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| Quad rugby game |
Rugby was designed to offer a competitive sport for athletes who enjoyed wheelchair basketball but due to the extent of their disability could not remain competitive as they moved from junior to adult competition. Many of the skills learned in wheelchair basketball can easily be applied to rugby.
Rugby can be played on any basketball court with four players to a side. The rugby ball is very similar to volleyball with the objective being to carry the ball across the opponents' goal line. During play, the ball must be bounced (dribbled) or passed once every 10 seconds. During sanctioned competition, each player is assigned a point value, from 0.5 to 3.5, based on his or her level of ability. A maximum number of points are allowed on the floor at any given time in order to ensure a fair playing field.
A player's class is determined by a series of off-court evaluations as well as on-court observations. The off-court tests include:
- Bench Test - a muscle test is performed on all upper-extremity musculature, in addition to an examination of range of motion, tone, and sensation.
- Functional Trunk Test - assessment of the trunk and lower extremities in all planes and situations; this may include a manual muscle test of the trunk muscles.
- Functional Movement Tests - pushing, turning, stopping, starting, holding your chair against resistance, dribbling, passing, rimming, and transferring are some of the functional skills that may be evaluated.
The result of the on- and off-court tests is the player's class, with the higher class being given to players with the most function and the lower class given to the players with the least function.
People of all ages can enjoy rugby. If you can push your chair and catch a ball, you are ready to start banging!
Who Can Participate
Quad rugby is available to athletes in the following categories:
- amputees
- spinal cord injured/wheelchair
- cerebral palsy/brain injury/stroke
NCHPAD Resource:
- Quad Rugby Factsheet - http://www.ncpad.org/9/23/Wheelchair~Rugby