Wheelchair Rugby
Wheelchair rugby originated as “Murderball” in 1977 in Canada and is rapidly developing around the world. It is an intense, physical team sport for male and female quadriplegic (tetraplegic) athletes. Wheelchair rugby combines elements of basketball, grid-iron and ice hockey and is played on a basketball-sized court. The teams are formed by four players and up to eight substitutes.
To be eligible to play Wheelchair Rugby at an elite level, players must have a disability which affects the arms and legs. Most players have spinal cord injuries with full or partial paralysis of the legs and partial paralysis of the arms. Other disability groups who play include cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, amputations, polio, and other neurological conditions. Men and women compete on the same teams and in the same competitions.
Players are assigned a sport classification based on their level of disability; teams must field players with a mix of classification values, allowing players with different functional abilities to compete together.
At Wheelchair Sports NSW, we run the sport of Wheelchair Rugby in NSW and the ACT. We run weekly training sessions and a monthly Club Challenge, in addition to the GIO NSW Gladiators who compete in the Wheelchair Rugby National League and National Championships.
To those interested we can help with finding a chair so you can get in and have a go! Please get in touch with us to get involved in this great sport.
TRY
Come and Try Wheelchair Rugby at any of our Weekly Training sessions around the state.
| DAY | VENUE | TIME |
| Monday | Broadmeadow Basketball Stadium | 4.00pm – 5.30pm |
| Tuesday | Sydney Olympic Park, Netball Central | 4.00pm – 7.00pm |
| Coming Soon | Canberra | Call for more info |
| Coming Soon | Port Macquarie | Call for more info |
PLAY
2020 Wheelchair Rugby Club Challenge
Presented by
| DATE | VENUE | TIME |
| Saturday 1 February | Netball Central, Sydney Olympic Park | 10:00am – 1:00pm |
| Saturday 29 February | Netball Central, Sydney Olympic Park | 10:00am – 1:00pm |
| Saturday 28 March | Broadmeadow Basketball Stadium, Broadmeadow | 10:30am – 1:30pm |
| Saturday 16 May | Netball Central, Sydney Olympic Park | 10:00am – 1:00pm |
| Saturday 6 June | Netball Central, Sydney Olympic Park | 10:00am – 1:00pm |
| Saturday 4 July | Netball Central, Sydney Olympic Park | 10:00am – 1:00pm |
| Saturday 1 August | Netball Central, Sydney Olympic Park | 10:00am – 1:00pm |
| Saturday 5 September | Netball Central, Sydney Olympic Park | 10:00am – 1:00pm |
| Saturday 3 October | Netball Central, Sydney Olympic Park | 10:00am – 1:00pm |
2020 Wheelchair Rugby National League
| Round | DATE | VENUE |
| 1 | Friday 3 – Sunday 5 April | Queensland |
| 2 | Friday 17 – Sunday 19 April | Netball Central, Sydney Olympic Park |
| 3 | Friday 1 – Sunday 3 May | Victoria |
EXCEL
National Championships
The GIO NSW Gladiators will represent Wheelchair Sports NSW in the Wheelchair Rugby National Championships.
Date: May 29-31st
Location: Gold Coast Sport & Leisure centre
Rep Teams
Wheelchair Rugby at the Paralympic Games
Location: Yoyogi National Stadium, Tokyo
Date: 26th – 30th August 2020
GET STARTED
Contact Pat Curtin
0411 892 269
PARTNERING ORGANISATIONS
International Wheelchair Rugby Federation