Wheelchair basketball classification is based on the players’ functional capacity to push, pivot, shoot, rebound, dribble, pass and catch. It is not an assessment of a player’s level of skill, merely their functional capacity to complete the task. In
particular, the trunk movement and stability observed during these actual basketball situations form the basis for the assignment of a player to a particular class.
Players in each class have different volumes of action. In brief, the typical volume of action for each primary classis as follows:
The Class 1.0 Player:
- Has no active trunk movement in the vertical plane (rotation).
- Has little or no controlled trunk movement in the forward plane.
- Has no controlled trunk movement in the sideways plane
- When unbalanced, has to rely on his arms to return to the upright position.
The Class 2.0 Player:
- Has active upper trunk rotation but no lower trunk rotation.
- Has partially controlled trunk movement in the forward plane.
- Has no controlled trunk movements in the sideways plane.
The Class 3.0 Player:
- Has complete trunk movement in the vertical plane.
- Has complete trunk movement in the forward plane.
- Has no controlled trunk movements in the sideways plane.
The Class 4.0 Player:
- Has complete trunk movement in the vertical plane.
- Has complete trunk movement in the forward plane.
- Has complete trunk movement to one side, but usually due to limited function in one lower limb has difficulty with controlled trunk movement to the other side.
The Class 4.5 Player:
- Has complete trunk movement in the vertical plane.
- Has complete trunk movement in the forward plane.
- Has complete trunk movements to both sides.
There are situations where a player does not seem to fit exactly into one class, exhibiting characteristics of two or more classes. In this instance the classifier may assign the player a half point classification: 1.5, 2.5, or 3.5.
BWSF follows the above player classification for the wheelchair basketball players.