This summer is the best moment to discover Para-sports

Discover Para Sports

This summer, it's time to learn more about para sports. These often overlooked disciplines reveal inspiring performances and stories. Highlighting para sports is essential to break stereotypes, give athletes the recognition they deserve, and promote inclusion.

 

Para sports help raise awareness in society about the challenges faced by people with disabilities while inspiring everyone to overcome their own obstacles through determination and passion.

  • Wheelchair Basketball

    A pioneering sport in the Paralympic movement, it was practiced in rehabilitation by wounded soldiers from World War II. The rules of wheelchair basketball are the same as those of regular basketball: 5 players per team, the same court, and the same basket height.

  • Boccia

    Boccia is played indoors on a court measuring 12.5 meters long and 6 meters wide. At the start of each round, each player receives six balls that they must throw or roll as close as possible to a white ball called the "Jack," which serves a similar role to the "cochonnet" in pétanque. Individual or doubles matches are played over four rounds, while team matches of three are played over six rounds.

  • Blind Football

    Blind football is played with four outfield players and a goalkeeper on a 40x20m field, with two 15-minute halves. Barriers prevent the ball from going out of play. The goalkeeper, who may also be sighted, directs his teammates, while a guide assists the attackers. Players wear blindfolds and rely on their hearing. Spectators must remain silent, except during goal celebrations.

  • Wheelchair Fencing

    In wheelchair fencing, the para-athlete is securely fixed to a platform, so they cannot move forward or backward. As in the Olympics, wheelchair fencing is practiced with the foil, epee, and saber.

  • Sitting Volleyball

    The ball is the same as in volleyball, but the court is smaller (6m x 10m) and the net is lower (1.15m for men, 1.05m for women). Matches are played in three sets to 25 points, with a maximum of five sets (the 5th set to 15 points). Players must keep their buttocks or back in contact with the ground.

  • Para-athletics

    Athletes, depending on their disability category, compete in wheelchair events, with prosthetics, or from a throwing chair. Visually impaired athletes may be accompanied by a guide for races or directed by a coach for throws and jumps. However, not all disability categories have access to all events.

Para-powerlifting

Each athlete chooses the weight of their barbell. At the referee's "Start" signal, they lower the bar to their chest, pause, then lift it until their arms are extended and elbows locked. At the end of the movement, upon the "Rack" signal, the athlete returns the barbell to the supports.

Para-rowing

There are five events, three of which are mixed. Rowers do not use their legs, and the boats are equipped with fixed seats. The rules are nearly the same as those for standard competitions.

Goalball

Goalball is played between two teams of three players on an 18x9m court. The objective is to roll a ball filled with bells toward the opposing goal. Players navigate using tactile markers and alternate between attacking and defending by lying down. Matches are played in two 12-minute halves, with a silent audience to allow players to hear the ball.

  • Arena Port de la Chapelle

    Para-badminton

    Para badminton is played in singles or doubles on a standard badminton court, sometimes adapted for certain categories, such as singles in wheelchair on a half-court. Matches are played in 2 sets, each to 21 points, just like in regular badminton.

  • Para-canoe

    Para canoe is an adapted version of canoe-kayak for people with disabilities, featuring modified boats and paddles to meet the specific needs of athletes.

  • Para-cycling Road

    Distances can vary depending on disability categories: between 78 and 125 km for tandems, between 37 and 80 km for handbikes, between 48 and 100 km for cycle classes, and between 26 and 40 km for tricycles. The equipment used also depends on the type of disability.

  • Wheelchair Rugby

    Wheelchair rugby is played in four periods of eight minutes on a basketball court. Players use specialized wheelchairs for speed or defense. Excessive contact and grabbing opponents are prohibited. The objective is to score goals with a ball similar to a volleyball.

  • Cyclism Track

    Speed events on the velodrome are contested individually over 500 to 1000 meters, while pursuit events are held over 3000 to 4000 meters. Equipment varies depending on the disability, with slightly modified standard bikes used for amputee riders or those with functional loss of limbs. 

  • Wheelchair Tennis

    Wheelchair tennis follows the same rules as traditional tennis, with one modification: the ball can bounce twice before being hit. Athletes are classified into two categories: "Open" for those with lower limb impairments, and "Quad" for those with impairments to both upper and lower limbs.

Para-judo

Competitors must remain in contact; otherwise, the match is stopped. They grip the judogi from the start.

The goal is to throw, pin, or force the opponent to submit. An Ippon results in an immediate victory, while two waza-ari equal one Ippon. Matches last four minutes, and if no Ippon is scored, the highest score wins.

  • Para-swimming

    Athletes are classified according to their disability to ensure fairness. The start can be from a dive or from the water. Manual assistance is allowed to maintain contact with the wall. Blind swimmers are guided by an assistant using a stick.

  • Para-taekwondo

    In para taekwondo, matches are held in a single round and can last up to five minutes. Athletes wear protective gear as well as "detection socks" that record points when they strike their opponent's torso.

  • Para-table tennis

    Para table tennis matches are played in five sets of 11 points, with a two-point margin required to win. The rules are the same as those for Olympic table tennis, except for wheelchair players: backhand serves and the small sides of the table are not allowed. In doubles, players can hit the ball without alternating.

  • Shooting Para Sport

    In competition, shooting events are held at 10m, 25m, or 50m with rifles or pistols. Athletes shoot while standing, kneeling, in a wheelchair, or lying down. In the qualification round, they shoot 60 times. The top eight advance to the final, where successive shots eliminate competitors until a winner is determined.

  • Para-triathlon

    Athletes who cannot run use a handbike for the cycling segment and a wheelchair for the running segment. They can receive human assistance during transitions. Visually impaired triathletes use a guide and a tandem bike. Athletes who stand can run with a prosthesis or modify their bike according to their disability.

  • Para-archery

    In competitions, archers compete in two categories:

    • W1: For athletes in wheelchairs with loss of strength or coordination in the arms.
    • Open: For those shooting from a wheelchair, standing, or using a stool, who have trunk or leg limitations but functional arms.

    In competition, archers shoot 72 arrows in 12 ends at 50 or 70 meters. They have four minutes to shoot six arrows. After ranking, they compete in knockout rounds with five ends of three arrows each.

Para-equestrian Dressage

Para dressage includes three events: the individual grand prix, the team grand prix, both featuring compulsory figures, and the individual freestyle grand prix, reserved for the top eight in each category, where riders perform their own choreography to music of their choice.