Wheelchair rugby

Wheelchair rugby is a team sport for athletes with a disability. It is practiced in over twenty-five countries around the world and is a summer Paralympic Games sport. The game was created by five Canadians in 1976 who were looking for more sports accessible to people with tetraplegia.

Wheelchair rugby is played indoors on a hardwood court, and physical contact between wheelchairs is an integral part of the game. The rules include elements from wheelchair basketball, ice hockey, handball and rugby union. In wheelchair rugby, players cannot kick the ball, so they move the ball forward towards the goal by carrying the ball whilst in a wheelchair. Unlike traditional rugby, the ball is spherical.^[1]

There are different codes of wheelchair rugby, the oldest being a four against four version originally named murderball or quad. Players need to have some loss of function in at least three limbs to qualify for this version. Other versions of the game were created for different disability levels, with a three against three version for more major imparements and a more inclusive fives discipline.

The sport is governed by the World Wheelchair Rugby (WWR) which was established in 1993.

Wheelchair rugby was created to be a sport for persons with tetraplegia in 1976 by five Canadian wheelchair athletes, Gerry Terwin, Duncan Campbell, Randy Dueck, Paul LeJeune and Chris Sargent, in Winnipeg, Manitoba.^[2] At that time, wheelchair basketball was the most common team sport for wheelchair users. That sport's physical requirement for players to dribble and throw the ball into the hoop relegated quadriplegic athletes, with functional impairments to both their upper limbs and lower limbs, to supporting roles. This new sport—originally called murderball due to its aggressive, full-contact nature—was designed to allow quadriplegic athletes with a wide range of functional ability levels to play integral offensive and defensive roles.^[3][2][4]

Three years later, the game was first played outside of Canada as it went to the United States.^[5] The first international tournament was held in 1982, with teams from North America. By the end of the 1980s, international tournaments included teams from Great Britain.^[5] It had also reached Australia.^[6]

In 1990, Wheelchair Rugby first appeared at the International Stoke Mandeville Games (now the World Abilitysport Games) as an exhibition event,^[7] and in 1993 the sport was recognized as an official international sport for athletes with a disability.^[8] In the same year, the International Wheelchair Rugby Federation (IWRF) was established as a sports section of ISMWSF to govern the sport.^[8] The first IWRF World Wheelchair Rugby Championships were held in Nottwil, Switzerland, in 1995.^[9]

Wheelchair rugby appeared as a demonstration sport at the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta. The sport has had full medal status since the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, Australia, and there are now over thirty active countries in international competition, with several others developing the sport.^[10]

Wheelchair rugby is played by two teams with players in specially designed wheelchairs. It is a mixed-gender sport, so both male and female athletes play on the same teams. The amount of players on each team varies with four against four being the original format.^[11]

Wheelchair rugby is played indoors on a hardwood court of the same measurements as a regulation basketball court—28 metres long by 15 metres wide. The required court markings are a centre line and circle, and a key area measuring 8 metres wide by 1.75 metres deep at each end of the court. A team is not allowed to have more than three players in their own key while they are defending their goal and offensive players are not permitted to remain in the opposing team's key for more than eight seconds.^[12]

The goal line is the section of the end line within the key. Each end of the goal line is marked with a cone-shaped pylon. Players score by carrying the ball across the goal line. For a goal to count, two wheels of the player's wheelchair must cross the line while the player has possession of the ball.^[11] Goals are sometimes called "tries" akin to traditional Rugby football.^[13]

When in possession of the ball, players must bounce or pass the ball within eight seconds. They must also pass the halfway line within twelve seconds of their team receiving the ball. There is also a fourty second clock for a team to score or they will concede possession.^[11]

Fouls are penalised by either a thirty-second penalty, for defensive fouls and technical fouls, or a loss of possession, for offensive fouls. In some cases, a penalty goal may be awarded in lieu of a penalty. Whilst contact between wheelchairs is permitted, there is no contact between players. Common fouls include spinning (striking an opponent's wheelchair behind the main axle, causing it to spin horizontally or vertically), illegal use of hands or reaching in (striking an opponent with the arms or hands), and holding (holding or obstructing an opponent by grasping with the hands or arms, or falling onto them).^[11]

Whilst different times can be played, games generally consist of four eight-minute quarters. If the ball goes out of play the time is suspended until it is back in plah. If the game is tied at the end of regulation play, three-minute overtime periods are played.^[14]

Wheelchair rugby is played in a manual wheelchair. The rules include detailed specifications for the wheelchair. Players use custom-made sports wheelchairs that are specifically designed for wheelchair rugby. Key design features include a front bumper, designed to help strike and hold opposing wheelchairs, and wings, which are positioned in front of the main wheels to make the wheelchair more difficult to stop and hold. All wheelchairs must be equipped with spoke protectors, to prevent damage to the wheels, and an anti-tip device at the back.

New players and players in developing countries sometimes play in wheelchairs that have been adapted for wheelchair rugby by the addition of temporary bumpers and wings.

Wheelchair rugby uses a regulation volleyball typically of a 'soft-touch' design, with a slightly textured surface to provide a better grip. The balls are normally over-inflated compared to volleyball, to provide a better bounce. The official ball of the sport from 2013 to 2016 is the Molten soft-touch volleyball, model number WR58X.^[15] Players use a variety of other personal equipment, such as gloves and applied adhesives to assist with ball handling due to their usually impaired gripping ability, and various forms of strapping to maintain a good seating position.

To be eligible to play wheelchair rugby, athletes must have some form of disability with a loss of function in both the upper limbs and lower limbs.^[16] The majority of wheelchair rugby athletes have spinal cord injuries at the level of their cervical vertebrae. Other eligible players have multiple amputations, polio, or neurological disorders such as cerebral palsy, some forms of muscular dystrophy, or Guillain–Barré syndrome, among other medical conditions.

Players are classified according to their functional level and assigned a point value ranging from 0.5 (the lowest functional level) to 3.5 (the highest). The total classification value of all players on the court for a team at one time cannot exceed eight points.^[17]

The classification process begins with an assessment of the athlete's level of disability to determine if the minimum eligibility requirements for wheelchair rugby are met. These require that an athlete have a neurological disability that involves at least three limbs, or a non-neurological disability that involves all four limbs. The athlete then completes a series of muscle tests designed to evaluate the strength and range of motion of the upper limbs and trunks. A classification can then be assigned to the athlete. Classification frequently includes subsequent observation of the athlete in competition to confirm that physical function in game situations reflects what was observed during muscle testing.

Athletes are permitted to appeal their classification if they feel they have not been properly evaluated. Athletes can be granted a permanent classification if they demonstrate a stable level of function over a series of classification tests.

Wheelchair rugby classification is conducted by personnel with medical training, usually physicians, physiotherapists, or occupational therapists. Classifiers must also be trained in muscle testing and in the details of wheelchair rugby classification.

As of November 2022 there are thirty-one active countries playing wheelchair rugby and twenty-six more developing national teams, divided into three zones:^[10]

The major wheelchair rugby international competitions are Zone Championships, held in each odd-numbered year, and the World Championships held quadrennially in even-numbered years. Wheelchair rugby is also an included sport in regional events such as the Parapan American Games.^[18]

Since 2000, it has been one of the sports of the Summer Paralympic Games.

In July 2022, the World Games in Birmingham, Alabama hosted six teams to compete: Japan, USA, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, and Great Britain. These games had been postponed from 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The paralympic version of wheelchair rugby has been adapted with new variations on the rules developed. These variations have broadened the classification system to allow players with higher functionality to compete.

Team size reduces from 12 in the preliminary rounds to 10 in the semi-finals and final. Classifications in three categories:

• "Maximum" players (1 point) - roughly in line with classification for the paralympic version of the game
• "Moderate" players (2 points) - players with functional or physical impairments (eg all leg amputees (single and double) or significant balance issues (e.g. player must walk with assistive devices) )
• "Open" players (3 points) - players with minor or non-permanent physical disabilities and other illnesses (e.g. PTSD, TBI, minor orthopedic injuries)

A maximum of 10 points from 4 players can be played on court at any time.^[19]

The 5s version of wheelchair rugby was developed in the UK by Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby in 2017.^[20] The game was officially adopted by World Wheelchair Rugby in June 2021.^[21] Like the Invictus variation, the 5s game widens eligibility. Team size remains at 12. Classifications in broad groups:

• 0.5 - Paralympic wheelchair rugby classifications from 0.5-1.5
• 1.0 - Paralympic wheelchair rugby classifications from 2.0-3.5
• 1.5 - GBWR Paralympic classification of 4.0 and players with an impairment in one upper limb
• 2.0 - Players with an impairment in both lower limbs
• 3.0 - Players with an impairment in one lower limb
• 4.0 - Players with a diagnosed pain related impairment (GBWR only)

A maximum of 10 points from 5 players can be played on the court at any time.^[22]

Wheelchair rugby was featured in the Oscar-nominated 2005 documentary Murderball. It was voted the #1 Top Sport Movie of all time by the movie review website Rotten Tomatoes.^[23]

The character Jason Street in the NBC television show Friday Night Lights, having been paralyzed in a game of American football in the pilot, tries out for the United States quad rugby team in a later episode.

• Wheelchair sports
• Wheelchair rugby league
• Wheelchair Australian rules football

• International Wheelchair Rugby Federation, Technical Commission (2006), International Rules for the Sport of Wheelchair Rugby, archived from the original on 2006-08-25
• International Wheelchair Rugby Federation, Classification Commission (1999), International Wheelchair Rugby Classification Manual (2nd ed.), archived from the original on 2011-01-14
• International Wheelchair Rugby Federation (2006), About Wheelchair Rugby, archived from the original on 2008-04-24, retrieved August 16, 2006
• International Paralympic Committee (2006), Wheelchair rugby: About the sport, archived from the original on 2006-03-07, retrieved August 16, 2006
• Pasadena Texans Wheelchair Rugby (2007), Pasadena Texans Wheelchair Rugby, archived from the original on 2017-12-23

• Official site of World Wheelchair Rugby (WWR)
• Official site of the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS)
• Official site of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC)
• Official site of the United States Wheelchair Rugby (USAWR)
• Official site of the United States Wheelchair Rugby Association (USWRA)
• Murderball at IMDb