Quad Rugby
Hit or be hit… contact is at the heart of wheelchair rugby’s appeal. A game invented for quadriplegics, Wheelchair Rugby is a team sport played with a volleyball on a basketball-size court with end lines. Athletes play in specific rugby chairs which have special accommodations such as a front bumper, wings, and spoke protectors. The objective is for a player to carry a ball across the opponent’s goal line in order to score a point.
Rules:
- A volleyball is used and must be bounced or passed between teammates at least once every 10 seconds during play.
- The sport is played in four eight-minute stop-time quarters indoors on a basketball court.
- Individual players of the game are assigned a classification, which reflects the degree of impairment they experience. Teams have a point limit, meaning that they have to be made up of players with a variety of classifications in order to qualify for a match.
- Contact between wheelchairs is permitted, and is in fact an integral part of the sport as players use their chairs to block, hold and even knock over opponents.