In 2015, the IPC revised and updated their Athlete Classification Code which became effective on 1st January 2017. All International Federations were expected to be compliant by 1 January 2018.

The Code is the fundamental document upon which classification in the Paralympic movement is based. The IPC reported in September 2018 that BISFed is compliant with the Athlete Classification Code. The IPC has also issued guidance to ensure our continued compliance. This means that while BISFed has met the basic requirements, there are some changes and adaptations required by BISFed and member nations.

The full IPC Classification Code can be seen here.

What does this mean?

BISFed has updated its Classification policies and procedures during 2019 and athletes are now required to provide some additional information. In particular, any athlete wishing to compete in a sanctioned boccia event must have an eligible impairment and that eligible impairment must be permanent. Please familiarise yourself with the ‘Eligible Impairments’ in the BISFed classification Rules.

Boccia England follow guidance from BISFed and therefore needs to begin to implement these new rules. Boccia England will therefore be reviewing all players with a national confirmed status.

England Performance Group players and Academy players will be prioritised, and we expect this process to take at least 2 years. From 2021 onwards we will review any other players that currently have a national confirmed status.

Any players with a regional confirmed status will be reviewed if, and when they attend a national level competition.

You will be contacted by Boccia England to confirm when your review will take place.

What do I need to do now?

To improve classification communication, we are uploading players classification paperwork onto their Boccia England Boccia Base accounts. Only the account user and Boccia England can view this information.

Please upload a NEW medical diagnosis form  to your Boccia England account, you can do this under the ‘Classifications’ section. Please log this as a new self-classification.

We then appreciate your patience whilst we appoint our volunteer classifiers to facilitate this process.

If you have any questions about classification, please contact [email protected]

The British Paralympic Association (BPA) have put together a three-minute animated video explaining the purpose and processes of classification.

More information on Boccia England classification can be found here.