Amy Burk always wanted to play sports. Her first love was basketball, but she quickly realized that because of her visual impairment, she would not be able to keep up.
And so she turned to goalball, a sport specifically designed for the visually impaired. Eventually, the Charlottetown, P.E.I., native made Team Canada and competed at the 2008 and 2012 Paralympics.
In 2015, she was all set to play at the Parapan Am Games at home in Toronto.
And then, suddenly, her dream was ripped away. Burk, who competed as a B3 — the least impaired category in her sport — was told by a classification panel that she was no longer eligible.
“It was essentially a slap in the face,” Burk said. “Like being told that I see too well, even though I know I don’t. And then that literally took me out of sport. Like what other sport can I play?
“To have the visual impairment that I have, it’s very stable. It’s a genetic condition. I was born with it. And so to go my whole life, [and then] at 25 to be told you see too good, it’s like, well, my vision has never changed.”
Burk was unable to compete in Toronto, and still hasn’t had the chance to participate in an international event in Canada.
After six months of ensuing legal battles backed by the Canadian Paralympic Committee, the now 34-year-old was admitted back into the sport, going on to compete at each of the next two Paralympics. Burk is currently the captain of the Canadian goalball team, which is headed to Paris.
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The larger issue of classification, however, remains a thorny subject within Paralympic circles. At its heart, classification — the act of categorizing impaired athletes — is intended to make Para sport equitable. But athletes will tell you that process is not always fair. Many have similar stories to Burk’s, or recount competing against those who seemingly did not fit into their category — a phenomenon termed by some as “class doping.”
Put simply, classification is meant to have the same effect as weight classes in boxing or age-group competitions for children. A heavyweight fighting a welterweight, or an 18-year-old racing against a 10-year-old, is inherently unequal.
But classification is much more complex. It is a make-or-break assessment conducted by a trio of volunteers, sometimes requiring an athlete to travel halfway across the world, in which your entire athletic career is at stake.
“You go through the whole in-the-room assessment and then you sit for the longest 10 minutes of your life as they deliberate on which class they think you should fall into,” said Canadian Mel Pemble, who competed at Pyeongchang 2018 as a Para skier but is now headed to Paris in cycling.
Mel Pemble of Canada competes in the women’s downhill, standing, at the 2018 Winter Paralympics in South Korea. She will compete at the Paris Paralympics in cycling. (Associated Press)In the right category, you could be a medal contender. But get placed into a less impaired class and your competitive chances could go out the window.
It’s part of the reason Pemble, 24, switched sports in the first place.
“I think maybe as the years went on, there was a question whether I was in the right class and whether I should be in another one,” she said. “There were athletes in my class that could use two poles and I could only use one.”
Classification, which varies by sport, is typically denoted by a letter followed by a number. The letter stands for the category of impairment — in swimming, you could be S (freestyle, backstroke, butterfly), SB (breaststroke) or SM (individual medley), while cycling categories include H (hand cycle), T (tricycle), C (bicycle) and B (tandem bike).
The ensuing number represents severity, with lower numbers usually indicating greater impairment.
Canada’s Nate Riech holds the world record in the T38 1,500 metres. In his case, the T stands for track (field event classifications begin with F), while numbers 35 through 38 are reserved for athletes with coordination impairments. As a T38, he is in the least impaired category.
Victoria’s Para middle-distance runner Nate Riech is classified T38, the least impaired classification. (Steven Tzemis/CBC Sports)Boccia player Alison Levine, who’s also headed to Paris, is classified as BC4, the least impaired of four boccia categories and reserved for athletes with non-cerebral impairments that also impact their coordination.
“Classification is — excuse the language — classification is hell. It is incredibly difficult,” Levine said. “You’re subjected to physical manipulations that are, first of all, dangerous for your body and can cause harm and injury, and then you’re scrutinized and watched.
“I always get the feeling that you’re being treated as if they think automatically everyone’s trying to fake their disability or get into a lower class. … Instead of, this is what this person has, let’s see their capabilities.”
Levine, who has a degenerative neuromuscular disorder, described her experience as consisting of more than 45 minutes of bench testing — a physical assessment meant to measure impairment level, in which athletes are asked to perform certain movements to evaluate muscle function. She was then observed on the boccia court.
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