Wheelchair rugby

Wheelchair Rugby (English Wheelchair rugby ) is a team sport for athletes who are limited in at least three limbs. Wheelchair Rugby was developed in the late 1970s in Canada, is now played in over twenty countries around the world and is a Paralympic sport. In Canada, it was first called Murderball.

In the U.S. it was then called quad rugby. In the late 1980s the sport outside of the United States was officially renamed in wheelchair rugby. It is similar to the conventional rugby and is a type ( there are special balls) played volleyball. From Canada, it spread further after the United States and England to Germany.

Genesis

Twenty years ago, Canadians began to develop this sport. Quadriplegics are disadvantaged in wheelchair basketball, because you deliberately throw in basketball, catch, can drive well and quickly need. So they developed the sport of wheelchair rugby. Are permitted for this player with limitations in at least three limbs (eg by missing limbs, cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy sufferers ). Physical contact is not allowed here, but almost any application with the special wheelchair rugby.

Quickly, the sport established in the United States. Today in Canada and the U.S. a fully organized league play with 45 teams. New Zealand, Australia and England put hochqualfizierte teams.

The early 90s, an English team was invited to Germany to introduce wheelchair rugby by Dr. Horst Strohkendl. Around Heidelberg itself established the first German team and wheelchair rugby also got into Germany an organizational framework.

Meanwhile, there is a European Champions League and three leagues in Germany, where the base league is divided into three regional leagues (south, north and east).

Championship and Leagues

The biggest tournament in the world is the Bernd Best Tournament, which is held annually in Cologne since 2001 once. This is where teams from all over Europe and now also from North America to each other in all leagues. The leagues are divided into " Basic League " (same amateur league ), " Advanced League " (equivalent to 2 Bundesliga), " Professionel League " ( ie 1st Bundesliga) and "Champions League". The finale of the Advanced, Professionel and Champions League are transmitted on the Internet.