Visually impaired classification panels confirmed at four venues in three continents as IBSA seeks to ensure all athletes qualified for Tokyo are classified prior to the Paralympic Games.

As promised at the end of 2020 and due to the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic which caused many competition cancellations and also caused a shortage of classifiers able to travel from their respective countries, IBSA is arranging a series of Out-of-competition Classification Opportunities.

Some of these opportunities will consist of a day or more added to an existing competition, while others are specially arranged with no connected competition. The panels will be mainly for athletes who have already qualified or may qualify for the Tokyo Paralympic Games.
 
As of today the following out-of-competition panels are available:

1 Brisbane, Australia

Dates: 31st March – 1st April

For logistics and on-site information in Australia contact Cathy Lambert at 
[email protected], +61 0488 272 106.

2 Sao Paulo, Brazil
 
Arrival – 14th May
Classification – 15th, 16th, 17th May
Departure – 18th May (morning)

Contact: [email protected]

3 Lahti, Finland

This sight classification opportunity will be provided at the IBSA Goalball European Championships (Group B) 2021.

Schedule:

Arrival – 3rd June
Classification – 4th June
Departure – 5th June

Contact: Laura Kitteka – [email protected]

4 Walsall, United Kingdom

This sight classification opportunity will be provided prior to the IBSA Judo Grand Prix Walsall 2021.

Schedule:

Arrival – 14th June
Classification – 15th June
Departure – 16th June

Contact: [email protected].

More out-of-competition panels may be added to this schedule in co-operation with the International Paralympic Committee as demand dictates and opportunities arise. All IBSA members will be advised as soon as additional dates and venues are confirmed. 

The availability of these additional classification opportunities may appear at short notice due to the fact we may find that places are available at other IPC or IBSA competitions whose classification schedule is not full. As a result, IBSA urges all members to make sure that all their athletes’ medical paperwork is in order (MDFs and additional medical tests) and that they are all licensed for 2021. 

Please note that these classification opportunities will appear on the ONLINE REGISTRATION SYSTEM IN ISAS and your athletes for classification must be registered in the appropriate classification opportunity within the deadline dates to ensure a place in the classification schedule.
 
Please also submit information on all athletes registered for classification to the organisers with the following information:

• country
• ISAS number
• first name
• surname
• sport

Countries are responsible for making their own travel and accommodation arrangements in co-operation with the corresponding LOC or other local organisers. 
 
If there are any queries regarding these out-of-competition Classification Opportunities please contact the IBSA Secretary General, Sally Wood-Lamont, at [email protected].