Rugby

Wheelchair Rugby only has a small similarity with ordinary rugby. It is a team sport which was purposely developed for the tetraplegics. Anyone in possession of a wheelchair and ability to use his/her own power to move forward has the possibility to participate in this team sport. With this in mind, even tetraplegics with strong restrictions due to their paralysis, are able to be integrated.

 

In wheelchair rugby we may not have the known for components of typical game playing in which players are on top of each other in a ball..., but the game is nonetheless quite interesting and spectacular. Crashes in which the players drive into each others chairs are just a casualty. Despite its reputation the play doe not only utilize brute force to win or loose. This game sport does require tactic, studied and discussed moves, as well as team spirit play a key role.

 

Development of Wheelchair Rugby

Wheelchair rugby grew out of an idea to develop a team sport that offers tetraplegics with the many different levels of paralysis to partake in. In many cases tetraplegics due to their different levels of paralysis are limited and are unable to be actively involved in the co-creation of the game. Often they are just playing the part of the ball carrier or may not be appointed at all. Due to this reason at the tail of the seventies, Canada developed a new game which was able to be more fitting for the tetraplegics and accommodate its needs. In 1991 this sport was also established in Switzerland and immediately echoed great approval. Today wheelchair rugby belongs to the most well known wheelchair sports, last but not least because the national team of Switzerland of the Paralympics games was qualified in Sydney.