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What is Wheelchair Basketball?

Funding for this video clip series has been provided by:

Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center

Wheelchair basketball is a sport played primarily by people with disabilities. In some countries such as Canada, Australia and England, able-bodied athletes are allowed to compete alongside other athletes on mixed teams. It is based in basketball with some adaptations to reflect the presence of the wheelchair, and to harmonize the different levels of disabilities players have. The sport is governed in the US by the National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA ) and internationally by the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) (Paciorek and Jones, 2001).

Wheelchair basketball has intense competition on the international level, and competitions include the Paralympic Games, an event held for athletes with physical disabilities in the Olympic host city two weeks after the Olympic Games, and the Gold Cup, a qualifying tournament held two years after every paralympics. Major players include Canada, Australia, USA, England, the Netherlands, and Japan.

NOTE: RealPlayer is required to view each videoclip.
Click here to watch a player talking about differences between wheelchair basketball and ambulatory basketball.	Click here to watch a player talking about the competitiveness of wheelchair basketball.

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This fact sheet was last updated on 09-20-2006.