Athletes who compete in FIS Para races have to undergo a classification process by the International Paralympic Committee/FIS. In Alpine and Nordic there are three types of skiers; visually impaired; standing and sitting. In Snowboard there are only standing riders that have classes for lower and upper limb impairments.

PARA Alpine Skiing

Visualy Impaired Alpine Athletes

Visually Impaired Alpine Athletes must ski with a Guide who skis ahead of the athlete . The guide may speak through a Bluetooth device or speaker and verbally guides the athlete down the racecourse.

Standing Alpine Athletes

Standing athletes have a physical impairment, such as a missing limb or weakness on one side of their body. Standing athletes can use outriggers - tiny skis on the ends of their poles - for balance if they wish (but don’t have to). They may also use other aids such as prosthetics.

Sitting Alpine Athletes

Sitting athletes have limited use of their lower body and use an alpine sit ski (otherwise known as a ‘rig’).

Para Snowboard

Lower Limb Caregory

Snowboard athletes with a Lower Limb impairment have an impairment in one or both legs (e.g. amputation). This impairment affects their ability to control the board and affects balance and movement. There are two classes (LL1 and LL2) depending on the degree of the impairment

Upper Limb Caregory

Snowboard athletes with an Upper Limb impairment that affects one or both arms, this impairment impacts their ability to use their arms for balance, movement and starts.

 Para Nordic

Visual Impaired Cross Country Athletes

Visually Impaired Cross Country Skiers ski with a Guide who skis ahead of the athlete. The guide may speak through a Bluetooth device or speaker and verbally guide the athlete throughout the competition.

Standing Cross Country Athletes

Standing athletes have a physical impairment, such as a missing limb or weakness on one side of their body. Standing athletes may also use other aids, such as prosthetics, to assist with skiing.

Sitting Cross Country Athletes

Sitting athletes have limited use of their lower body and use a cross country sit ski (otherwise known as a ‘rig’).

Within these categories, there are numerous subcategories, which indicate how disabled a person is. The greater the disability, the more time is taken off your overall race time in order for fairness amongst competitors. This can make a big difference!

Not all disabilities are classifiable for FIS Para Snow sports. For example, deaf individuals and intellectually disabled individuals are currently not eligible for classification. If individuals have more than one classifiable disability, they are classified according to their most severe disability.

Racers’ disability category correlates to the Factor they get. The Factor is a number between 0 and 1, by which your overall time is multiplied. For example, if your run took 34 seconds, and your factor was 0.86, your overall time would be 29.24 seconds. The more severe your disability, the lower the Factor. This is done to try and even out the differing levels of disability between competitors and to ensure a fair race.

Paralympic Classification - a visual guide