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Wheelchair Rugby
By mobilitytiger | September 5, 2008
There are many sports that are played by those that are mobility challenged. Perhaps one of the most aggressive is wheelchair rugby, which like traditional rugby, can be a pretty hard hitting sport.
Wheelchair rugby was developed in Canada in the later part of the 1970’s. Today it is an event at the Paralympics and more than 20 different countries play it. It was originally called murderball and is a combination of wheelchair basketball and ice hockey. Five Canadians, Jerry Termin, Duncan Campbell, Randy Dueck, Paul LeJeune, and Chris Sargent, are usually attributed with coming up with the game.
The original aim of wheelchair rugby was to allow a full range of participants who had various degrees of mobility. Many athletes at the time were unable to participate in wheelchair basketball, because of the high physical demand, but wheelchair rugby allows for a much more diverse player base. By the beginning of the 1980’s, wheelchair rugby had spread to the United States. By 1996 it was a Paralympic sport.
Visit the New Mobility Tiger to find out more about Wheelchair Rugby
Topics: wheelchair sports |
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