LW12 is a para-alpine and para-Nordic sit skiing sport class defined by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). An LW12 skier needs to meet a minimum of one of several conditions including a single below knee but above ankle amputation, monoplegia that exhibits similar to below knee amputation, legs of different length where there is at least a 7 centimetres difference, combined muscle strength in the lower extremities less than 71. For international competitions, classification is done through IPC Alpine Skiing or IPC Nordic Skiing. For sub-international competitions, classification is done by a national federation such as Alpine Canada. For para-alpine, this class is subdivided into two subclasses.: LW12.1 and LW12.2. A new sit-skier competitor with only national classification will compete as LW12.2 in international competitions until they have been internationally classified.
In para-alpine skiing, the skier uses a mono-ski, while para-Nordic skiers use a two ski sit-ski. Skiers in this class use outriggers, and are required to wear special helmets for some para-alpine disciplines. In learning to ski, one of the first skills learned is getting into and out of the ski, and how to position the body in the ski in order to maintain balance. The skier then learns how to fall and to get up.
A factoring system is used in the sport to allow different classes to compete against each other when there are too few individual competitors in one class in a competition. The alpine skiing factoring during the 2011/2012 skiing season for LW12.1 was 0.8031 for slalom, 0.8608 for giant slalom, 0.8489 for super-G and 0.851 for downhill, and for LW12.2 was 0.8279 for slalom, 0.8708 for giant slalom, 0.8587 for super-G and 0.8605 for downhill. The percentage for the 2012/2013 para-Nordic ski season was 100%. This classification has been able to compete at different skiing competitions including the Paralympics, IPC Alpine World Championships and the IPC Nordic Skiing World Championships. Competitors in this class include Australians Michael Norton and David Munk, and American Russell Docker.