Ineligibility to compete

‘Ineligible to compete’ is a sport class, as it can be the outcome of an athlete assessment. Where a panel applies this class to an athlete, the athlete will be required to be examined by a second panel as soon as practicably possible. For this reason, it is recommended that IFs always have two Classification Panels at an event, though this not always is possible. The IF will inform its members of such occasions.

If the second Classification Panel confirms that the athlete’s sport class is indeed ‘Ineligibile to Compete’, the athlete will not be permitted to compete and will have no further protest option. Most IFs will allocate sport class status ‘C’ to these athletes, which means that the athlete only can present at a next competition if:

•  his/her medical condition changes, or
•  the IF classification rules, in particular the sport class profiles, change

This is detailed in the IPC Classification Code – International Standard for Protests and Appeals – art. 5 ‘Exceptional Circumstances’.