World War II veterans in the United States first developed wheelchair basketball between 1945 and 1946, according to Paralympics.org. The sport has since grown into an international sport that is played in over 80 countries. Wheelchair basketball is played by both men and women athletes who compete in the same athletic tradition and spirit as regular basketball.
History
In the mid-1940s, a similar sport called Wheelchair Netball was being played at the Spinal Rehabilitation Hospital in Great Britain as a form of rehabilitation. In 1955, the first international wheelchair competition took place between the U.S. Wheelchair Basketball team and the Pan Am Jets at the Stoke Mandeville Games in Great Britain. The game lacked basketball backboards because the English team played netball, but backboards became standard soon after.
The International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation was the world governing body for wheelchair sports until 1973, when a special division was created for wheelchair basketball, called the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation in 1989. At the time of publication, over 100,000 people play wheelchair basketball, notes the IWBF.
Wheelchair Basketball Basics
Wheelchair athletes compete on the same basketball court as regular basketball players. The court size is the same, the height of the baskets are the same and each team's goal is to score baskets in the opposing team's basket while preventing the opposing team to score in their basket. Wheelchair basketball includes both men's and women's teams.
Team Breakdown
Wheelchair basketball teams have 12 players. A maximum of five players are on the court during game play. Each player is given a point value according to the severity of his disability. Point values start at 0.5 points for the most severely disabled player to 4.5 point for the players with the most functional abilities. Each team's total point value must not exceed 14 points for the players on the court at any given time.
Regulations
As with any Olympic sport, wheelchair basketball has regulations mandating a specific code of ethics for athletes, officials, organizations or any person involved in competition. Wheelchair athletes are subject to anti-doping rules, eligibility requirements and sanctions or penalties for on- and off-court violations of the governing body's rules.
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