A pioneering Frame Running project has been awarded the 2025 IPC Classification Recognition Award at the 2025 IPC Annual Classification Meeting in Bonn, Germany.

The pioneering research project led by a team of experts including Martine Verheul from Edinburgh University, Marrietta Van Der Linden from Queen Margaret University, and Nicola Tennent, a retired physiotherapist with extensive experience in gait analysis, has set a new standard in the world of Para athletics classification.

World Abilitysport Head of Development, Craig Carscadden, provided essential drive and many years of experience behind the research which focused on the sport of Frame Running. This sport allows athletes with moderate to severe levels of hypertonia, ataxia, and/or athetosis to engage in aerobic exercise using a three-wheeled running frame with chest support.

Frame Running offers an opportunity for high support need athletes to participate in competitive sports, and the research team’s work has been instrumental in its inclusion in the World Para Athletics Paralympic programme. Their efforts resulted in a ground-breaking classification system, meeting the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) requirement for evidence-based research.

World Abilitysport President, Rudi Van den Abbeele praised the work of the team, “On behalf of World Abilitysport, I would like to congratulate the team for this well-deserved recognition in delivering a project with far-reaching benefits in the future of classification. The importance of this system has already been demonstrated in the classification of over 70 athletes under the new system and marks a significant achievement, ensuring these athletes have a fair and structured pathway to competition.”

World Abilitysport Head of Development, Craig Carscadden expressed his satisfaction with the project’s outcome: “This has been a long and, at times, arduous process, but through the hard work and dedication of the team, we achieved the goal of developing a Frame Running classification system. It is my view that this work is ground-breaking and will serve as the benchmark for any future classification research associated with coordination impairments like hypertonia, ataxia, and athetosis. The implementation of the classification system was fundamental to Frame Running’s inclusion in LA 2028.”