Assessment of performance parameters in boccia: towards evidence-based classification

• Autores: Alba Roldán Romero
• Directores de la Tesis: Raúl Reina Vaíllo (dir. tes.), Francisco David Barbado Murillo (codir. tes.)
• Lectura: En la Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche ( España ) en 2017
• Idioma: inglés
• Tribunal Calificador de la Tesis: Francisco Javier Moreno Hernández (presid.), David Sanz Rivas (secret.), Osnat Fliess Douer (voc.), Javier Pérez Tejero (voc.), Anna Bjerkefors (voc.)
• Materias:
  • Ciencias de la vida
    • Fisiología humana
      • Fisiología del equilibrio
      • Fisiología del movimiento
  • Pedagogía
    • Organización y planificación de la educación
      • Educación especial: minusválidos y deficientes mentales
• Enlaces
  • Tesis en acceso abierto en: RediUMH (pdf)
• Resumen

  • Classification systems play a major role in the Paralympic sport and valid systems of classification ensure a fair and equitable competition. Classification must comply with the International Paralympic Committee Athletes Classification Code (IPC, 2015), which specifies that classification must be evidence-based, meaning that it is focused on the relationship between the impairment of the player and key performance determinants. The application of the new Code is mandatory for all Paralympic Sports.

    Boccia is a Paralympic sport open for the called “Athletes with High Support Needs”. Although its debut was many years ago (1984) and it is one of the two specific Paralympic sports that has not homologous in the Olympic program, little studies have been conducted about this Para sport. Therefore, it is not surprising that Boccia does not count with a classification system supported in evidence. This Thesis aims to contribute to the development of a more objective classification system that helps to promote sports practice among athletes with severe impairments, promoting the Paralympic values of “determination, equality, inspiration and courage”.

    Across this dissertation it is intended to provide information about functional abilities of individuals with moderate-to-severe cerebral palsy, eligible for Boccia. The strengths and weaknesses of current classification methods are presented, discussed and questioned. The three studies provide evidence about how to assess trunk control, hand function and intra-limb coordination, describing how much impaired are athletes with moderate-to-severe CP, and the discriminant capacity of these tests to differentiate between BC1 and BC2 sport classes. These findings provide a basis for further research to evaluate the strength of the measures of the impairment and the key determinants of performance.