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In wheelchair basketball a functional classification system was introduced to provide a fair competition (Strohkendl, 1986). The players are divided into eight different classes, ranging from 1.0 to 4.5 with half-point intervals, depending on their functional wheelchair basketball specific potential. A 1-point player has a minimal range of action often due to complete paralysis of the lower limbs and trunk. A 4.5-point player has a minimal disability resulting in maximal functional ability comparable to an able-bodied wheelchair basketball player. In international wheelchair basketball competition, a team is composed of players participating with a total amount of points no greater than 14 (IWBF, 2002).

Classifiers observe the sports performance of the athletes and are challenged to distinguish the untrainable, disability-dependent parameters (actual functional capacity of the players) from the trainable, skill-dependent …