APC Corporate

McIntyre wins silver at Powerlifting World Championships

Australia’s first lady in Paralympic powerlifting, Deahnne McIntyre, has won a silver medal at the 2010 IPC Powerlifting World Championships in Kuala Lumpur today.

Powerlifters battle for London qualification

Australian Paralympic athletes are on track to qualify for the powerlifting 100kg weight division at the 2012 London Paralympic Games, after achieving two places in the top 10 at the IPC Powerlifting World Championships in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

2010 Federal Election: Proposed Forum on Australian Sport Policy

The Australian Paralympic Committee is proposing to host a 2010 Federal Election Australian Sports Forum ahead of polling day on August 21.

Nerves rattle Skinner at Powerlifting World Championships

A nervous performance from Australia’s Leigh Skinner at the IPC Powerlifting World Championships in Kuala Lumpur has seen him falter in his bid to gain automatic qualification for the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

APC welcomes Shaun Giles to its team

Respected ABC TV personality Shaun Giles will next month join the Australian Paralympic Committee (APC) as its new Communications and Multimedia Manager following an announcement made today by APC Chief Executive Jason Hellwig.

Fekadu powers through for London qualification

Australia’s Abebe Fekadu put in a solid performance over night as he took to the floor at the 2010 International Paralympic Committee Powerlifting World Championships in Kuala Lumpur.

Dual bronze for Australia

Australia’s Paralympic Table Tennis squad are proving they have what it takes to match some of the world’s leading table tennis nations after winning two bronze medals at the Taipei International on the weekend.

Support the Australian team

Your valuable donation will help the APC in its mission to develop and prepare Australia’s Paralympic Team which will take on the world at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London.

Support the APC

Stay in touch with APC

Want to know the latest news from the Australian Paralympic Movement? Register for our E-Newsletter to have all the latest news delivered straight to your Inbox.

About the APC

We help Australians with disabilities participate in sport and compete at the Paralympic Games through partnerships with governments, business, sporting bodies and the community.

More about APC

Classification is a term used frequently when referring to Paralympic Sport. It is the system that forms the structure of all Paralympic competition. Classification in Paralympic sport exists to allow athletes with different disabilities to compete against each other in as fair competition as possible.

Classification Guide

Sport profile

Wheelchair Rugby

Wheelchair Rugby is an intense, physical team sport for male and female athletes with quadriplegia (tetraplegia). The sport can be very physical as athletes attempt to carry the ball over the opponent's goal line.

The players are classified according to their level of functional ability and are assigned a point value from 0.5 to 3.5 points – the higher the points the more functional ability the athletes have.

Sport profile

Swimming

Since the first Paralympic Games in Rome in 1960, Swimming has been one of the main sports of the Paralympics. As in the Olympic Games, competitors measure their skills in Freestyle, Backstroke, Butterfly, Breaststroke and Medley events. Swimming is open to both male and female competitors having a physical disability, intellectual disability or blindness/visual impairment. Athletes are classified based on their functional ability to perform each stroke.

Sport profile

Goalball

Goalball is exclusively a sport for athletes with blindness/visual impairment. It was invented in 1946 in an effort to rehabilitate the blind veterans from World War II and was introduced to the world in 1976 at the Paralympics in Toronto.

Goalball competitions are set apart from all other Paralympic events due to the unique atmosphere inside the playing venue. The object is to roll the ball into the opponent's goal while the opposing players try to block the ball with their body.

Sport profile

Jessica Gallagher

A newcomer to winter sport, Jessica Gallagher previously competed in athletics and was due to compete at the Beijing Games. Instead she attended the Games as medical staff and set the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games as her new target.

Jessica, who is vision impaired describes herself as friendly, outgoing and focused firmly on success in alpine skiing. She is yet to compete in official competition but is working towards the goal of winning in Vancouver.

Athlete profile

Cameron Rahles-Rahbula

Cameron Rahles-Rahbula’s interest in skiing began when he attended a Challenge weekend ski camp in Mt Buller.

Cameron’s first breakthrough performance came at the National Championships at Mt Hotham in 2001 when he came second to Paralympic gold medallist Michael Milton in the slalom. Cameron was later named in the 2006 shadow Paralympic squad, and when he made international qualification at a European Cup in Austria, won a place in the 2006 Paralympic Team for the Torino Games.

Athlete profile

Kurt Fearnley

Born without the lower portion of his spine, Kurt Fearnley has always been willing to have a go at everything. The youngest of five children from the small town of Carcoar, sport was always a big part of his family’s life. Ignoring his disability, he happily played in everything with his able-bodied brothers and mates.

Athlete profile

Australia’s Paralympians have produced so many outstanding performances and countless memorable moments since the first Paralympic Games in Rome in 1960. Meet some of the athletes who have made such a huge contribution to Australia’s rich Paralympic history.