A brief response to this article
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/disability-sport/41253174?ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=bbc_sport&ns_source=facebook&ns_linkname=sport
I think it's important something like this is fixed immediately. When you get Olympic medalists handing back their medals because they felt the system gave them an unfair advantage to win then you have a problem which can hemorrhage integrity, trust and respect over night.
The reports by ex-classifiers of the kinds of tactics that are being employed to feign the appearance of increased impairment I found extremely saddening at first, then the reality kicked in. Add the factors of money and funding and wanting to survive in a tough industry and it suddenly makes a lot of sense. The scope for gaming the system in the paralymipcs I think is a lot greater than with able-bodied Olympics as making accusations and then backing them up is such a delicate and time consuming process. It's also tied to sentiments of human dignity and scenarios we read about in the news daily where the DWP has assessed a disabled person as being 'fit to work' despite glaringly obvious reasons why it would be impossible for them to do so.
Leveling such an accusation at an athlete which basically says" You're not as disabled as you are making out to be" is one that can only be reached with any degree of confidence after a lot of resources, deliberation and cross-checking have been spent, and if the issue is as wide ranging as some athletes fear then the eradication of the problem may itself end up killing off the Paralympics in its current form or force it to become something radically different in order to survive.
The reports by ex-classifiers of the kinds of tactics that are being employed to feign the appearance of increased impairment I found extremely saddening at first, then the reality kicked in. Add the factors of money and funding and wanting to survive in a tough industry and it suddenly makes a lot of sense. The scope for gaming the system in the paralymipcs I think is a lot greater than with able-bodied Olympics as making accusations and then backing them up is such a delicate and time consuming process. It's also tied to sentiments of human dignity and scenarios we read about in the news daily where the DWP has assessed a disabled person as being 'fit to work' despite glaringly obvious reasons why it would be impossible for them to do so.
Leveling such an accusation at an athlete which basically says" You're not as disabled as you are making out to be" is one that can only be reached with any degree of confidence after a lot of resources, deliberation and cross-checking have been spent, and if the issue is as wide ranging as some athletes fear then the eradication of the problem may itself end up killing off the Paralympics in its current form or force it to become something radically different in order to survive.
