Athlete's Guide to Athletics Canada Para Athletics 2026

To be considered for national classification you must:

• Hold Canadian citizenship or be a landed immigrant
• Be a member in good standing of Athletics Canada, registered through a Provincial or Territorial Branch
• Hold a current membership or be affiliated with a registered athletics club or training group, and have actively trained in Para Athletics for at least 3 to 6 months
• Have competed in at least one event in your estimated sport class/event in Para Athletics
• Have a letter of endorsement from your coach

If you meet all of these, you can complete the Request for National Classification form. Athletics Canada's Para Development Manager reviews it and may contact you or your coach for more information for the Classification Lead. Questions go to classification@athletics.ca.

Source: Athletics Canada National Classification Guidelines: https://athletics.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/National-Classification-Guidelines.pdf

A sport class has a prefix and a number. The prefix T stands for track, marathon and jumping events, and F stands for field (throwing) events. Classes are divided by impairment type, indicated by the first digit, with the second digit describing the impairment. Classification is a two-step process: a medical review and an observation in competition.

After national classification you receive a sport class (for example T/F38, T/F13 or T/F20) and, for physical and vision impairments, a status: Confirmed (C), Review (R) or Fixed Review Date (FRD). Athletes who are provisionally or nationally classified appear in Athletics Canada's National Classification Database.

Sources: https://athletics.ca/get-involved/para-athletics/classification/ and https://athletics.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/National-Classification-Guidelines.pdf

National classification for physical impairments (PI) is held in conjunction with a competition and conducted by a panel of one medical classifier and one technical classifier. It has three parts: physical assessment, technical assessment and observation in competition.

1. Confirm you meet the Athletics Canada eligibility criteria (citizenship or landed immigrant status, membership, 3 to 6 months of Para training, one event competed in, and a coach's letter).
2. Complete the Request for National Classification form and await a response from Athletics Canada's Classification Lead.
3. Submit a Medical Diagnostic Form (MDF) for Physical Impairments, completed by a medical doctor, clearly defining the diagnosis (underlying health condition) and impairment(s).
4. Submit supporting medical documentation. The Classification Lead tells you which documents are needed once approved.
5. Register for an event offering PI national classification (for example the Canadian Track and Field Championships or another event approved by Athletics Canada). Classification takes place one or two days before competition, and observation in competition is required. If you compete in both track and field you need observation for both.

You then receive a sport class (for example T/F38) and a status (Confirmed "C", Review "R" or Fixed Review Date "FRD") and are listed in the National Classification Database. Questions go to classification@athletics.ca.

Source: Athletics Canada National Classification Guidelines: https://athletics.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/National-Classification-Guidelines.pdf

Vision impairment (VI) classification follows its own process and evaluations may occur outside of an athletics competition. The Canadian Blind Sports Association is responsible for determining eligibility.

1. Confirm you meet the Athletics Canada eligibility criteria.
2. Complete the Request for National Classification form and await a response from Athletics Canada's Classification Lead.
3. Submit a Medical Diagnostic Form (MDF) for Vision Impairments, completed by an ophthalmologist.
4. Submit supporting medical documentation about the diagnosed eye condition. The Classification Lead tells you which documents are needed once approved.
5. National VI classifiers review the documentation remotely. You may require field testing or additional tests.
6. You receive a sport class (for example T/F13) and a status (Confirmed "C", Review "R" or Fixed Review Date "FRD"), and are listed in the National Classification Database.

Source: Athletics Canada National Classification Guidelines: https://athletics.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/National-Classification-Guidelines.pdf

National evaluations for intellectual impairment (II) do NOT take place at an athletics competition. Virtus Sport is the organization responsible for determining eligibility. The 3 primary criteria for the II sport class are:

• An IQ of 75 or below (measured with the WISC, WAIS, Stanford-Binet or Raven)
• Significant limitations in adaptive behaviour (Vineland, ABAS or other)
• The impairment was diagnosed before the age of 22

Steps: confirm you meet the Athletics Canada eligibility criteria; complete the Request for National Classification form; submit medical documentation supporting the II diagnosis; submit a completed Training History and Sport Limitation Questionnaire (TSAL-Q). You then receive a sport class (for example T/F20) and are listed on the Virtus II1 Master List and in Athletics Canada's National Classification Database.

Source: Athletics Canada National Classification Guidelines: https://athletics.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/National-Classification-Guidelines.pdf

• National classification: Para athletes must be Nationally Classified within Para Athletics to enter all Athletics Canada Canadian Championship events. (Athletics Canada's classification page says classification, provisional, national or international, is required for National Championships, the Canada Summer Games and international competitions.)
• Entry criteria: where applicable, you must meet the entry criteria for each event.
• Foreign athletes: they may compete if eligible under World Para Athletics rules, but only Canadian citizens and permanent residents in good standing with Athletics Canada can win a Canadian Championships medal.
• Dual citizens: you must declare at registration whether you are competing as a Canadian athlete or a foreign athlete.
• National Team selection: where the championships act as Paralympic selection, Para athletes must compete in at least one Para event to be eligible (per the 2024 guidelines).

Sources: https://athletics.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Para-Event-Guidelines-2026.pdf, https://athletics.ca/get-involved/para-athletics/classification/ and https://athletics.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Para-Event-Guidelines-V5-June-26-2024.pdf

The 2026 Para events align with the 2028 Paralympic Games Medal program. Sport classes are combined into 3 categories, which make up the "Para Medal Events": ambulatory (track and throws), seated throws and wheelchair racing. Examples: Men's Ambulatory Javelin, Men's Seated Discus, Women's Wheelchair 800m, Women's Ambulatory 100m.

• Ambulatory 100m, 200m and 400m and wheelchair 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m include a semi-final and final if there are 3 or more entries. With fewer than 3 athletes in the semi-final it is cancelled and athletes go straight to a final.
• Medals go to the top 3 finishers in each Para Medal Event. Where there are 3 competitors or fewer, each finisher receives a medal.
• Within a category, track athletes compete against others of the same sporting gender, and field athletes are seeded by distance, with final placing decided by WPA Points.

Source: 2026 Canadian Track and Field Championships Para Event Guidelines: https://athletics.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Para-Event-Guidelines-2026.pdf

Where more than one sport class competes together, placings may be determined with the World Para Athletics Points Scores Calculator (WPA Points, sometimes called the "Raza" points system). The points compare your result with an average of World Records over a set number of years, so the closer you are to the World Record in your category, the more points you get. There are separate tables for track and for field, and the calculator is updated annually.

• The athlete with the highest WPA Points ranks first.
• Ties are broken by the percentage differential between WPA Points: the athlete closest to earning the next additional point wins the tie-break.
• If a sport class is not in the calculator, you cannot compete for that event. For example, no WPA Points exist for track events for sport classes 40-41 (short stature), so those athletes can only enter eligible throwing events.

Source: 2026 Canadian Track and Field Championships Para Event Guidelines, section 4: https://athletics.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Para-Event-Guidelines-2026.pdf

At the Canadian Championships, T11 and T12 athletes are allocated two lanes, regardless of whether they use a guide. This may result in more rounds and/or fewer athletes progressing through rounds (for example, if a T11 or T12 athlete qualifies for the final in the top 8, only 7 athletes qualify for the final). If the championships are held at a track with 9 available lanes, the final may use the extra lane for a guide, allowing 8 athletes to progress, at the discretion of the Technical Delegate.

Athletics Canada's Para page adds that blind and visually impaired runners may compete with guide runners attached to them by a tether at the wrist.

Sources: https://athletics.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Para-Event-Guidelines-2026.pdf and https://athletics.ca/get-involved/para-athletics/

If the depth of field for ambulatory track or ambulatory throws is not viable for a competitive experience, Para athletes may be integrated with Olympic-stream (Open) athletes of the same age category and gender, in qualifying rounds or finals depending on entries. Para ambulatory semi-finals are integrated into the qualification rounds of the Open events, with athletes placed in heats according to seed time.

• Final rank and medals are still awarded separately. Whenever possible, Para has a standalone event if there are more than 5 competitors.
• An integrated event counts as a Para event for National Team selection purposes.
• Where a Para event is within an Open qualifying round, a Para athlete can progress to the next round if their performance qualifies and they meet any additional requirements.

Source: 2026 Canadian Track and Field Championships Para Event Guidelines, section 5: https://athletics.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Para-Event-Guidelines-2026.pdf