Bowls classification is the classification system for

lawn bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...

where players with a disability are classified into different categories based on their disability type. Classifications exist for blind bowlers. Bowls was played at the Paralympics and is a core sport of

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

Definition

Bowls has rules that were designed specifically with people with disabilities in mind. Classifications for this sport are based on functional mobility. The blind classifications are based on medical classification, not functional classification. File:B1 class.png, Visualisation of functional vision for a B1 competitor File:B2 class.png, Visualisation of functional vision for a B2 competitor File:B3 class.png, Visualisation of functional vision for a B3 competitor File:ISOD A7 amputee sportperson profile.png, Visualization of an A7 classified bowler competing in LB3 File:ISOD A8 amputee sportperson profile.png, Visualization of an A8 classified bowler competing in LB3 There are a number of different classes in this sport. One class is LB3, which is a standing class. ISOD A7 and A8 are eligible to participate in this class.

History

The visual impairment classification was part of the

1994 Commonwealth Games The 1994 Commonwealth Games ( French: ''XVéme Jeux du Commonwealth'') were held in Victoria, British Columbia, from 18 to 28 August 1994. Ten types of sports were featured at the Victoria Games: athletics, aquatics, badminton, boxing, cycling, ...

. Several classes in this sport were included in the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...

At the Paralympic Games

Competitors with cerebral palsy classifications were allowed to compete at the Paralympics for the first time at the

1984 Summer Paralympics The 1984 International Games for the Disabled, canonically the 1984 Summer Paralympics were the seventh Paralympic Games to be held. There were two separate competitions: one in Stoke Mandeville, England, United Kingdom for wheelchair athletes ...

. Bowls has dropped at the

1992 Summer Paralympics )( es, Deporte Sin Límites) , nations = 82 (BCN)75 (MAD) , athletes = 3,020 (BCN)1,600 (MAD) , opened_by = Queen Sofía , opening = 3 September (BCN)15 September (MAD) , closing = 14 September (BCN)22 September (MAD) , even ...

, returning on

1996 Summer Paralympics The 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, were held from August 16 to 25. It was the first Paralympic Games, Paralympics to get mass media sponsorship, and had a budget of USD $81 million. It was the first Paralympic Games ...

, and dropped again in

2000 Summer Paralympics The 2000 Summer Paralympic Games or the XI Summer Paralympics were held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, between 18 and 29 October. The Sydney Paralympics was last time that the Summer Paralympics which were organized by two different ...

, blind, wheelchair and amputee disability types were eligible to participate, with classification being run through the International Paralympic Committee, with classification being done based on wheelchair and blindness. The sport was not on the Paralympic programme as of 1999.

References

{{Disability sports classification Parasports classifications Bowls