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Ryley Batt:Top Wheelchair Rugby Player
By mobilitytiger | October 10, 2008
Many very talented athletes competed at the recent Paralympics in Beijing. One of the most popular sports was wheelchair rugby, which is often, for good reasons, called Murder Ball. For those that followed the games, one Australian, named Ryley Batt, likely stood out.
Players of Wheelchair Rugby are required to be quadriplegic, which means that they must have limited mobility of their arms and legs. The goal of this full contact sport is for the players to carry the ball across the goal lines which are located at either side of the court. Once a player gets possession of the ball, they must pass it or bounce it within 10 seconds. This quick moving game can get pretty rough as the players crash into one another at full speed, so they use special wheelchairs that are designed to protect the players.
Ryley Batt was born without legs and did not start using a wheelchair until he was 12. Instead he used a wheelchair to get around town, until he saw a demonstration of wheelchair rugby. He quickly fell in love and began playing. Today, 6 years later, he is ranked as the number one player in the world.
During the 2008 Paralympics he put on an excellent show and nearly brought the Australian team home with the Gold, but they lost to the US in the last few seconds of the final game. Throughout all of the games, he lead the charge and was virtually unstoppable.
Batt has said that he loves the full contact aspects of wheelchair rugby. It will likely be a great grudge match at the next Paralympics, between the Australians and the Americans.
Topics: wheelchair sports |
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