Efforts are made within the sport of wheelchair racing to level the playing field for athletes who compete with different disabilities. Able-bodied competitive sports also match the athlete to the sport events that best suit their body type, muscular make up, and cardiovascular efficiencies to maximize their competitive ability. In boxing, no bout would be allowed to take place between a flyweight and a super heavyweight. Similarly, in wheelchair racing an athlete with quadriplegia would not be expected to race another competitor with paraplegia or a below the knee amputation.

The inequalities in functional abilities between athletes with differing disabilities are great enough to warrant classification in an effort to improve fairness in competition. Many factors such as paralysis, altered autonomic nervous system function, increased tone, or amputation will affect an athlete’s achievable level of performance. However, this in no way reduces the competitiveness of the sport of wheelchair racing. An analogy may be made in the auto sport world to Formula 1 and Stock Car racing: Certain restrictions limit the speed and handling of Stock Cars in comparison to Formula 1 machines, but the competition is no less fierce. And the NASCAR drivers are no less talented at what they do than the top Formula 1 drivers.