 Within the six disability categories the athletes still need to be divided according to their level of impairment . The classification systems differ from sport to sport . The systems are designed to open up Paralympic sports to as many athletes as possible , who can participate in fair competitions against athletes with similar levels of ability . The closest equivalents in able @-@ bodied competitions are age classifications in junior sports , and weight divisions in wrestling , boxing , and weightlifting . Classifications vary in accordance with the different skills required to perform the sport . The biggest challenge in the classification system is how to account for the wide variety and severity of disabilities . As a result , there will always be a range of impairment within a classification . What follows is a list of the Winter Paralympic sports and a general description of how they are classified . 
