As one of the only full-contact disability sports, it is little wonder wheelchair rugby, aka 'murderball' was one of the biggest hits of the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
An Overview of Wheelchair Rugby
The sport is open to both men an women, and is one of the only games which allows them to compete on the same team.
The game is played on a basketball court, with boundary lines, a centre line, centre circle and two key areas. Two cones at each end of the court mark out a goal area, and a goal is scored when a player carries a ball across the line.
Games are played in four eight-minute quarters and each team has 40 seconds to score a goal before the ball gets turned over. Chair-to-chair contact is allowed, but person-to-chair and person-to-person contact is not.
Teams are made up of up to 12 players, with four on court at any one time. Each person has a vital role to play, which is ensured by using a classification system based on muscle function and strength. Classes range from 0.5 to 3.5, and the team of four players must total eight points or less during play.
Facts
- The game was invented in 1977 in Canada by a group of tetraplegic wheelchair basketball players who were tired of losing out on court time to their more functional team mates.
WheelPower are dedicated to providing opportunities for disabled people to find a sport they enjoy and provide opportunities throughout the year to introduce people to wheelchair sport..
UK Sport provides strategic investment to enable Great Britain’s Olympic and Paralympic sports and athletes to achieve their full medal winning potential.
A online meeting for Sports Club Welfare & Safeguarding Officers based in Somerset.
You're invited to attend our club welfare forum for anyone involved in sport and physical activity in Somerset, but in particular those in your clubs who hold the role of 'club welfare officer' or 'safeguarding lead'.
If you're the Safeguarding or Welfare Officer at your Sports Club, please join Tracey Sweetland, Somerset Sport Welfare Officer at SASP to learn about local support and opportunities to assist you in your volunteer role.
A online meeting for Sports Club Welfare & Safeguarding Officers based in Somerset.
You're invited to attend our club welfare forum for anyone involved in sport and physical activity in Somerset, but in particular those in your clubs who hold the role of 'club welfare officer' or 'safeguarding lead'.
If you're the Safeguarding or Welfare Officer at your Sports Club, please join Tracey Sweetland, Somerset Sport Welfare Officer at SASP to learn about local support and opportunities to assist you in your volunteer role.