Change the Paralympic Swimming Classification System

We, the undersigned, hereby request the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) take immediate action to abandon or revise the Paralympic Swimming Functional Classification System.

The Paralympic Swimming Functional Classification System does not take into consideration the laws of physics and thus clearly gives an advantage to swimmers without upper-body impairments or certain types of brain injuries such as Cerebral Palsy.

We feel for the Paralympic Swimming Program to become more fair for all swimmers, the laws of physics must be abided by during the classification process and a minimum of six things must happen:

1. Swimmers with only upper-body impairments must never be placed in the same class as swimmers with only lower- body impairments.

2. Swimmers with both upper-body and lower-body impairments must never be placed in the same class as swimmers with only upper-body or only lower-body impairments.

3. Swimmers with an upper-body impairment in both limbs must never be placed in the same class as swimmers with only an upper-body impairment in one limb.

4. Swimmers with a lower-body impairment in both limbs must never be placed in the same class as swimmers with only a lower-body impairment in one limb.

5. Swimmers with Cerebral Palsy (or other similar brain injuries) must never be placed in the same class as swimmers without Cerebral Palsy (or other similar brain injuries).

6. Swimmers with only an impairment that does not affect their range of motion or their ability to propel themselves through the water, such as Dwarfism must never be placed in the same class as swimmers with any impairment that affects their range of motion or their ability to propel themselves through the water.