Sitting volleyball classification system: The athletes’ perspective

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the classification system in sitting volleyball (SV) based on athletes’ opinions on different competitive level. During World Sitting Volleyball Championships in 2014, 187 participants and 35 players in Polish and Lithuanian SV leagues participated in this study. They completed the survey regarding the current classification system in SV. The classification procedure was assessed as positive by 74% of elite athletes and 94.1% league athletes. Elite athletes see a need to include functional procedures, and in contrast to league athletes, they assessed the current classification system positively. Many of the players see a need to change the current classification system from medical to functional or mixed procedures. League athletes in contrast to elite athletes agree to include able-bodied people to compete on the court with people with physical impairments