Dr. Maureen Johnson is the Head of Para Surfing Classification at the International Surfing Association (ISA).
She’s an occupational therapist and teaches at the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences.
Johnson is also an enthusiastic surfer.
The ultimate goal of classification is that there is equitable playing field so when those athletes go out into their contests and they’re surfing in their heat, that heat is fair.
To ensure no one has an unfair advantage over another athlete.
So, different levels of injury and different levels of impairment are measured to make sure that every athlete is in their appropriate sport class.
