Defining evidence-based

This ideal approach is called an evidence-based system of classification and is defined by two main components:

•  the system has a clearly stated purpose (to promote participation in sport by people with disabilities by minimising the impact of impairment on the outcome of competition); and
•  empirical evidence indicates that the methods used for assigning class will achieve the stated purpose (objective, reliable methods for measuring both of the core constructs – impairment and activity limitation).

For more detail on evidence-based classification, you are referred to the IPC Position Statement ‘Background and Scientific Rationale for Classification in Paralympic Sport’.