Athletes with a different kind and level of disability are competing at the Paralympic Games. In order to compete on equal terms, athletes are classified into different classes. Specialized medical and technical personnel, called classifiers, perform classification assessment. They are evaluating the athletes with various procedures and tests based on their functional ability to perform skills required by the sport. In that way it is guaranteed that the athletes competing within a class have equal or similar functional abilities and the determining factor for their success is skill and training, rather than the level of disability.

Presently in most sports the functional classification system is used. Functional Classification means that all athletes in the same class have similar levels of function in areas as range motion, coordination and balance. According to that system, athletes with different kind of disabilities can compete against each other if they have similar levels of function.   

A similar procedure is used in some Olympic sports as well, with the use of weight categories. Athletes are divided into categories according to their weight. As a result a middleweight boxer is not put in the ring with a heavyweight boxer.

The classes are described by a letter, usually the initial letter of the sport, and a number (e.g. S5 in swimming, T44 in athletics - track). The lower number usually represents a higher level of disability.

Disability categories

The athletes participating in the Paralympic Games are included in the following categories:

	Athletes with Physical Disabilities
-	Amputee Athletes
-	Athletes with Spinal Cord Injuries
-	Athletes with Cerebral Palsy
-	Les Autres, i.e. athletes with a physical disability that are not included in the above-mentioned categories (e.g. Muscular dystrophy)
	Athletes with Vision Impairments