FAQs

The Games are being held 5-11 November 2022.

The Games are being held in Brisbane, Australia with two venues hosting sports on the Gold Coast. The following venues are part of the OA Games 2022:

• Gold Coast Performance Centre, Runaway Bay
• Hollywell Southport Yacht Club, Southport
• Queensland Sport & Athletics Centre, Nathan
• RACQ Mobility Centre, Mount Cotton
• Queensland State Rowing Centre, Wyaralong Dam
• Sleeman Sports Complex, Chandler

The following sports are on the OA Games 2022 sport competition program:

• Athletics
• Badminton (Demonstration sport)
• Basketball
• Track Cycling
• Road Cycling
• Judo
• Indoor Rowing
• On-water Rowing
• Sailing
• Swimming
• Table Tennis
• Taekwondo
• Triathlon (Demonstration sport)

Eligibility is the criteria that define the minimum impairment necessary to compete in a Virtus event. 

Virtus uses evidence-based classification and medical evidence to verify an athlete’s eligibility into one of three Virtus eligibility groups known as II-1, II-2, and II-3.

II-1 (Intellectual Disability) 

• IQ less than or equal to 75,
• Deficits in adaptive behaviour
• Onset of disability prior to the age of 22

II-2 (Intellectual Disability with Significant Additional Impairments)

• Athletes with intellectual disability and significant additional impairment, 
• Trisome 21 (Down syndrome)
• Translocation (Down syndrome) 

II-3 (Autism)

• IQ greater than 75
• Diagnosis of Autism

Classification is not a Virtus requirement, it is an international sport-specific classification for the Paralympics. 

Classification is governed by the IPC Athlete Classification Code and Standards and determines which athletes are eligible to compete in a Paralympic sport and how athletes are grouped together, by the degree of activity limitation resulting from the impairment, for Paralympic competition. 

Classification is sport-specific because an impairment affects the ability to perform in different sports to a different extent. Having an impairment is not enough to compete as an athlete may meet the criteria in one sport but may not meet the criteria in another sport.

At the OA Games 2022, athlete classification is available for the sports of Athletics, Swimming, and Table Tennis which is the first step to pursuing a pathway to the Paralympics.  

These are the only three sports that offer athletes with intellectual impairment competition in the Paralympics and are sanctioned by international sport federations:

• Athletics: World Para Athletics
• Swimming: World Para Swimming
• Table Tennis: International Table Tennis Federation – Para

Within each sport, classification opportunities are only available for events for athletes with intellectual impairment in Paralympic competition:

• Athletics: T20 and F20 events for men’s & women’s:
  • 400m, 1500m, shot put and long jump.

• Swimming: S14, SB14 & SM14 events for men’s & women’s:
  •  100m freestyle, 200m freestyle, 100m backstroke, 100m breaststroke, 100m butterfly, 200m individual medley and 4x100m freestyle relay

• Table Tennis: C11  events for men’s & women’s
  • Singles

Click here to visit the International Paralympic Committee website and learn more about classification.

Demonstration sports are held with the purpose of showcasing the possibility of including the sport in an elite competition for athletes with intellectual impairment and for the purpose of becoming an official sport on the Virtus Sport Program. 

They provide the platform to grow and develop a sport to include elite and international competitions for athletes with intellectual impairment.

The OA Games 2022 offers two demonstrations sports: badminton and triathlon. 

In addition, Virtus is developing II-3 eligibility group for athletes with Autism who do not have intellectual disabilities.

This new group has been developed by Virtus to provide life-changing opportunities to enable those people with autism and no intellectual disabilities to compete at the highest levels. 

To compete in Virtus Games, a nation must be a Virtus member, submit an expression of interest to take part in the event, and then complete registration with the Oceania Asia Games 2022 Organising Committee. 

To compete in the OA Games 2022, countries must be part of the geographical Oceania Asia region unless invited to an open event. 

All athletes must apply for, and successfully meet the Virtus eligibility criteria to compete in any Virtus Games. Click here to find out more about the eligibility criteria.

Athletes will need to register with their national Virtus member organisation to be considered for joining their national team. All Virtus member organisation contact details can be found on the Virtus website by clicking here.

If you are an athlete in the sports of Swimming and Athletics you will need to meet the minimum qualifying standards (MQS) for these sports.