RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - SEPTEMBER 12: Amy Burk of Canada in action during Goalball - Women's Preliminary - Group D match between China and Canada at Future Arena on day 5 of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games at on September 12, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
'A slap in the face': Categorizing process aimed at making Para sport equitable is sometimes anything but | CBC Sports LoadedThe issue of classification is a thorny subject within Paralympic circles. At its heart, the act of categorizing impaired athletes is intended to make Para sport equitable. But athletes will tell you that process is not always fair.Canadian goalball player Amy Burk competes at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio. Burk says the classification system can be frustrating.
Burk was unable to compete in Toronto, and still hasn't had the chance to participate in an international event in Canada. But classification is much more complex. It is a make-or-break assessment conducted by a trio of volunteers, sometimes requiring an athlete to travel halfway across the world, in which your entire athletic career is at stake.
Classification, which varies by sport, is typically denoted by a letter followed by a number. The letter stands for the category of impairment — in swimming, you could be S , SB or SM , while cycling categories include H , T , C and B .A pair of Canadian athlete-engineers is using technology to their advantage at the Paralympics
"Classification is — excuse the language — classification is hell. It is incredibly difficult," Levine said. "You're subjected to physical manipulations that are, first of all, dangerous for your body and can cause harm and injury, and then you're scrutinized and watched. Like Burk, Levine fought the ruling with the support of the CPC and eventually had her classification confirmed, successfully avoiding having to constantly repeat the process.
Mike Edey, the pathways systems and classification manager for Swimming Canada, oversees domestic classifications, which help burgeoning Canadian Para athletes choose the right development pipeline. A larger sample size of Para athlete would provide more information on which categories athletes are best suited for and add more context to the competitions themselves.
Clement competed at the 2016 Paralympics in swimming before discovering cycling during the pandemic. Now, he's headed to Paris as one of many medal threats for Canada in the sport. "If you get caught for doping, if you have a positive test, you are banned, your records fall, your medals don't count, you're suspended, it's public. If you get caught in the wrong category, you are put back in the right one. And that's it. And your records hold."
Meanwhile, athletes will try to gain every competitive advantage they can. Like drug doping, it is up to those in charge to draw the lines and identify those who cross them. Sitting volleyball has just two categories — SV1 and SV2 . Teams are only permitted two SV2s on their roster, and only one can play at a time.
"When you get a result that's significantly different from what you're expecting, it can be pretty off-putting and disconcerting," he said. "And equally so when you see a player from another country receiving an incorrect classification. It can be pretty startling. So I think that's one of the major issues that we'll never get perfect."
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