Sports Information

Paralympic Sports Descriptions

Archery
• Archery is open to athletes with a physical disability
• There are individual and team Events. Archers are competing from a standing position or from a wheelchair in a total of seven events
• Competition and scoring system are identical to those of the Olympic events
• Competitors shoot at a 122 cm target from a distance of 70 metres
• Archery was first included in the Paralympic Games programme in Rome in 1960

Athletics
• Athletics is open to all disability groups
• Athletics has 205 events (143 Men’s and 62 Women’s) including: 100 m, 200 m, 400 m, 800 m, 1,500 m, 5,000 m, 10,000 m, Marathon, Shot Put, Javelin, Discus, Club, Long Jump, High Jump, Triple Jump and Pentathlon
• The maximum number of athletes taking part in the Athletics competition at the ATHENS 2004 Paralympic Games is 1,040
• Athletics was first included in the Paralympic Games programme in Rome in 1960

Boccia
• Boccia is a sport unique to the Paralympic Games
• It is open to athletes with cerebral palsy who are wheelchair users
• There are seven events offered for men and women who compete together in team, pairs and individual events
• The players’ aim is to throw their coloured leather balls, which may be either red or blue, as close as they can to a white target ball, which is called the “jack” on a long, narrow field of play. The ball can be propelled by the hand, the foot, or by using an aid device.
• Boccia was first included in the Paralympic Games programme in New York in 1984

Cycling
• Two disciplines are included in the Paralympic Games: Road Cycling and Track Cycling. Road Cycling races take place on public highways, while the Track Cycling races take place on tracks, in other words, in a velodrome. Although the rules and regulations governing the sport are the same as those for the Olympic Cycling, in certain cases modifications to the bicycles are allowed in order to facilitate athletes with a specific disability
• Cycling is open to amputees to compete in individual road and track events. Athletes with cerebral palsy can compete in bicycle in individual road and track events, or tricycle in individual road events. Athletes with vision impairment can compete in tandem as a team with a sighted cyclist, as a pilot in road race and track events, and athletes who use a wheelchair can compete in Hand Cycling, in road race
• There are 31 events for men and women
• The sighted guide - the pilot - receives a medal alongside the athlete
• The Road Cycling competition schedule contains the Road Race and The Time Trial event. In some categories, the winner is the athlete with the best performance in the two events combined
• Road Cycling was first included in the Paralympic Games programme in Seoul in 1988, and Track Cycling in Atlanta in 1996

Equestrian
• Equestrian is open to all disability groups divided into four grades
• Riders compete only in dressage
• There are nine events, individual and team competitions
• Equestrian was first included in the Paralympic Games programme in Atlanta in 1996

Football 5-a-side
• Football 5-a-side is open to male blind athletes (B1)
• Bells inside the ball guide the flow of play
• Football 5-a-side will be a full medal sport for the first time at the ATHENS 2004 Paralympic Games
• The goalkeeper may be sighted

Football 7-a-side
• Football is open to male athletes with cerebral palsy
• FIFA Rules apply with only certain modifications (i.e. two 30 minute halves and no offside rule)
• There are seven players on a team instead of 11 and the Field of Play is smaller
• Football 7-a-side was first included in the Paralympic Games programme in 1984, when the Games were split across the Atlantic Ocean and held in Stoke Mandeville, England and New York, USA

Goalball
• Goalball is a team sport in which participants are blind or visually impaired
• It is an exclusively Paralympic sport
• There are men’s and women’s tournaments
• The sport is conducted on an indoor Volleyball court
• All athletes wear eye patches and eyeshades to ensure that they are all competing on equal terms
• Matches are played in two 10 minute halves with three players on each team
• There are bells inside the ball in order to enable the players to track its direction
• The aim of the game for each team is to roll the ball with their hands to the opposite side and score a goal, while the opposing players try to block it using any part of their body
• It is particularly important for spectators to maintain absolutely silent during play, so that the athletes can track the direction of the ball - a feature that adds a unique atmosphere to the competition
• Goalball was first included in the Paralympic Games programme in Toronto in 1976

Judo
• Judo is open to blind and visually impaired athletes
• Women will compete for the first time at the ATHENS 2004 Paralympic Games
• Judo has 13 events for men and women. That is, seven weight categories for men and six weight categories for women
• Judo was first included in the Paralympic Games programme in Seoul in 1988

Powerlifting
• Powerlifting is open to athletes with a physical disability who compete in 10 categories based on body weight
• Powerlifting has 20 events for men and women (10 weight categories each)
• Women competed for the first time in 2000 in Sydney
• Bench press is the only type offered in the open-class competition for both men and women
• Powerlifting was first included in the Paralympic Games programme in Tokyo in 1964

Sailing
• Sailing is open to amputees, wheelchair athletes, athletes with cerebral palsy, vision impairment and les autres athletes
• Sailing has two mixed events, 2,4 mR (one person Keelboat) and Sonar (three person Keelboat)
• Sailing was a demonstration sport in Atlanta and became a Paralympic Sport in 2000 in Sydney
• Nine races per event are scheduled during six competition days
General Information 40General • Modifications in equipment and a scoring system assigned based on the level of ability allow sailors from different disability groups to compete together in the Sonar events
• The athletes race according to the ISAF (International Sailing Federation) and (FDS (International Foundation of Disabled Sailing) rules.

Shooting
• Shooting is open to athletes with a physical disability
• There are 12 events, six mixed, three only for women and three only for men
• Competitors may compete sitting or standing
• The rules of Shooting vary according to the discipline, distance and types of target and gun, shooting position, number of shots and the time within which the shots have to be fired
• Shooting was first included in the Paralympic Games programme in Arnhem, Netherlands in 1980

Swimming
• The competition programme includes seven individual events and two relays (in total 167) for every men’s and women’s category in all four strokes along with the medley events
• Exhibition events are offered for athletes with an intellectual disability at the ATHENS 2004 Paralympic Games
• Athletes are not allowed to use assistive devices or prostheses
• Swimming was first included in the Paralympic Games programme in Rome in 1960

Table Tennis
• Table Tennis is open to athletes with a physical disability
• Table Tennis has 28 events: individuals and teams offered for athletes standing and wheelchair users
• Athletes are classified in 10 classes, depending on their functional ability
• Table Tennis at the Paralympic Games presents only minor differences compared to Table Tennis in the Olympic Games. Only a few modifications have been made for athletes who use a wheelchair. Every game consists of five sets and the first athlete to score 11 points wins the set
• Table Tennis was first included in the Paralympic Games programme in Rome in 1960

Volleyball Sitting
• Volleyball is open to athletes with a minimum degree of disability
• There are both standing and sitting Volleyball events, although only sitting competitions will be held at the ATHENS 2004 Paralympic Games
• There are both men’s (eight teams) and women’s (six teams) competitions
• Volleyball (sitting) is played on a smaller court (the rectangular court measures 10 x 6 m) with a lower net (1.15 m height for men and 1.05 m height for women)
• Each game is made up of a maximum five sets. Each of the first four sets is completed when a team scores 25 points, with a difference of at least two points over the opposing team. The winner of the game is the first team to win three sets
• Volleyball was first included in the Paralympic Games programme in Arnhem in 1980

Wheelchair Basketball
• Basketball is open to athletes using a wheelchair
• There are both men’s and women’s tournaments
• The game is played in four periods of 10 minutes each
• Wheelchair Basketball is played in accordance with the rules of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF)
• Wheelchair Basketball was first included in the Paralympic Games programme in Rome in 1960
40General Information 41Wheelchair Fencing
• Wheelchair Fencing is open to wheelchair athletes, who have their wheelchairs secured to the floor for stability and to also allow freedom of movement of the fencer’s upper body only
• There are 15 events: team and individual events for men and women in foil and epee, and sabre for men only
• Athletes are connected electronically to a signal box that records the touches of the weapon
• In individual events, the first fencer to score five touches in pools and 15 touches in direct elimination, is declared the winner
• In team events, the first team to score 45 touches is declared the winner
• Wheelchair Fencing was first included in the Paralympic Games programme in Rome in 1960
Wheelchair Tennis
• Tennis is open to wheelchair athletes with International Tennis Federation ranking
• There are six events: men (singles and doubles), women (singles and doubles) and quads (singles and doubles). In quad events, men and women athletes compete together
• Wheelchair Tennis was a demonstration event in Seoul in 1988, and was first included in the Paralympic Games programme in Barcelona in 1992

Wheelchair Rugby
• Wheelchair Rugby is open to athletes with quadriplegia
• Both men and women can compete on a mixed wheelchair Rugby team
• It is a unique sport to the Paralympic Games
• Wheelchair Rugby was a demonstration sport in Atlanta in 1996, and was first included in the Paralympic Games programme in Sydney in 2000