LW3 is a para-alpine and para-Nordic standing skiing sport class defined by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) for skiers with a disability affecting both legs, with double below knee amputation or a combined strength total for both legs of 60, with 80 as the baseline for people without disabilities. For international skiing competitions, classification is done through IPC Alpine Skiing or IPC Nordic Skiing. The classification has two subclasses for para-alpine skiing: LW3.1 which is for people with double below the knee amputations or similar disabilities, and LW3.2 which is for people with cerebral palsy that involves moderate athetoid, moderate ataxic impairment or slight diplegic involvement.
Skiers in this classification compete with two skis and two ski poles in both para-alpine and para-Nordic skiing. In training, they may use different types of equipment depending on the type of disability the skier has. As this class includes skiers with paralysis, amputations and cerebral palsy, a variety of skiing techniques and training types are needed. For skiers with balance issues, ski bras are used to learn how to balance on skis.
A factoring system is used in the sport to allow different sport classes to compete against each other when there are too few individual competitors in one class in a competition. The factoring for LW3 alpine skiing classification during the 2011/2012 skiing season was 0.8929 for slalom, 0.9157 for giant slalom, 0.9307 for super-G and 0.9429 for downhill. In para-Nordic skiing, the percentage for the 2012/2013 ski season was 87-94% for classic and 80-96% for free. This class has been able to compete at the Paralympic Games and World Championships dating back to at least the 1990s. Skiers in this class include Australian Marty Mayberry and Canadian LW3.1 skier Lauren Woolstencroft.