Wheelchair Rugby (Murderball) is a team sport that combines elements of rugby, wheelchair basketball, ice hockey and handball. Disabled competitors use specially outfitted wheelchairs to advance a ball up a wooden court, with the intention of carrying the ball across the goal line. Physical contact is only permitted between wheelchairs, not players.

Wheelchair rugby, also referred to as Murderball, is a mixed team sport for individuals who are quadriplegics. It is a fast-paced, contact sport played by two teams on an indoor basketball sized court. Games are fluid and fast-moving, with possession switching back and forth between the teams while play continues.

To score more points than the opposing team at the end of regulation. Should the game be tied at the end of regulation, overtime is played until there is a winner.

To be able to play, individuals must have a disability that affects both their arms and legs. Wheelchair rugby is played with two teams of up to twelve players each, although only four players from each team may be on the court at one time. Games consist of four eight-minute quarters; overtime consists of three minute periods. The game is played indoors on a basketball court, and the required court markings are a centre line and circle, and a key area measuring 8 meters wide by 1.75 meters deep at each end of the court. Players score by crossing the goal line with two wheels of the player's wheelchair while the player has possession of the ball. A player with possession of the ball must bounce or pass the ball within ten seconds. Teams have fifteen seconds to advance the ball from their back court into the front court. Direct contact between wheelchairs is permitted, but physical contact between players is not. Fouls are penalized by either a one-minute penalty, for defensive fouls and technical fouls, or a loss of possession, for offensive fouls.

The sport was created in 1977 in Winnipeg, Manitoba by five Canadian wheelchair athletes as a way to allow quadriplegics, with a range of functionality in their limbs, to be able to participate in a sport. The sport eventually made its way to the United States in 1981, and in 1982 the first competition was held. In the late 1980s, the name Murderball was dropped for Wheelchair Rugby; in the United States, the sport was renamed Quad Rugby. The first international event was held in 1989, and in 1993 was recognized as an official international sport for disabled athletes. In 2000, the sport was given medal status at the Summer Paralympics in Sydney, Australia.

Basketball Court
Goal Line Pylons
Modified Manual Wheelchair
Wheelchair Rugby Ball

Wheelchair rugby is a contact sport, although there are rules in place that prevent physical contact between players. Wheelchairs are specially modified with bumpers, wings, and spoke protectors to increase safety. Also, most wheelchairs include straps to keep players firmly positioned.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheelchair_rugby