Wheelchair Rugby

Abstract

Wheelchair rugby is a co-ed, mixed team sporting activity for athletes with disabilities in all four limbs, most commonly due to a spinal cord injury resulting in tetraplegia. By definition, tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is the paralysis of all four limbs. Individuals with tetraplegia have motor and/or sensory functions in the cervical spinal segments that are impaired or lost due to damage to that part of the spinal cord. This injury results in impaired function of the upper limbs, lower limbs, trunk, and pelvic organs (Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary). These injuries most commonly occur between the cervical vertebral levels of C5–C7. Historically, this sport was created by disabled athletes who sustained a spinal cord injury. The founders combined elements of rugby, basketball, and handball into what became known as “quad rugby” or “murderball” (International Wheelchair Rugby Federation. iwrf.com). Initially, the games were played using the athletes’ everyday wheelchair; however, the athletes sought out modifications to make sport-specific chairs that were more agile and to avoid damage to their everyday chairs. Manual wheelchairs are manufactured and modified specifically for the sport to help accommodate these athletes for competition (International Wheelchair Rugby Federation. iwrf.com). Teams are composed of four players per side with the objective of carrying the ball across the opposing team’s goal line. Wheelchair rugby is a contact sport between opposing teams’ players and wheelchairs. The contact is an integral part of the game and, like most contact sports, results in injuries. Wheelchair rugby classification rules require each athlete to meet a minimum disability criteria in order to be eligible to participate (International Wheelchair Rugby Federation. iwrf.com). Today, the sport is actively played in 26 countries and was introduced to the Paralympics in the summer of 1996 (International Wheelchair Rugby Federation. iwrf.com).