What exactly is wheelchair rugby?
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If you look closely you will find rugby in every facet of life and why shouldn’t this great game be played by all? It should even be open to wheelchair bound rugby enthusiasts. YES! Even them, but before you declare me medically insane, allow me to introduce you to the sport of wheelchair rugby.
Initially called Murderball (I’m sure all mothers are cringing now), wheelchair rugby was first developed in Canada in 1977. Since then the sport has grown and is played in more than 20 countries and has paralympic status.
Wheelchair rugby is played on a hardwood court roughly the size of a basketball court. Teams can have up to 12 players but there can only be 4 players from each team on the court during play. The sport is mixed gender so men and women can compete with and against each other. A goal is scored when a player crosses the goal line with both wheels while in the possession of the ball. A goal needs to be scored within 40 seconds and the ball needs to be bounced every 10 seconds. Games consist of four 8 minute quarters and if the score is tied after regulation time, 3 minute over-time periods are played.
In order to play wheelchair rugby, players need to have a disability with a loss of function in both their upper and lower limbs. Most players have spinal cord injuries at the cervical level but players with amputations, polio, cerebral palsy and other medical conditions may be eligible to play. Players are assessed and then classified according to their functional level and assigned a point value ranging from 0.5 (lowest) to 3.5 (highest). The total classification of all the players from the same team on the court cannot exceed eight points.
South Africa Wheelchair Rugby is an affiliated member of SARU. The affiliation with SARU resulted in South Africa Wheelchair Rugby being awarded an office from where Wheelchair Rugby is administrated. The office of SA WCR is situated at Vodacom Loftus, generously by Blue Bulls Rugby. The relationship between South Africa Wheelchair Rugby and SARU resulted in the South Africa Wheelchair Rugby obtaining SAB Miller International tournament sponsorship. The magnitude of people living with disabilities in South Africa provides South Africa Wheelchair Rugby with the opportunity to develop into the most competitive Wheelchair Rugby Nation in the world. The Wheelchair Rugby National team however does not compete at International level regularly due to a lack in funding and sponsorship. Much needed funding to compete internationally as well as to obtain High Performance Equipment will assist in High Performance Athlete development.
Wheelchair Rugby in South Africa currently consists of eight registered Wheelchair Rugby Clubs. The clubs are self-sufficient with little to no sponsorship. Funding via National Lotteries assist regions and clubs with obtaining much needed equipment such as rugby wheelchair and wheelchair rugby balls.
New aspiring athletes are welcome to contact the nearest club in the region at the following numbers:
Gauteng:
Tuks Wheelchair Rugby
Yolande Oosthuysen
083 264 7321
yoosthuysen@telkomsa.net
Free State
Mustangs Wheelchair Rugby
Bruce Mc Intyre
0832502987
bmcintyre@apd.ih.co.za
East London:
Bullfrogs Wheelchair Rugby
PJ Truter
082 923 4772
peter.truter@treasury.ecprov.gov.za
Western Cape:
Eagles Wheelchair Rugby
Tohier Abrahams
073 153 0094
mtab@telkomsa.net
KZN:
Stallions Wheelchair Rugby
Richard Fitzgerald
083 777 2251
butch@nwjcorp.com
South Africa Wheelchair Rugby
Victor Buitendag
084 308 5856
victor.wcr@gmail.com
Facebook: SA WCR
Twitter: @sawcr
Website: http://www.sawcr.co.za
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