Wheelchair Rugby
Overview
Wheelchair Rugby is a team sport for athletes of any gender with a mobility-related disability in upper and lower limbs. It is an invasion and evasion sport with the object being to carry the ball across the opposing team’s try line. It involves full contact between the chairs.
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Who can Play?
Eligible impairments include but are not limited to: Cervical Spinal Cord Injuries, Cerebral Palsy, Amputations, Limb Differences, Charcot-Marie-Tooth, Arthrogryposis, and others.
Wheelchair Rugby uses a classification system to ensure that athletes with different types of disabilities can compete together. When an athlete begins playing wheelchair rugby, they are evaluated by a team of qualified professionals and assigned a number based on their functional ability.
The number ranges from 0.5 (for athletes with the least function) to 3.5 (for athletes with the most function) and increases in 0.5 increments. The four athletes on the court must total no more than 8.0 points (for each female athlete on court, teams are allowed an additional 0.5 or 1.0).
Rules
The main objective is to carry the ball across the opposing team’s goal line. The match is played on a basketball court with a volleyball.
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Contact between wheelchairs is allowed and is an integral part of the rules (although certain actions considered dangerous are penalized). Physical contact between players is forbidden.
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The match consists of four periods of eight minutes (effective playing time). Teams have 40 seconds to score on each possession (including 12 seconds to bring the ball across the midcourt line).
Equipment
Athletes compete in manual wheelchairs that are specially designed for wheelchair rugby use.
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There are two types of wheelchair rugby chairs: offensive and defensive chairs.
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Offensive chairs are set up for speed and mobility and contain a front bumper to prevent other wheelchairs from hooking it. These chairs are used by players with more function.
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Defensive wheelchairs contain bumpers set up to hook and hold other players. These wheelchairs are most often used by players with less function.
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The game is played with a ball identical in size and shape to a regulation volleyball.
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Most athletes wear gloves for additional push grip and for hand protection.
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At Parasport NB programs, all equipment is provided.
Defensive Chair
Offensive Chair
History
Originally called Murderball, Wheelchair Rugby was invented in 1977 in Winnipeg, Canada by a group of quadriplegic athletes who were looking for an alternative to wheelchair basketball. They wanted a sport which would allow players with reduced arm and hand function to participate equally.
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In 1994, Wheelchair Rugby was officially recognised by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) as a Paralympic sport.
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Currently, there are more than forty countries that actively participate in the sport of wheelchair rugby, or who are developing programs within their nation.
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Wheelchair Rugby Canada is committed to supporting the Women’s Development Program and the trailblazing women who are paving the way for gender equity in the sport. Canada hosted its first-ever Women's Wheelchair Rugby National Championship in April 2026.
