Wikipedia