Classification

Wheelchair Rugby is a sport for quadriplegic (tetraplegic) male and female athletes. Players are classed into one of seven classes: 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0 and 3.5, depending on their functional ability. The higher classes are assigned to those players that have higher functional levels and the lower class players are players with less function.

There are three off the court components used to determine players' classification:

(a) Bench Test - a muscle test is performed on all upper extremity musculature, in addition to an examination of range of motion, tone and sensation.

(b) Functional Trunk Test - assessment of the trunk and lower extremities in all planes and situations, this may include a manual muscle test of the trunk muscles.

(c) Functional Movement Tests - pushing, turning, stopping, starting, holding your chair against resistance, dribbling, passing, rimming and transferring are some of the functional skills that may be evaluated.

A player will also be evaluated on the court, while playing; to help determine which class he/she falls into.

During the game, the total value of all the players on the court for a team cannot exceed eight points. This ensures that teams must field a mix of athletes of all functional levels.

(BOCOG)