ADAPTED EQUIPMENT IN

WINTER PARALYMPIC
SPORTS
Winter Paralympic Games

The Winter Paralympic Games are a multi-sport event for athletes with physical and
sensory impairments. Many of the sports in the Winter Paralympics require specialized
equipment to allow athletes to compete at the highest level.
Para Alpine and Nordic Skiing
Both Alpine and Nordic cross-country skiing have been included in every Winter Paralympics
event since its inception in 1976. The Paralympic skiers are segregated into three categories,
depending on their physical disabilities.
■ The first category includes skiers with limb impairments who ski in a standing position
like traditional skiers.
■ The second category comprises skiers with leg disabilities and trunk control who compete
by sitting on a frame attached to one or two skis.
■ The third category is for skiers with low vision or blindness.

Each category has multiple classes, and each class has a number or percentage depending on
the sport discipline. An athlete’s final score is calculated using their scoring time and the
number or percentage of their class and discipline, which helps compare their performance
across the classes in each category.
Outrigger
Athletes who need more balance
support than a pole provides use
outriggers, which are modified
crutches with a short ski at the tip.
Prosthetic limbs
Many athletes in the Winter
Paralympics use prosthetic limbs to
help them compete. These may
include specialized prosthetic feet
for skiing.
These in particular do not require
boots because they clip directly into
the ski binding
Sit-ski
A sit-ski is a type of ski designed for
athletes with lower body
impairments, such as paralysis or
amputation. The skier sits in a seat
attached to a single ski (for alpine
skiing) or double ski (for Nordic
skiing).
Blind skiing aids

Blind athletes ski with a ski guide

which is a sighted individual who
skis alongside a visually impaired
skier, providing verbal cues and
guidance as they navigate the slopes.
The guide typically communicates
with the skier through a wireless
communication system, allowing
them to direct the skier and provide
feedback in real-time.
 Para Biathlon
Para biathlon combines cross-country skiing with shooting. Athletes must take laps around a
course and then shoot a series of targets at a shooting range attached to the course.
Athletes with physical disabilities use
their own air or gas-powered rifle and
shoot lead bullets 13 mm (0.5 in) in
diameter at targets placed 10 m (32.8 ft)
away. Shooters with an arm disability
may also use a trigger extension or
adaptation to shoot.
While standing and sitting athletes shoot
lead bullets at mechanical targets,
athletes with vision disabilities use a
blind shooting target and an EcoAims
electronic rifle. This system uses light
and sound signals instead of bullets to
register shots.
The biathlon target system has five electronic
targets that light up green for successful shots
and red for missed shots. Each target is 21 mm
(0.83 in) in diameter and has an infrared light
at its centre that the camera in the rifle detects.

The shooting system calculates

the distance from an athlete’s
aim to the infrared LED and
converts it to a sound signal.
The pitch of the sound gets
higher as the athlete aims
closer to the target
 Para Snowboarding
Para Snowboard is practised worldwide and features three disciplines: snowboard-cross, banked
slalom and giant slalom. Athletes combine speed and agility while racing down courses as fast as
possible.
Competition includes male and female athletes with a physical impairment such as spinal injury,
cerebral palsy and amputation.
It is part of the paralympic games since 2014
Prosthetic limbs

Snowboarders use their toes

and heels to apply pressure to
the edges of a board, twisting it
to steer it across a course. A
para athlete may not have the
muscle strength to generate the
necessary pressure, or their
prosthetic foot may not flex
enough.
So it’s very important for the
athlete to find a snowboard and
prothesis that better fit is style
and his abilities.
 Para Ice Hockey
Para ice hockey, also known as ice sled or ice sledge hockey, was invented in the 1960s by
patients at a Swedish rehabilitation centre who attached ice hockey skate blades to metal sleds to
navigate the rink. The same rink, puck and rules are used as in Olympic ice hockey, but players
use sleds and two double-edged sticks instead of one.
Sled/sledge The sled’s frame is built of a
lightweight metal like
aluminum, mounted on skate
blades and attached to a
moulded bucket seat. Athletes
are securely strapped into the
seat, which can be tilted to
give the athlete more power
behind their movements.
Hockey sticks and gear Para ice hockey sticks are
flatter and shorter than
conventional ice hockey sticks
but made of the same materials
such as carbon fiber, fiberglass
or wood. Athletes use the same
protective clothing and
padding required for ice
hockey, but their helmet must
also have a face cage.
Just as in ice hockey,
goalkeepers use one stick and a
glove to stop the puck, but
both have metal picks to help
pull them across the ice.
 Wheelchair Curling
Wheelchair curling is the only sport in these Games regulated by the World Curling Federation
rather than the IPC, and the teams must mandatorily be mixed gender. Though non-disabled
people can also play wheelchair curling, eligible athletes at the Paralympic level have a disability
that affects their legs and use a wheelchair in their daily life.

Non-disabled curlers sweep the ice ahead of the gliding stone with a brush to adjust its path and
distance but wheelchair curlers play from a stationary position and can’t sweep the ice. Since they
can’t adjust the stone’s trajectory, they must be even more precise in their delivery.
Delivery stick Instead of throwing the stones
by hand, wheelchair curlers
use a delivery stick to angle,
rotate and throw the stones.
Some sticks have adjustable
telescoping tubes, and some
players 3D print their own
delivery head.
To throw the stone, athletes
align their wheelchair and the
stone between the two
wheelchair lines that run
lengthwise down the centre of
the rink.
Thank you for your attention!!!