IPC NEW LOGO
INTERNATIONAL PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE

Classification Code Review

REVIEW OF THE 2015 IPC ATHLETE CLASSIFICATION CODE


A multi-year review of the 2015 IPC Athlete Classification Code was approved by the IPC Governing Board in January 2021 and is now in the final stage, with the third consultation phase running between July and October 2023.

Once the consultation closes, the Code Review Team will analyse the feedback received and prepare a final draft of the Code which is planned to be submitted for approval at an Extraordinary General Assembly in 2024.

For information about the Code review process and details of previous phases, please scroll down the page.

HOW TO CONTRIBUTE


The third and final Code review consultation phase is now open and includes multiple opportunities to provide feedback, including member calls, in-person meetings and an online survey. As part of this phase, a new draft of the Code and International Standards are available. They are also accompanied by a Summary of Changes which offers a rationale for the amendments made to the new draft and addresses the outcomes of the previous consultation phase. 

Before engaging in a consultation opportunity or submitting your feedback, we strongly encourage you to review the Summary of Changes and key documents found below.

Key documents

Online survey

The survey is open to anybody who wishes to submit written feedback on the targeted questions found in the Summary of Changes. There is also space to comment on the Code and International Standards more generally. Feedback submitted via the survey will be collated and published on the IPC website, as happened earlier in the review process. A link to the survey form is provided below.

Code Review: Phase 3 consultation survey (Microsoft Form)

All feedback should be submitted by Tuesday 31 October 2023.

GENERAL QUERIES


For general queries about the Code review or assistance submitting your feedback, please contact codereview@paralympic.org.
 

 

CODE REVIEW PROCESS


While classification is a complex and ever-evolving area, improving the IPC Athlete Classification Code is seen as essential for the continued development of the Paralympic Movement. 

The Code Drafting Team was established by the IPC Governing Board to oversee the Review. Its role is to obtain and analyse stakeholder feedback, and to determine how best to incorporate such feedback into working drafts of the new Code. It is led by an independent chair, Scott Field. The South African swimmer, who competed in the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Paralympic Games, has regular dialogue and presents updates to the IPC General Assembly, Governing Board and Membership.

At this stage, it is envisaged that implementation of the new IPC Athlete Classification Code will be January 2025 for summer sports and July 2026 for winter sports. The current 2015 IPC Athlete Classification Code and accompanying International Standards remain in place and fully effective until the new Code’s implementation date. 

A timeline describing the phases of the Code Review process.

The documents below contain more detailed information on the procedure and timescales of the Code review, as well as the composition of the Code Drafting Team. These documents were last updated in March 2023 and subsequently approved by the IPC Governing Board.

“It is an exciting opportunity for all to play their part in creating a better, more equitable Paralympic Movement.”

— Scott Field, Chair of the Code Drafting Team

CONSULTATION PHASES


Gathering feedback through consultation is at the heart of the Code review. Extensive feedback will be gathered and analysed by the Code Drafting Team through three phases of open consultation which will take place from 2021-2023:

•    Phase 1 consultation – ended 17 September 2021
•    Phase 2 consultation – ended 15 December 2022
•    Phase 3 consultation - July to October 2023

There will be regular meetings and calls with the IPC Membership throughout the consultation phases, and a series of education sessions, particularly once the final documents are published in 2024. The Code Drafting Team is also supported by several sub-groups, who lead on drafting the various supporting documents. 

Feedback is encouraged from anyone with an interest in classification across the Movement. Consultation also includes stakeholder feedback from the IPC Athletes’ Council, IPC Medical Committee, IPC Science and Research Working Group, IPC Board of Appeal of Classification, classifiers, human rights experts, and other appropriate experts.
 


ARCHIVE


Phase 2 consultation (August - December 2022)

Summary of Changes

To introduce the new drafts, a Summary of Changes explaining the rationale for key additions and amendments within the draft Code and International Standards was published: 

The draft Code and International Standards 

The second draft of the Code incorporated some (but not all) of the International Standards. Therefore, the following documents were made available for feedback: 

Feedback

As part of the second phase of the Code review, a survey exercise was conducted, resulting in the following feedback and guiding the direction of the final consultation phase:

Press releases

Phase 1 consultation (May - October 2021)

Documents

Press releases