There are approximately 500 million people with a disability around the world, roughly 10 % of the world’s population. Many of them practice sport on a recreational level. The Paralympic Movement was founded on the belief that sport is the most effective vehicle to affect individuals and societal perceptions as well as to promote the rights of persons with a disability.

Physical activity, from rehabilitation to elite sport, gives people with a disability the opportunity to reach their potential, achieve self-determination and have fun. Contributing to the integration of people into society, sport can make a difference in everybody’s life. Through sport every person – with or without a disability – has the ability to experience success and to discover new horizons.

Consequently the International Paralympic Committee seeks the continuous global promotion of the Paralympic Movement’s values through sport, its ideals and activities. As Gold Patron of the IPC and supporter of the German Top Team, Allianz SE wishes to underline these values by actively supporting and promoting Paralympic Sport on a national and global level.

Traditionally there are athletes who belong to six different disability groups in the Paralympic Movement: amputees, athletes with cerebral palsy, athletes with a visual impairment, athletes with spinal cord injuries, athletes with an intellectual disability and a group which includes all those that do not fit into the aforementioned groups (Les Autres).

Classification is simply a structure for competition. Not unlike wrestling, boxing and weightlifting, where athletes are categorized by weight classes, athletes with a disability are grouped in classes defined by the degree of function allowed by the disability.