The IWBF released a new set of Classification Rules for Wheelchair Basketball which came into effect on 1 October 2021. Basketball Australia have adopted these new processes as part of their National Classification Program.
Under the new rules: a player must meet BOTH the following criteria to be eligible for the Wheelchair Basketball pathway.
Part 1: Assessment of an players medical information by trained classifiers. The medical documentation must show evidence of an underlying health condition that leads to one of the 6 Eligible Impairments for the sport of Wheelchair Basketball.
These are: Impaired Muscle Power, Impaired Passive Range of Movement, Limb Deficiency, Leg Length Difference, Hypertonia, Ataxia or Athetosis. These Eligible Impairments are defined by the IPC Athlete Classification Code and are selected by the IWBF. They are outlined in the IWBF Classification Rules.
Part 2: Assessment of Minimum Impairment Criteria (MIC) for their Eligible Impairment.
SPORT CLASS
Players who meet the above will progress to observation in training and in competition (where relevant) and will be assigned a sport class and sport class status by classifiers.
The Sport Classes for Wheelchair Basketball are 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, and 4.5. A 1.0 player has the most impairment and a 4.5 player has the least impairment Players who do not have an Eligible Impairment or meet Minimum Impairment Criteria, are allocated a Sport Class of Not Eligible (NE).
In a game of basketball, a team can only have a maximum of 14 points across the 5 players on the court at any one time.
Click here to find out more about Sport Classes for Wheelchair Basketball.
