Snow Australia Paraalpine
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SNOW AUSTRALIA PARA!ALPINE ATHLETE PATHWAY A PATHWAY FOR ALL nowsports is a sport for all, whether Each stage of the Snow Australia Athlete it’s participating recreationally with Pathway provides an overview of athlete Sfamily and friends, or competitively preparation, programs, on and off-snow in snowsports event. With approximately 1.2 development, equipment, competition, million Australians participating in various leadership and support. It is designed to forms of skiing and snowboarding, it is one inform our community about the Pathways of Australia’s largest and most popular to High Performance, and to support our participation sports. Program Providers to deliver long-term athlete development opportunities. Whatever the motivation for participating in Snowsports, Snow Australia is committed This document supports materials available to providing a clear “Pathways to High on the Snow Australia website which is an Performance” strategy, to educate and inform important conduit for the latest information the Snowsports Community as to the stages on the Snow Australia Athlete Pathway. of athletic development I encourage anyone interested in the To assist with this important initiative, Snow snowsports athlete journey to read and Australia has developed discipline specific become familiar with this important resource. Snow Australia Pathway ‘blueprints’, informed by the Australian Institute of Sport’s (AIS) Michael Kennedy FTEM (Foundation, Talent, Elite and Mastery) Snow Australia CEO Athlete framework. The blueprint provides an evidence-based and practicable approach for supporting the ‘whole of sport’ pathway continuum and the three key outcomes of sport being: • Active Lifestyle, • Sports Participation; • Sporting Excellence. SNOW AUSTRALIA PARA!ALPINE ATHLETE PATHWAY WHAT IS WHY DO WE NEED FTEM? THE FTEM MODEL? ports development begins early in THE ATHLETE PATHWAY IS AN life with the acquisition of movement THE SNOW AUSTRALIA skills through to lifelong engagement INCLUSIVE AND PROGRESSIVE S ATHLETE PATHWAY into senior levels. The sporting journey across ATHLETIC DEVELOPMENTAL the lifespan includes various development FRAMEWORK WHICH ALLOWS FRAMEWORK ALLOWS OUR stages from early participation, to the pre- SNOWSPORTS COMMUNITY TO: elite, and for a lucky few, high performance SNOW AUSTRALIA TO: opportunities. Each stage is unique and is an important stepping stone for those athletes Provides visibility and clarity of pathway Understand the correlation and hoping to succeed in High Performance Sport. 1 opportunities for ALL stakeholders 1 requirements of each of the stages including athletes and their parents, of athletic development within the The AIS originally developed the FTEM participation and performance pathways, framework to directly support these key Be a means to recognise and outcomes of sport participation being; 2 acknowledge key partnerships, programs Acknowledge the critical importance Active Lifestyle, Sports Participation, and and support, 2 of the acquisition and refinement Sporting Excellence. The FTEM model is a of fundamental movement skills to fully integrated, evidence-based framework Provide a practical method to assist our lifelong sports participation and high 3 representing the Foundation, Talent, Elite sporting stakeholders to construct a performance athlete development, and Mastery of the ‘whole of sport’ pathway more functional and aligned athlete and continuum. It categorises key features of sport development system, which in turn Allow all athletes to reach their optimal each stage of an athlete’s journey and directly aligns with the Snow Australia 3 performance level; provides a practical method to assist sport Strategic Plan, and athlete stakeholders to maximise and Acquire the skills to encourage lifelong 4 manage athlete development. For more 4 Develop evidence-based programs and engagement and participation within information please visit the Sports Australia strategies, including talent identification, Snowsports. website: confirmation, development and transition; https://www.sportaus.gov.au/ais/ftem Provides a platform to easily identify 5 and support potential talent to achieve sustained High Performance success. SNOW AUSTRALIA PARA!ALPINE ATHLETE PATHWAY WHAT ARE THE ELIGIBLE NON!ELIGIBLE IMPAIRMENT IMPAIRMENT TYPES IN PARA TYPES FOR ALL ATHLETES. WHAT IS ALPINE? • Impaired Muscle Power - Athletes Athletes Examples of Non-Eligible CLASSIFICATION? with Impaired Muscle Power have a Impairments include, but are not limited to Health Condition that either reduces the following: or eliminates their ability to voluntarily contract their muscles in order to move or • Pain; to generate force. • Hearing Impairment; • Limb Deficiency - Athletes with Limb Deficiency have total or partial absence • Low muscle tone; of bones or joints as a consequence of o ensure fair competition for all, Athletes are classified by classifiers, who trauma. Paralympic sports have a system in work together in a classification panel of two • Hypermobility of joints; place which ensures that winning is or three. They are trained and certified by the T • Leg Length Difference - Athletes with Leg • Joint instability, such as unstable shoulder determined by skill, fitness, power, endurance, International or National Federation. tactical ability and mental focus, the same Length Difference have a difference in the joint, recurrent dislocation of a joint; factors that account for success in sport for length of their legs. able bodied athletes. • Impaired muscle endurance; WITHIN THESE LEVELS, THE • Hypertonia - Athletes with hypertonia This process is called classification and have an increase in muscle tension and • Impaired motor reflex functions; its purpose is to minimise the impact of FOLLOWING ASPECTS ARE a reduced ability of a muscle to stretch impairments on the activity (sport discipline). STRONGLY ADVOCATED: caused by damage to the central nervous • Impaired cardiovascular functions; system. The impact on the sport must be proved, • Impaired respiratory functions; and in each Paralympic sport, the criteria of Does the athlete have an eligible 1 • Ataxia - Athletes with Ataxia have grouping athletes by the degree of activity impairment for this sport? uncoordinated movements caused by • Impairment metabolic functions; limitation resulting from the impairment are damage to the central nervous system. named ‘Sport Classes’. Does the athlete’s eligible impairment 2 meet the minimum impairment criteria of • Tics and mannerisms, stereotypes and Through classification, it is determined which the sport? • Athetosis - Athletes with Athetosis have motor perseveration; athletes are eligible to compete in a sport continual slow involuntary movements. and how athletes are grouped together Which sport class describes the athlete’s • Short Stature; and 3 for competition. This, to a certain extent, is activity limitation most accurately? • Impaired Passive Range of Movement - similar to grouping athletes by age, gender or Athletes with Impaired Passive Range of • Intellectual Impairment weight. Movement have a restriction or a lack of passive movement in one or more joints. Classification is sport-specific because an impairment affects the ability to perform • Vision Impairment - Athletes with Vision in different sports to a different extent. As Impairment have reduced or no vision a consequence, an athlete may meet the caused by damage to the eye structure, criteria in one sport, but may not meet the optical nerves or optical pathways, or criteria in another sport. visual cortex of the brain. SNOW AUSTRALIA PARA!ALPINE ATHLETE PATHWAY WHAT IS THE WHAT ARE MINIMUM IMPAIRMENT THE CLASSES? CRITERIA? Specific criteria applied to each sport to PHYSICAL IMPAIRMENT SPORT CLASSES LW 1!9: Activity Limitation. A typical example is determine if a person’s Disability results a below knee amputation in one leg. They in sufficient limitation in their sport. This is STANDING SKIERS will use two skis during the race. called the minimal impairment criteria. This Minimal Impairment – GUIDE ONLY information is further detailed in the: Upper Limb impairment: Lower Limb impairment: World Para Alpine Skiing Classification rules. Limb loss or deficiency • Sport Class LW 5/7: Athletes in this Sport • Sport Class LW 1: This sport class is • Leg: At least through ankle amputation. Class ski with an impairment in both allocated to athletes with an impairment arms. Some athletes have amputations that strongly affects both legs, for VISION IMPAIRMENT • Arm: Residual limbs unable to hold and and others have limited muscle power example an above knee amputation of use a ski pole. or coordination problems. They will race both legs or significant muscle weakness down the slopes without ski poles. Minimal Impairment – GUIDE ONLY Loss of muscle strength in both legs. • Sport Class LW 6/8: Skiers have an The Athlete must have at least one of the • Loss of muscle power in at least one • Sport Class LW 2: Skiers have a impairment in one arm. Skiers will following Impairments: elbow, shoulder, hip, knee or ankle. significant impairment in one leg. Some compete with one ski pole only. skiers, for example, have an impaired leg • Impairment of the eye structure; Hypertonia Ataxia Athetosis from birth. You will see them ski with one Combined Upper and Lower Limb ski only. impairments: • Impairment of the optical nerve/optic • Hypertonia, ataxia or athetosis in at least pathways; one leg. • Sport Class LW 3: This sport class is for • Sport Class LW 9: Skiers in this Sport athletes