ABSTRACT
Medical classification systems measure the effect a given disability has on the individual’s mobility. The person’s disability becomes central to her/his identity. The fact that the person, as an athlete, has a disability becomes relegated to the status of coincidence. In the early-mid 1990s, state high school leagues, through committees of the National Federation of State High School Associations, began to discuss responsibility to sanction competitive sport opportunities for students with disabilities. Sport teaches cooperation in a world that values people coming together to achieve common goals. Classification systems are designed to ensure that competition is equitable, that participants in a given sport compete on a ‘level playing field.’ American Association of Adapted Sports Programs (AAASP) strives to promote interscholastic competition for athletes who use wheelchairs and athletes who are blind or visually impaired. AASAP sports include wheelchair handball, wheelchair basketball, power soccer, wheelchair football, and beep baseball for athletes who are blind or visually impaired.
