Smith, Funk Lead 76ers into Another Wheelchair Rugby Season It’ s the 40th Anniversary of“ Winnipeg’ s Game”
By Scott Taylor, Photos courtesy of Jared Funk
Jared Funk is a bit of a legend in the sport of Wheelchair Rugby. Arin Smith has been around even longer. This month, the players on the Winnipeg 76ers wheelchair rugby – or Murder Ball – team get back to practicing and preparing for the 2017 Western Canada season. The 76ers play in a loop with Saskatchewan, Calgary and Edmonton and while Smith says their first league tournament will not be until February, that doesn’ t mean they won’ t get back to work.
“ This is a big season for us here in Winnipeg,” Smith explained.“ It’ s the 40 th Anniversary of Wheelchair Rugby and it was invented right here in Winnipeg in 1976. In fact, Duncan Campbell, one of the inventors, still plays to this day. He’ s in his early 60s and it’ s been a lifelong game for him.”
When it was started back in the mid- 70s – yes, right here in Winnipeg – the game was known as Murder Ball and for many of the athletes, it still is. By definition, it is“ a rough and rumbling sport for men and women, most of whom have quadriplegia.”
The game is played on a regular basketball court( a wooden gym floor) and the objective is to fully cross the opponent’ s goal line to earn a
34 / sportslife point. The appeal for the players is pretty simple: It is non-stop action with passing, ball carrying and of course wheelchairs crashing into each other.
It’ s a sport that combines the elements of basketball, football, handball and even hockey, in all its forms. Born in Winnipeg, it is now played in more than 40 countries.
While the object of the game is to carry the ball across the opposing team’ s goal line( just like rugby), the rules state that two wheels must cross the line for the goal to count while the player has“ firm control of the ball( a standard volleyball) when he or she crosses the line,” just like football.
The game consists of four eightminute quarters. There is a two-minute break between quarters and a fiveminute break at halftime and like basketball, there is a time clock. Teams have 40 seconds to score on each possession. After a goal or stoppage of play, the player has 10 seconds to inbound the ball. The action is, indeed, non-stop.
And also like basketball, a player whose team has control of the ball cannot remain in the opposing team’ s key for more than 10 seconds and like both handball and basketball, a player must dribble the ball once every 10 seconds. The defending team, meanwhile, can have no more than three players in the key.
Wheelchair rugby is a full-contact game and chair contact is actually encouraged. To ensure player safety, however, players cannot strike another player’ s wheelchair anywhere behind
the axle of the rear wheel if it causes the chair to rotate horizontally or vertically. Physical body contact is also not permitted.
For athletes like Funk and Smith, falling in love with the game was not at all difficult.
“ I got hurt in a car accident in 1989 and I’ d played basketball, baseball, hockey, all the school sports at Reston Collegiate,” said Smith who has also participated in wheelchair basketball, shooting and table tennis.“ I was also a badminton player and back then, I was the only person who had won the high school provincial badminton championship three years in a row.
“ I was in rehab in the hospital and Trish Klassen from Manitoba Wheelchair Sports came to visit and told me there was a sport I could play as a quadriplegic. When I first went out, I fell in love with the game immediately. I loved hockey and it was easy for me to compare this game to hockey. It’ s really an awesome game.”
Smith has been part of the Murder Ball scene for 26 years while Funk, a national legend, has been at it for 23 years. While Smith was in the national team program from 1993-96 but eventually decided to concentrate on the game at the provincial level, Funk stayed with the national team program through the 90s to last year and has won three Paralympic medals – a silver