The Nationals Adaptive competition recently announced the creation of a new adaptive division going forward. With two Neuromuscular divisions previously, Major and Minor, The Nationals are adding a Neuromuscular Moderate division to better bridge the gap between the two classifications.
“We saw during the Summergames that Minor and Major was just too much of a gap for athletes who are too strong for one [Major] but not able to compete in the other [Minor],” said Sybille Blitgen, one of The Nationals Adaptive organizers. She added, “We also have athletes wanting to register who do not really belong in either category so we decided to add a Moderate category to make it more equitable.”
So far the feedback has been phenomenal according to Sybille. She said that a lot of athletes from the United States are considering to register and make the trip overseas to compete.
For those interested in how the three Neuromuscular divisions are categorized, Sybille helped explain them.
Neuro Major: Athletes with impairment of one or two upper/lower limbs, with impaired grip and ability to pull and push on at least one limb.
Neuro Moderate: Athletes with impairment of one or two upper limbs, with impaired leg propulsion/relief on at least one limb. Impaired grip on at least one limb and limited pulling or pushing abilities and impaired muscle power and strength in at least one upper and/or lower limb.
Neuro Minor: Athletes with impairment of one or two upper or lower limbs due to a neuropathology.
In addition to the three Neuromuscular categories, The Nationals Adaptive also offers 10 other adaptive divisions including:
- Upper Extremity 1 Point of Contact
- Upper Extremity 2 Points of Contact
- Lower Extremity 1 Point of Contact
- Lower Extremity 2 Points of Contact
- Seated with ab function
- Seated w/o ab function
- Seated Tetraplegic
- Sensory Vision & Hearing
- Short Stature
- Intellectual
For more information about The Nationals Adaptive competitions, head over to their website: https://jointhenationals.com/adaptive/. They host competitions running from September through February each year culminating with the Summergames in April.
