Your Guide to the 2012 London Paralympic Games 29 August 2012-9 September 2012
Background to the sports and Queensland Representatives Athletics A total of 1,100 athletes will compete in athletics events for a chance to win one of the 170 gold medals up for grabs in the discipline. Competition will run from 31 August - 9 September 2012. To ensure competition is fair, athletes are grouped into classes according to how much their impairment impacts on their eventspecific performance. In each class, the first digit indicates the nature of an athlete s impairment, and the second indicates the amount of functional ability the athlete has. The lower the second number, the greater impact their disability has on their ability to compete. 11-13: athletes with a visual impairment 20: athletes with an intellectual impairment 31-38: athletes with cerebral palsy (31-34 use a wheelchair when competing) 40-46: athletes with a loss of limb or limb deficiency 51-58 : wheelchair racers or field athletes who throw from a seated position The letter T or F before each two-digit number shows whether the athlete is competing in a track event or a field event. Six Queensland athletes have been selected in the Australian athletics team. Carlee Beattie Classification: T46/F46 Disability: Left arm limb deficiency First started competing: 2007 This will be Carlee s second Matthew Cameron Classification: T54 Disability: Popliteal web syndrome First started competing: 2005 This will be Matthew s second Rachael Dodds Classification: T35 Disability: Cerebral palsy First started competing: 2007 This will be Rachael s first Torita Isaac Classification: T38 Disability: cerebral palsy and vision impairment First started competing: 2010 This will be Torita s first Rheed McCracken Classification: T34 Disability: Cerebral palsy First started competing: 2005 This will be Rheed s first Simon Patmore Classification: T46 Disability: Erb palsy First started competing: 2009 This will be Simon s first
Cycling Cycling is the third largest sport on the Paralympic program. Athletes can compete in two disciplines, road and track. A total of 225 athletes will compete across the two disciplines during the London Games. Track events will take place from 30 August - 2 September 2012. Road events will take place from 5-8 September 2012. Athletes are classified into four groups depending on their functional ability. The lower the number, the greater the impact their disability has on their ability to compete. B: tandem H1 - H4: athletes use a hand cycle T1 - T2: athletes use a tricycle C1 - C5: athletes use a bicycle, often with modifications. Two Queensland athletes have been selected in the Australian cycling team. Bryce Lindores Classification: B1 Disability: Vision Impaired First started competing: 2006 This will be Bryce s second David Nicholas Classification: C3 Disability: Cerebral palsy First started competing: 2008 This will be David s first Goalball Goalball is a team sport specifically for athletes with a vision impairment. Two teams of three players throw a bell-ball towards their opponent s goal, using their body to protect their own goal. All players are blindfolded during the matches to ensure a level playing field. Australia will only be sending a women s team to London with the men s team narrowly missing out on qualification. There will be 10 teams competing in the women s division with competition running from 30 August - 7 September 2012. The Australian Womens Goalball Team is currently ranked 8th in the world. Two Association members have been selected for the Australian women s goalball team. Meica Christensen Classification: B3 Disability: Vision Impaired First started competing: 2004 This will be Meica s first Nicole Esdaile Classification: B2 Disability: Vision Impaired First started competing: 1999 This will be Nicole s first
Powerlifting There are a total of 200 powerlifters competing across 20 different medal events. Competition runs from 30 August - 5 September 2012. Competitors are classified as eligible and then compete by bodyweight alone: athletes with different impairments compete for the same medals. One Association member has been selected in the Australian powerlifting team. Abebe Fekadu Category: Mens <56kg Disability: Paraplegic First started competing: 2002 World ranking: 6th This will be Abebe s second Rowing This is only the second time that rowing has been included at the Paralympic games. Competition will run from 31 August - 2 September 2012, with a total of 96 rowers taking part. Athletes are classified into three groups depending on their functional ability. AS: TA: LTA: arms and shoulders trunk and arms legs, trunk and arms One Association member has been selected in the Australian rowing team. Erik Horrie Classification: AS Disability: Paraplegia First started competing: 2011 This will be Erik s first Shooting A total of 140 athletes across 12 events will take part in the shooting competition at the London Competition will run from 30 August - 6 September 2012. Athletes are classified into two groups - SH1 for those who can support the weight of their firearm themselves and SH2, who use a shooting stand for support. Two Association members have been selected on the Australian shooting team. Ashley Adams Classification: SH1 Disability: Paraplegic First started competing: 1992 This will be Ashley s fifth Bradley Mark Classification: SH2 Disability: Quadriplegic First started competing: 2005 This will be Bradley s first
Swimming A total of 600 swimmers will compete for a chance to win one of the 148 gold medals up for grabs in the discipline. Competition will run from 30 August - 8 September 2012. To ensure competition is fair, athletes are grouped into classes according to how much their impairment impacts their performance of each stroke. The lower the number, the greater impact their disability has on their ability to compete. 1-10: athletes with physical impairments 11-13: athletes with a visual impairment 14: athletes with an intellectual impairment The letters before the number represent what stroke the classification is linked to. S before the class represents Freestyle, Backstroke and Butterfly events. SB before the class represents Breaststroke events. SM before the class represents Individual Medley events. Blake Cochrane Classification: SB7 Disability: Hands and feet limb deficiency First started competing: 2006 This will be Blake s second Brenden Hall Classification: S9/SM9 Disability: Right leg limb loss First started competing: 2003 This will be Brendan s second Three Queensland athletes have been selected in the Australian swimming team. Grant Patterson (Scooter) Classification: SB2/S3/SM3 Disability: Diastrophic dysplasia First started competing: 2009 This will be Grant s first Wheelchair Basketball Wheelchair Basketball is one of the most popular sports at the Paralympic Games. Both Australian teams medaled at the Beijing Games and face tough competition at London with twelve teams competing in the men s division and ten in the women s. Competition will run from 30 August - 8 September 2012. Each player is assigned a point value based classification depending on their functional ability. Players with the least physical function are classified as a 1.0, through to a 4.5 for those with most physical function. During play, the total on-court point value for each team of five players cannot exceed 14 points. Three Association members have been selected as part of the Australian men s (Rollers) and women s (Gliders) wheelchair basketball teams. Tige Simmons Classification: 1.0 Disability: Paraplegia First started competing: 1998 This will be Tige s second Bill Latham Classification: 4.0 Disability: Through left knee limb loss First started competing: 2000 This will be Bill s first Bridie Kean Classification: 4.0 Disability: Double below knee limb loss First started competing: 2003 This will be Bridie s second
Wheelchair Rugby Wheelchair Rugby is an exciting team sport that was originally designed for people with quadriplegia. The rules are a combination of football and wheelchair basketball. Australia is currently ranked 2nd in the world for this sport. Competition will run from 5-9 September 2012. Each player is assigned a point value based classification depending on their functional ability. Players with the least physical function are classified as a 0.5, through to a 3.5 for those with most physical function. During play, the total on-court point value for each team of four players cannot exceed eight points. Five Association members have been selected in the Australian wheelchair rugby team (Steelers). Chris Bond Classification: 3.5 Disability: Limb loss - double below knee, left wrist and right four fingers First started competing: 2010 This will be Chris s first Cameron Carr Classification: 2.0 Disability: Quadriplegic First started competing: 2005 This will be Cameron s second Cody Meakin Classification: 2.5 Disability: Quadriplegic First started competing: 2010 This will be Cody s first Ben Newton Classification: 3.0 Disability: Incomplete quadriplegia First started competing: 2004 This will be Ben s first Ryan Scott Classification: 0.5 Disability: Quadriplegic First started competing: 1999 This will be Ryan s third
Paralympic Coverage Avaliable in Australia Televised on ABC ABC TV has revealed its comprehensive broadcast team, and exclusive coverage of the London beginning 30 August. Featuring over 100 hours of coverage, ABC1 and ABC2 will capture all the inspiring highlights from the 11 days of competition, including the opening and closing ceremonies. There will be live coverage every morning and nightly highlights shown on ABC1. ABC2 will then air a nightly evening show featuring Australian Paralympians who will discuss all the action and competition, and take a look at the lighter side of Paralympic sport. ABC TV broadcasting will be as follows: Opening Ceremony on ABC1 5:20am AEST Thursday 30 August Hosted by Stephanie Brantz, Adam Hills and Beijing Triple Gold medallist, Heath Francis. Daily Highlights on ABC1 Thursday 30 August - Monday 10 September 4am-8.30am AEST - ABC1 Morning Show. Hosted by Karen Tighe. 6pm-7pm AEST - ABC1 Nightly Highlights Show. Hosted by Stephanie Brantz. Streaming by International Paralympic Committee (IPC) The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has also announced plans to provide comprehensive online coverage, broadcasting 580 hours of live sport via their website (www.paralympic.org) during the Games. There will be four channels of uninterrupted live coverage from the (with English commentary). More than 1,000 hours of footage from individual events and matches that will also be made available to watch on demand at any time. On top of this, IPC will also have: 22 writers covering all 20 Paralympic sports with daily previews and reviews from all the venues Interviews with leading athletes, including the IPC s Ones to Watch Two daily newsletters - one in the morning previewing the day ahead and one shortly after midnight reviewing all the day s action In-depth biographies of all 4,200 athletes from 165 countries taking part Live results from - cycling road, cycling track, swimming, athletics and wheelchair basketball- together with results as they happen from all other sports Daily Highlights on ABC2 Thursday 30 August - Sunday 9 September 7pm -11pm AEST - ABC2 Evening Show. Hosted by Stephanie Brantz, Lawrence Mooney, Adam Zwar and Sam Pang. Closing Ceremony on ABC1 5:20am AEST Monday 10 September Hosted by Stephanie Brantz, Adam Hills and Beijing Triple Gold medallist, Heath Francis. Stayed tuned to the Association s website, twitter and facebook accounts to follow the results of our athletes. Other useful links: Official site for the 2012 London Paralympic Games: www.london2012.com/paralympics ABC (official Australian broadcaster): www.abc.net.au/news/sport/paralympics Australian Paralympic Committee s London page: www.london2012.paralympic.org.au International Paralympic Committee: www.paralympic.org
Schedule of Events at the London August September Opening and Closing Ceremonies Wed 29 Thu 30 Fri 31 Sat 1 Sun 2 Mon 3 Tue 4 Wed 5 Thu 6 Fri 7 Sat 8 Sun 9 Boccia Cycling - Road Cycling - Track Football 5-a-side Football 7-a-side Goalball Archery Athletics Equestrian Judo Rowing Sailing Shooting Table Tennis Powerlifting Swimming Sitting Volleyball Wheelchair Basketball Wheelchair Rugby Wheelchair Tennis For more information and to see a daily breakdown of events visit www.london2012.com/paralympics