Who is eligible to compete in Para Athletics?

Not every athlete with a disability is eligible for classification. To compete in Para Athletics you must have an underlying health condition that leads to a permanent eligible impairment, and the impairment must meet the Minimum Impairment Criteria (MIC) in the World Para Athletics (WPA) Classification Rules and Regulations.

Classification first decides who is eligible to compete, then groups eligible athletes into sport classes according to their activity limitation in a given event. There is a sport event for all ten eligible impairment types at the Paralympic Games. Athletics Canada's classification address is classification@athletics.ca.

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