Wheelchair Rugby

Wheelchair Rugby is a highly physical mixed gender team sport combining elements of Rugby, Basketball and Handball. Over four 8-minute quarters on a 28x15m indoor court, Athletes, in manual wheelchairs designed specifically to withstand full-speed collisions, aim to carry the ball over their opponent's try line (scoring zone) while defending their own. To move the ball around the court, players must dribble or pass the ball every 10 seconds and teams have 40 seconds to score after gaining possession. Teams are comprised of four players with various physical impairments impacting their mobility. All players are assigned a classification from .5 to 3.5, with lower numbers representing more limited mobility, and the sum of the classification of the players on the court cannot exceed 8. Wheelchair Rugby displays incomparable toughness, aggression and tenacity–a fan favorite of the Games since its debut as a demonstration sport at the last U.S. Summer Games, Atlanta 1996. ​