4
WHEELCHAIR
BASKETBALL
History
Wheelchair basketball has its roots in the early 1940s as veterans of World War II returned, creating a society with a high percentage of people with physical disabilities. In 1944, Ludwig Guttmann, through the rehabilitation program at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England, first adapted existing sports to use wheelchairs. In the United States at that time, wheelchair basketball games were played primarily between disabled veterans. In 1946, the California Chapter of Paralyzed Veterans of America played the first match of wheelchair basketball, soon followed by the New England Chapter. Thereafter, the sport spread to Veterans Affairs hospitals in Boston, Chicago, Memphis, Richmond and New York. In 1952, the first International Stoke-Mandeville Games were played with teams from Britain and the Netherlands. According to NWBA historian Stan Labanowich, “A new era...of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association began...when the University of Illinois Ms. Kids were established as the first women's wheelchair basketball team.” The Ms. Kids started building their program from 1970 by playing able-bodied opponents. On February 24, 1974, they competed in the nation's first wheelchair basketball game between two organized women's teams. In 1974, the NWBA legislated to permit women to play on the formerly all-male teams.
Rules
Overall, the rules of wheelchair basketball retain most of the major rules and scoring guidelines of able-bodied basketball and both sports use the same courts.
However, to dribble in wheelchair basketball, the player must dribble or bounce the ball every two pushes he gives his wheelchair. “Travelling” occurs when the athlete touches his wheels more than twice after receiving or dribbling the ball. A player is out of bounds when any part of his/her body or wheelchair touches the floor or any object on or outside of a boundary. In most cases, the wheelchair is considered an extension of the individual and fouls can also include negligible contact with the wheelchair.
Player classification plays a significant role in wheelchair basketball. Classifications are based on the severity of the players’ disabilities and are meant to encourage more individuals with severe disabilities to participate. There are three player classifications (Class I, Class II, and Class III) that are based on the function available in different regions of the spinal cord. Class I includes individuals that have complete motor and function loss at T-7 or above. For Class II, the individual must have complete motor loss originating at T-8 and descending through and including L-2, the location of motor power of the hips and thighs. Also included in this class are amputees with bilateral hip disarticulation. Class III includes all other physical disabilities as related to lower extremity paralysis or paresis originating at or below L-3. Each classification is given a numerical value: Class I = 1 value point, Class II = 2 value points, and Class III = 3 value points. In the NWBA, women are allowed to participate on a men's team one class level below their actual classification level. No player is allowed to be below the Class I level. At no point in a game can a team have more than three Class III players playing together or a value point total of greater than twelve for all players.