301000 - Athletics track 100m Lisa McIntosh action - 3b - 2000 Sydney race photo

T37 is a

disability sport Parasports are sports played by people with a disability, including physical and intellectual disabilities. Some parasports are forms of adapted physical activities from existing able-bodied sports, while others have been specifically created for ...

classification for disability athletics in track and jump events. It includes people who have coordination impairments such as

hypertonia Hypertonia is a term sometimes used synonymously with spasticity and rigidity in the literature surrounding damage to the central nervous system, namely upper motor neuron lesions. Impaired ability of damaged motor neurons to regulate descendin ...

ataxia Ataxia is a neurological sign consisting of lack of voluntary coordination of muscle movements that can include gait abnormality, speech changes, and abnormalities in eye movements. Ataxia is a clinical manifestation indicating dysfunction of t ...

and

athetosis Athetosis is a symptom characterized by slow, involuntary, convoluted, writhing movements of the fingers, hands, toes, and feet and in some cases, arms, legs, neck and tongue. Movements typical of athetosis are sometimes called ''athetoid'' moveme ...

. It is the athletics equivalent of the more general CP7 classification.

Definition

This classification is for disability athletics in track and jump events. This classification is one of seven classifications for athletes with

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, spasticity, stiff muscles, Paresis, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be p ...

. Similar classifications are T32, T33, T34, T35, T36, and

T38 T38 or T-38 may refer to: * T38 (classification), a disability sport classification for disability athletics * T.38, a standard for fax over IP * T-38 tank, a Soviet light tank * Allison T38, a turboprop aircraft engine * Northrop T-38 Talon, a U.S ...

. The

Australian Paralympic Committee Paralympics Australia (PA) previously called the Australian Paralympic Committee (APC) (1998–2019) is the National Paralympic Committee in Australia for the Paralympic Games movement. It oversees the preparation and management of Australian tea ...

defines this classification as being for "Moderate to minimal hemiplegia (i.e. one half of the body affected – arm and leg on same side). Good functional ability in non affected side. Walks / runs without assistive devices, but with a limp." The International Paralympic Committee defined this classification on their website in July 2016 as, "Coordination impairments (hypertonia, ataxia and athetosis)".

Disability groups

Multiple types of disabilities are eligible to compete in this class. This class includes people who have cerebral palsy, or who have had a stroke or traumatic brain injury.

Cerebral palsy

CP7

Their running form manifests as if they have a limp. Their disability manifests itself less when they are running as opposed to walking. CP7 sportspeople are able to walk, but appear to do so while having a limp as one side of their body is more affected than the other. They may have involuntary muscles spasms on one side of their body. They have fine motor control on their dominant side of the body, which can present as asymmetry when they are in motion. People in this class tend to have energy expenditure similar to people without cerebral palsy.

Rules and performance

Athletes in this class are not required to use a starting block. It is up to the individual. They have the option to start from a crouch, from a standing position or 3 point stance. Because of their disability, athletes may make movements that normally would disqualify them as a false start. If an official believes movement could be a result of this, they can restart the entire field without disqualifying any runners.

Events

There are a number of track and field events open to this class at various international competitions. Many have their own minimum qualifying times and scores.

History

The classification was created by the International Paralympic Committee and has roots in a 2003 attempt to address "the overall objective to support and co-ordinate the ongoing development of accurate, reliable, consistent and credible sport focused classification systems and their implementation."

Governance

Classification into this class is handled by the International Paralympic Committee. For national events, classification is handled by the national athletics organization.

Becoming classified

Athletes with

or similar impairments who wish to compete in para-athletics competition must first undergo a classification assessment. During this, they both undergo a bench test of muscle coordination and demonstrate their skills in athletics, such as running or jumping. A determination is then made as to what classification an athlete should compete in. Classifications may be Confirmed or Review status. For athletes who do not have access to a full classification panel, Provisional classification is available; this is a temporary Review classification, considered an indication of class only, and generally used only in lower levels of competition.

References

{{Cerebral palsy sport classification Parasports classifications