4 point player
Encyclopedia
4 point player is a disability sport classification for wheelchair basketball
Wheelchair basketball
Wheelchair basketball is basketball played by people in wheelchairs and is considered one of the major disabled sports practiced. The International Wheelchair Basketball Federation is the governing body for this sport. It is recognized by the International Paralympic Committee as the sole...

.

History

The classification was created by the International Paralympic Committee
International Paralympic Committee
The International Paralympic Committee is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and functions as the international federation for nine sports...

  and has roots in a 2003 attempt to address "the overall objective to support and co-ordinate the ongoing development of accurate, reliable, consistent and credible sport focused classification systems and their implementation."

Sport

This classification is for wheelchair basketball
Wheelchair basketball
Wheelchair basketball is basketball played by people in wheelchairs and is considered one of the major disabled sports practiced. The International Wheelchair Basketball Federation is the governing body for this sport. It is recognized by the International Paralympic Committee as the sole...

. Classification for the sport is done by the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation
International Wheelchair Basketball Federation
The International Wheelchair Basketball Federation is the international governing body for the sport of wheelchair basketball. IWBF is recognized by the International Paralympic Committee as the sole competent authority in wheelchair basketball world wide...

. Classification is extremely important in wheelchair basketball because when players point totals are added together, they cannot exceed fourteen points per team on the court at any time. Jane Buckley, writing for the Sporting Wheelies, describes the wheelchair basketball players in this classification as players having: "Normal trunk movement but some reduced lower limb function as they unable to lean to both sides with full control." The Australian Paralympic Committee
Australian Paralympic Committee
The Australian Paralympic Committee is the National Paralympic Committee in Australia for the Paralympic Games movement. It oversees the means by which Australia participates at the Summer Paralympics and the Winter Paralympics.-History:...

 defines this classification as: "Players with normal trunk movement, but usually due to limitations in one lower limb they have difficulty with controlled sideways movement to one side." The International Wheelchair Basketball Federation defines a 4 point player as "Normal trunk movement, but usually due to limitations in one lower limb they have difficulty with controlled sideways movement to one side." The Cardiff Celts, a wheelchair basketball team in Wales, explain this classification as, "able to move the trunk forcefully in the direction of the follow-through after shooting. Class 4 players are able to flex, extend and rotate the trunk maximally while performing both one-handed and two-handed passes and can lean forward and to at least one side to grasp an over-the-head rebound with both hands. Class 4 players are able to push and stop the wheelchair with rapid acceleration and maximal forward movement of the trunk. Typical Class 4 Disabilities include : L5-S1 paraplegia, with control of hip abduction and extension movements on at least one side. Post-polio paralysis with one leg involvement. Hemipelvectomy. Single above- knee amputees with short residual limbs. Most double above-knee amputees. Some double below-knee amputees."

Strategy

4 point players and 4.5 point players receive less playing time than 1 point players because of their higher point value.

Getting classified

Wheelchair basketball players who are going to compete at the 2012 Summer Paralympics
2012 Summer Paralympics
The 2012 Summer Paralympic Games will be the fourteenth Paralympics and will take place between 29 August and 9 September 2012. The Games will be held in London, United Kingdom after the city was successful with its bid for the Paralympics and Summer Olympic Games.Even though 2012 will be London's...

 in this classification need to have their classification be in compliance with the system organised by the IWBF
IWBF
IWBF is an abbreviation for:* International Wheelchair Basketball Federation, governing body for wheelchair basketball* International Women's Boxing Federation, a sanctioning body for women's professional boxing, one of several including the WIBA, WIBF....

 and their status being listed as ‘Review’ or ‘Confirmed’.

In Australia, wheelchair basketball players and other disability athletes are generally classified after they have been assessed based on medical, visual or cognitive testing, after a demonstration of their ability to play their sport, and the classifiers watching the player during competitive play.

Once a player is classified, it is very hard to be classified into a different classification. Players have been known to have issues with classification because some players play down their abilities during the classification process. At the same time, as players improve at the game, movements become regular and their skill level improves. This can make it appear like their classification was incorrect.

Variants

Wheelchair Twin Basketball is a major variant of wheelchair basketball. This version is supposed by the International Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Sports Federation, and played in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. Twin basketball has three point classification system based on people with cervical cord injuries. In this variant, their equivalent to 4 point players would be players with out a head band. These players are "Players without a headband (no band players) - the play- ers possess good triceps, a good balance of the hand and some finger functions. They can score by shooting with a smaller and lighter basketball to the normal basket."

Competitors

Australian Brett Stibners
Brett Stibners
Brett Stibners is a wheelchair basketball player from Australia who won a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics and the 2010 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship.-Personal:...

 is a 4 point player. Cobi Crispin
Cobi Crispin
Cobi Crispin is a wheelchair basketball player from Western Australia.-Personal:Cobi Crispin was born in Mackay, Queensland on 22 December 1988. She was born missing a limb. She has lived in Melbourne, Victoria as a result of switching wheelchair basketball club sides, and now lives in Midland,...

, Bridie Kean
Bridie Kean
Bridie Kean is a wheelchair basketball player from Australia. She is a 4 point player. She was part of the bronze medal winning Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team at the 2008 Summer Paralympics....

, Liesl Tesch
Liesl Tesch
Liesl Tesch is an Australian wheelchair basketball player. She has represented her country at five Paralympic Games, winning three total medals. She has made numerous appearances for her country at other wheelchair basketball events. Tesch also competed in the sport as a professional. She has...

 and Leanne Del Toso are 4 point players for Australia's women's national team
Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team
-History: Women's wheelchair basketball was first played at the 1968 Summer Paralympics in Tel Aviv, but Australia did not have a team that competed until 1992 in Barcelona....

. Adam Lancia  is a 4 point player for the Canadian men's national team.

External links

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