APC Corporate

Kennedy double as Green breaks through for win

Sydney pair Simone Kennedy and Alexandra Green has given Australia two more gold medals while Sue Powell and David Nicholas claimed silver medals on the third day of competition at the UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships in Los Angeles.

Double gold kicks off Para-cycling world campaign

Australia's Para-cyclists have claimed maximum qualifying points in three events along with two gold medals and one silver on the first day of racing at the UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships in Los Angeles.

Paralympic Education Program takes exciting new step

The ongoing education of Australians on the value of Paralympic sport is about to be revolutionised.

Construction underway at new APC and Essendon HQ

Construction on the Australian Paralympic Committee’s new Victorian headquarters commenced today at the first turning of the sod at Essendon Football Club’s new high performance centre at Melbourne Airport.

Gourley wins first gold on the slopes

Australian Paralympic alpine skier Mitch Gourley has won his first ever gold medal on the World Cup stage, taking out the top prize in the giant slalom at the IPC World Cup overnight.

Eight straight for wheelchair racing great

Kurt Fearnley has begun his Paralympic year with a bang after securing victory at the Oz Day 10km wheelchair race in Sydney today.

New world record for Cartwright

Dual world champion Kelly Cartwright has set a new 200m world record, becoming the fourth Paralympian to do so on the track and field since October.

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LONDON GAMES TRAVEL

The Paralympics Australia Travel Office manages travel arrangements and travel packages for the London 2012 Paralympic Games for family, friends and supporters of the Australian Paralympic Team.

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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. Classification in Paralympic sport exists to support as fair competition as possible, amongst athletes with different impairments. It forms the structure for all Paralympic competition, by grouping athletes with similar levels of functional ability into classes for equivalent competition. The outcomes of Paralympic competition then become based on athletic performance rather than on differences that exist in athletes disabilities.

Learn more about Classification

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. Like the Olympic Games, competitors measure their skills in freestyle, backstroke, butterfly, breaststroke and medley events. Swimming is open to both male and female competitors who have 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 a sport exclusively for athletes who are blind or have a visual impairment. It was invented in 1946 in an effort to rehabilitate the blind veterans from World War II and made its Paralympic debut in 1976 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 bodies.

Sport profile

Matthew Cowdrey

Matthew Cowdrey is on the verge of becoming Australia’s most successful Paralympian in history, cementing him as one of the biggest names in Australian and world swimming. With eight gold medals, five silver, and two bronze to his name from two Games, the 23-year-old needs just three more gold medals in London to surpass athletics star Tim Sullivan (10 gold from three Games) as Australia’s most prolific Paralympic gold medallist.

Athlete profile

Toby Kane

At age 19, Toby Kane was the youngest member of the Australian Paralympic Team when he won a bronze medal in the Super G at the 2006 Winter Paralympic Games in Torino.

While such a result came as a surprise to some of his more experienced rivals, there is no doubt that the Sydney-sider has always been a star in the making.

Athlete profile

Kurt Fearnley

As a multiple Paralympic medallist on both the track and road, and the reigning Paralympic and World Champion in the wheelchair marathon, Kurt Fearnley knows how to shine on his sport’s biggest stage.

Athlete profile