What do the classes 1.0 to 4.5 mean?

Wheelchair Basketball Canada says classification levels a team's total functional ability on the court relative to its opponent. Classifiers assess skills such as wheeling, dribbling, passing, reaction to contact, shooting and rebounding, and assign a point value. Canadian classes follow the international system and range from 1.0 to 4.5; lower classes have more functional limitations. The IWBF rules list the valid classes as 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0 and 4.5.

• 1.0 and 2.0: neither has control of their sitting base. Class 1.0 athletes generally cannot move their trunk in any plane. Class 2.0 athletes can rotate their upper body without using their arms for support.
• 3.0: controls the sitting base and can turn the shoulders and lean forward, but cannot lean to the sides and return upright without arm assistance.
• 4.0: can move the trunk in all planes and lean to at least one side, but often cannot lean equally to both sides because of limited power in one leg.
• 4.5: can lean equally to both sides, which distinguishes it from 4.0.
• Half-point classes (.5): assigned when an athlete shows characteristics of two classes.

Sources: wheelchairbasketball.ca/classifiers; IWBF Official Wheelchair Basketball Rules 2024, Article 51.