Basketball In Wheelchairs

Wheelchair basketball is played by thousands of disabled people across the world. This disabled sport is governed by the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) and is recognized by the International Paralympic Committee as a disability sport.

The IWBF has 82 National Organizations for Wheelchair Basketball, each participating in wheelchair basketball actively all around the year. As per the IWBF’s statistics, over 100,000 people across the world enjoy this popular disabled sport. Some of these players simply enjoy it for recreational purposes while others play professionally and even represent their country at international levels. Whether you are a man or a woman or even a child, you can play wheelchair basket ball too.

It must however be noted that wheelchair basketball is not just a casual sport and is in fact a very cometitive disabled sport and as a result, it is not surprising that it is one of the mot popular disability sports at the quadr-annual Paralympic Games.  Participants from several countries participate in the Paralympic Games, some of the most common including USA, Canada, Australia, Great Britain, The Netherlands and Japan. The winning country receives the Gold Cup for Wheelchair Basketball.

Basketball In Wheelchairs: Other Details

Wheelchair basketball first started being played in the 1940s through a rehabilitation program at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire, England. It has since developed and grown into an internationall well known disability sport. While it was initially known as Wheelchair Netball, it finally developed into what is today known as Wheerlchair Basketball.

In addition to the Paralympics, players of wheelchair basketball also compete in several other events. One of the most important competitions for his disabled sport is the Wheelchair Basketball World Championship (WBWC).  It started in 1973 and was first played in Bruges, Belgium and the championships wre won by the team from Great Britain.  The next WBWC is due to be held in 2010 and will be hosted by Birmingham, England.

What Are Disabilities Sports?

There are several disabled sport opportunities available

Disability sports consist of participation in athletic games by physically or mentally disabled individuals. These individuals may be inherently disabled or be disabled due to some unfortunate event in their lives. Either way, participation in any kind of disabled sports requires the individual to have some sort of limiting factor that excludes them from regular sports. Disability sports events are organized in ways slightly different than other common sports. Most of the time, while organizing a disability sport, the same existing sport is taken and then modified according to specific disability requirements of the group of individuals concerned. Other times, special disabled sports events are created for the benefit of such individuals. These disabled sports might not have any counter-part in regular sporting events but are fairly commonly recognized among specific organizations.

Types of Disability Sports Events

Disability sports can be broadly divided in to 3 general types:

• Disabled sports for individuals with a mental incapability
• Disabled sports for individuals with a physical incapability
• Disabled sports for the deaf

In order to cater to the various different kinds of disabilities, different disability sports events have been set up for such individuals. Some of the most common disability sports that are nationally or even internationally famous are:

• Special Olympics
• Disability Commonwealth Games
• Deaflympics
• Paralympic Games

Importance of Disability Sports

Sports, in general, takes up an important place in the lives of most individuals. However, disability sports has a whole new level of importance in the lives of individuals suffering from a mental or physical disability or their friends and families.

• Disabled sports gives prior athletes who are now disabled another opportunity at playing their sport which used to be their life at one point.
• These disability sport events makes individuals feel a sense of belonging that every game team brings with it.
• Disability sports provides a sense of confidence of independence within a person.
• Staying active even provides much needed exercise to some individuals.
• Most importantly, disabled sports improves the psychological factors affecting a disabled individual by making them feel like they can achieve new heights for themselves.

Disability sports have provided a much needed revival of confidence and intelligence within the large group of disabled individuals in this country. Many of these individuals are extremely talented in various sports and these disability sport events provide an opportunity for them to portray them. With efforts being made worldwide to have this form of disabled sports accepted by all, it is almost certain that disability sports will soon become a very common event in many countries of the world.

Reference:

1. About Disabled Sports USA – Disabled Sports USA