The Raza point score system is a method in
Paralympic athletics
Para-athletics is the sport of athletics practised by people with a disability as a disabled sports, parasport. The list of athletics events, athletics events within the parasport are mostly the same as those available to able-bodied people, w ...
field competitions for comparing throws or jumps by athletes of differing levels of disability. In events where athletes of multiple different
classifications compete, performances are converted to point scores by a formula which accounts for the athletes' classifications.
This means that a more disabled athlete may beat a less disabled competitor with a slightly shorter throw or jump.
Formula
The formula is a
Gompertz function
The Gompertz curve or Gompertz function is a type of mathematical model for a time series, named after Benjamin Gompertz (1779–1865). It is a sigmoid function which describes growth as being slowest at the start and end of a given time period. Th ...
:
Where is the performance in metres, and , , and are constants. , (the maximum possible score) is 1200 points in all cases, varies between events (with men's and women's events of the same discipline having different values), whilst differing values of distinguish the different
classifications for each event. These constants are reviewed by the
International Paralympic Committee
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC; german: Internationales Paralympisches Komitee) is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and fun ...
annually.
The constants are set such that the world's best athletes will achieve scores of around 1000 points.
The Raza Points System is designed to be reversible,
such that an athlete can know the performance () they require for a particular point score (). The reversed form of the formula is:
Example
For the
F35/36 woman's discus throw at the 2012 Paralympics the coefficients were as follows:
[2012 Raza coefficients]
/ref>
The gold and silver medallists were Wu Qing and Mariia Pomazan
Mariia Pomazan (Ukrainian: Марія Олександрівна Помазан; born 15 October 1988) is a Ukrainian Paralympic athlete. She competes in throwing events in the F35 classification for athletes with cerebral palsy. , she holds W ...
respectively. Wu's classification was F36, meaning that her best throw of 28.01 m scored 1032 points. Pomazan's F35 classification meant that her longer throw of 30.12 m scored 1028 points, placing her behind Wu in the final standings.
History
The Raza point score system replaced a system used prior to 2010 which based its calculation on the current World Record and the top performances at the most recent Paralympic Games
The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...
and World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
.UK Athletics
UK Athletics (UKA) is the governing body for the sport of athletics in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for overseeing the governance of athletics events in the UK as well as athletes, their development, and athletics officials. The orga ...
.
See also
* Factor system in para-alpine skiing
* Factoring in paralympic cycling
References
{{Para-athletics classifications
Sport of athletics terminology
Para-athletics