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Wheelchair Rugby There are currently two rugby football games played by people in wheelchairs. Wheelchair Rugby is the most popular of the two sports.
Wheelchair Power Tag Rugby
Wheelchair Power Tag Rugby is a form of rugby football which is played indoors by two teams of three wheelchairs (two electrics and a manual) who aim to score points in various ways using a medium sized rugby ball. It is an uncodified form of tag rugby invented by a small group of young individuals in the United Kingdom in 2003 following a Rugby Union match which occurred between London Irish and Leeds Tykes. The game is outside of the official Rugby Union and Rugby League programmes and is a game played by a very small minority. The game can be adapted so that people with a variety of disabilties can take part. You do not have to be athletic or physically able to take part.
This version is uncodified as it is a hybrid of the various rugby codes: Tag, Touch, League, Union and Quad Rugby. It is also influenced by American Football. It may be argued that WPTR is most closely related to Tag and Touch Rugby. It is related to Tag and Touch Rugby due to the absence of real physical contact.'
Some basic rules:
Scoring in WPTR
1. Try's are scored like Touchdown's in American Football. To score a Try the ball carrier must enter the opposing team's endzone without being tackled twice.
2. The try is converted by throwing the ball through the oppostions inflatable rugby posts which
are located in the middle of each of the endzones.
3. Drop goals are scored by throwing the ball through the oppostions rugby posts.
4. Penalties are scored by throwing the ball through the oppostions rugby posts from where a
serious foul occurred.
Tackling
A tackle is when a player makes contact with the ball carrier or their wheelchair. When this occurs the tackler shouts "Tag". After two Tag's the tackler is given the ball.
Quad Rugby
- Quad Rugby, or wheelchair rugby as it is also called, is a sport with roots going back to wheelchair basketball and ice hockey, which is not surprising, since it was developed by three Canadians from Winnipeg, Manitoba as a quadriplegic equivalent to wheelchair basketball. The sport was originally called murderball due to the aggressive nature of the game. It was introduced in the United States in 1981 by Brad Mikkelsen, who with the aid of the University of North Dakota's Disabled Student Service's, formed the first team, the Wallbangers, and changed the game's name from murderball to quad rugby.
Some Quad Rugby rules:
- is played on a regulation-sized basketball court by four players from each team.
- During the games team players pass a volleyball back and forth.
- The ball must must passed the basll into the opponents half-court within 15 seconds.
- A player with the ball must pass it within 10 seconds.
Similar sports
Flag football and Touch football
External links
- WPTR (http://www.geocities.com/treloarsport)
- Quad Rugby (http://www.quadrugby.com)
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