International Para Rowing Classification

Classification determines which athletes are eligible to compete in Para Rowing and groups eligible athletes into Sport Classes.

Classification promotes fair and meaningful competition by minimising the impact of athletes’ impairments on the outcome of competition so that the outcome is determined by factors other than impairment.

For any questions regarding Classification, please contact classification@worldrowing.com.

Classification across the Paralympic Movement is governed by the IPC Classification Code and International Standards.

Eligible Impairments for Para Rowing

There are 7 Eligible Impairments in Para Rowing:

Impaired Muscle Power : Athletes with impaired muscle power have a health condition that either reduces or eliminates their ability to voluntarily contract their muscles in order to move or to generate force. Examples include: spinal cord injury (complete or incomplete, tetra-or paraplegia), muscular dystrophy, post-polio syndrome and spina bifida.

Impaired Passive Range of Movement : Athletes have a restriction or a lack of passive movement in one or more joints. Examples include: arthrogryposis and contracture resulting from chronic joint immobilisation or trauma affecting a joint.

Limb Deficiency : Athletes have total or partial absence of bones or joints as a consequence of trauma (for example traumatic amputation), illness (for example amputation due to bone cancer) or congenital limb deficiency (for example dysmelia).

Hypertonia/spasticity : Athletes have an increase in muscle tension and a reduced ability of a muscle to stretch caused by damage to the central nervous system. Examples include: cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury and stroke.

Motor Ataxia : Athletes have uncoordinated movements caused by damage to the central nervous system. Examples include: cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, stroke and multiple sclerosis.

Athetosis : Athletes with athetosis have continual slow involuntary movements. Examples include cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury and stroke

Visual impairment : Athletes with impaired vision have reduced or no vision as a result of damage to the eye structure, optical nerves or optical pathways, or visual cortex of the brain. Examples include: retinitis pigmentosa and diabetic retinopathy.

Classification Eligibility Guide

World Rowing has created an online tool to help potential para athletes determine their eligibility for Para Rowing and to give an indication of what sport class they may be eligible for. The online tool is available here.

Please be advised that the tool provides an indication only. The actual sport class can only be determined after international classification by a World Rowing panel.

Register for an Evaluation Session by an International Classification Panel

In order to be allocated a Sport Class to compete in Para Rowing, Athletes must be evaluated by an International Classification Panel.

To register for an Evaluation Session, before the published deadline, National Federations must:

1. Complete the World Rowing Medical Diagnostics Form

2. Upload the completed World Rowing Medical Diagnostics Form and mandatory supporting medical documentation to the World Rowing Online Classification Portal.

The Portal serves as a secure environment to store the athletes’ medical data, which will be reviewed the UHC Assessor and Classification Panel, appointed by World Rowing. Access to the Portal is restricted to the World Rowing member federations. Instructions have been sent to the federations on how to use this new system. If these have not reached the federation yet, please contact World Rowing at databases@worldrowing.com.