Bonn-Germany, May 31, 2012: The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has published the Qualification Guide for the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games. The event which will take place between 7 and 16 March 2014 will feature a maximum of 692 athletes competing in 72 medal events across five sports. This will make it the biggest Paralympic Winter Games ever.
Xavier Gonzalez, the IPC’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “The publication of the Qualification Guide is another step along the exciting journey to the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games.
“The aim of the guide is to provide National Paralympic Committees with a comprehensive document that outlines the qualification systems necessary to be met for athletes and teams seeking to compete in Sochi.”
A summary of the qualification criteria for each sport is outlined below, and full details can be at www.paralympic.org/Events/Sochi2014/Qualification
Alpine Skiing
There will be 32 Alpine Skiing medal events at Sochi 2014, equally split between men’s and women’s events. This number includes two Para-Snowboard events – male standing and female standing – after the sport was added to the Alpine Skiing programme in April.
The male quota of athletes for Alpine events is 202 and the female quota 96.
To be eligible to compete in speed events – Downhill, Super G and Super Combined – male athletes must be ranked and have 140 IPC Alpine Skiing (IPCAS) Points and female athletes 180 IPCAS Points or less on the IPCAS Downhill, Super G and Super Combined Rankings Lists by 17 February 2014.
Male athletes wishing to compete in technical events – Giant Slalom and Slalom – must be ranked and have 140 IPCAS Points or less in the Slalom and Giant Slalom Rankings List by 17 February 2014. Likewise female athletes must have less than 180 IPCAS Points in the two disciplines.
In Para-Snowboard the best 32 men and 16 women on the IPCAS (SBX) Points Ranking Lists as of 17 February 2014 will be eligible for Sochi. Each National Paralympic Committee can enter a maximum of 10 athletes per discipline and gender and no more than five athletes per medal event.
Qualification slots will be allocated by the IPC no later than 3 June 2013 and each National Paralympic Committee can be allocated a maximum of 20 male and 10 female slots for IPCAS. For IPCAS (SBX) each National Paralympic Committee can receive a maximum of 10 male and 10 female qualification slots.
Biathlon and Cross Country Skiing
A total of 38 Biathlon and Cross Country Skiing events will be held in Sochi split between 18 events for male athletes, 18 for female athletes and two mixed events. The male quota of athletes is 120 and the female quota 80.
To be eligible to compete in Biathlon athletes must be ranked and have at least one race of 180 points or less on the IPC Biathlon Ranking Points List as of 17 February 2014. Likewise athletes must be ranked and have at least one race of 180 points or less on the IPC Cross Country Ranking Points List to be eligible to compete in Cross Country Skiing events.
Each National Paralympic Committee can enter a maximum of eight athletes per race and gender, and no more than three athletes per medal event. National Paralympic Committees can be allocated a maximum of 18 male qualification slots and 12 female qualification slots. These will be confirmed no later than 3 June 2013.
Ice Sledge Hockey
Eight teams will compete for Ice Sledge Hockey gold in Sochi with the top five ranked sides from next year’s IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships A Pool in Korea qualifying automatically. As hosts Russia will qualify for the tournament providing they compete in the 2012 and 2013 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey A or B Pool Tournaments.
The remaining places for the tournament will be decided at the 2013 qualification tournament which will feature the teams ranked six to eight from the 2013 A Pool together with the top three ranked sides from the 2013 World Championships B Pool tournament.
Should Russia finish in the top five at next year’s World Championship A Pool or fail to meet the criteria required to qualify automatically as hosts, then the top three ranked sides from the qualification tournament will progress to Sochi.
If they finish outside the top five of Pool A however meet the criteria needed to qualify automatically as hosts then just the top two ranked sides from the qualification tournament will be eligible to compete at the Paralympic Winter Games.
Wheelchair Curling
Ten mixed teams of five athletes will target gold. The top nine ranked countries on the World Curling Federation (WCF) Wheelchair Curling World Ranking list after the 2013 World Championships will qualify. Hosts Russia qualify automatically for the Games. Should Russia be ranked in the top nine in the World Ranking list then the country placed tenth will qualify for Sochi.
Bipartite Invitation Qualification Slots
In addition to the minimum qualification criteria for each sport, a total of 20 (10 male and 10 female) Bipartite Invitation Qualification Slots will be made available in Alpine Skiing and 10 slots (5 male and 5 female) in Biathlon and Cross Country Skiing.
These places ensure that top athletes who have not had the chance to qualify have a chance of competing at Sochi 2014. National Paralympic Committees will have until 31 May 2013 to submit their Bipartite applications and IPC Alpine Skiing and IPC Nordic Skiing confirming slots three days later.
For the full Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games Qualification Guide, please visit www.paralympic.org/Events/Sochi2014/Qualification
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