DS Blog #7

 

I do believe that athletes with any type of disability should be allowed to be classified for the sport of their choice, and not every sport. I agree with the idea that classification is sport-specific because different types of disabilities affect athletes ability to perform in sports to different extents. I agree with the idea of sport specific eligibility for this reason. Just because an athlete is eligible for one sport does not mean they are eligible for all sports. This would cause extreme unfairness due to the fact that each sport requires a different level of ability, and including all sports under one classification would lead to unfair advantages on the competitive level. 



On the other hand, I do think there should be a shift to make Paralympic sports more inclusive  and to allow athletes with any type of disability. This would be quite difficult, because there would need to be updates in classification and there would need to be more sporting events to include all athletes that want to compete. I think it is unfair to only have athletes with specific disabilities be eligible for classification or competition, and not others. Making the shift from para sports being exclusive to inclusive would certainly take more time, money, and effort. There would need to be more time spent on updating the rules of classifications, more time spent classifying athletes, and this would ultimately be more costly due to the fact that there would need to be an increase in the amount of classifiers who spend time making these updates. 



One Paralympic Athlete named under the pseudonym of Connor Stewart , shared his firsthand experience of how the Paralympics were not inclusive to him. He shared his personal story of how officials were unable to classify his unique impairments, and ultimately placed him in a category for athletes with below the knee amputations, even though he has both of his legs. This happened because his sport did not have a category that included impairment in all four limbs, which is what Connor Stewart's disability entails. He mentioned how things like this lead to unfair advantages and competition, and even argues that the International Paralympic Committees method of classification is ineffective. 



I believe that the International Paralympic Committee  has done its absolute best to create a fair playing field with so many different disabilities, but that does not mean that we should stop here. Disability includes such a broad range of individuals who deserve to showcase their athletic ability. Para sports still being exclusive to certain disabilities goes against the ultimate goal of inclusion, and it is vital that we continue to strive for inclusive sport, which includes all people with all disabilities. The International Paralympic Committee has done so much tremendous work throughout its existence, but we are constantly growing and developing as humans and as a society, which means we must do better for our athletes with all types of disabilities. 

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