History of Wheelchair Basketball

History of Wheelchair Basketball

An historical perspective on wheelchair basketball would not be complete witho= ut mention of the Second World War (1939-1945). One end result of this global crisis was that society was confronted with an unusual number of people with physical disabilities. These people let the world know that they had needs = that had to be met beyond food, clothing and shelter; they had an ego, they were worthwhile, and they belonged!

The philosophy of the day was adaptation of particular sports as viewed thr= ough the eyes of rehabilitation staff. Basketball was perceived to be one of the most adaptable team sports, and was played in various parts of the world in= the early 1940's.

On the world scene, Sir Ludwig Guttmann was given the task of starting a sp= inal cord injuries centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital<= /st1:PlaceType> in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire<= /st1:City>, England. = The British Government funded the operation in 1944 with the view of having the second front assist individuals to cope with their disability, regain digni= ty and independence that may have been lost, and become happy, healthy and respected members of the community. The Stoke Mandeville World Wheelchair G= ames in 1948 marked the beginning of organized wheelchair sports, and earned Sir Ludwig Guttmann the distinction of becoming recognized as the founder.

In June of 1947, the Deer Lodge Hospital in Manitoba organized an event on the front lawn of their facility. The basketball throw accompanied events like the ring toss, milk bottle pitching, archery, croqu= et and golf putting. Luci Delucca was one of the organizers of that event and noted that participants included George Dyck, Joe Smithson, and Tony Mann. = The events had a rehabilitative flair and were very recreational.

There were a number of municipal or provincial groups involved in wheelchair basketball in Canada= from the early 1940's through 1967. Bill Hepburn of the Montreal Wheelchair Wonders and Stan Stronge of the Vancouver Dueck Power Glides were among the most notable. The Montreal team represente= d Canada in the Stoke Games in 1953, marking= our nations`start in world competition, and also represented Canada at the sixth National Wheelchair Basketball Tournament in 1954 in New York, N.Y.

In 1963, Al Simpson of Winnipeg, Manitoba, recalled an event organized in Saskatoon which he claims may have been= the first interprovincial wheelchair basketball competition. A team from Winnipeg and Edmonton met in Saskatoon to play in a weekend of wheelchair basketball.

Smithson, Knightingale, Coates, Bagnatto, Wendel, Fertile, Warrior and Marshall were fam= iliar names of the time. Al became the managing director of the Pan American Games held in Winnipeg in August of 1967. He recalled that the operating budget for that event was $17,148.10 and that there were a total of 128 athletes from 5 nations. The national team was selected using ham radio, and direct results of the numbe= r of members and employees of that association participating in various activiti= es. Organizational discussions took place during this event, and finally on September 09, 1967, the CWSA was born and Dr. Robert W. Jackson was elected= the Chairman.

The national championships were held in conjunction with all other wheelcha= ir sport championship events from 1968 through 1978. In 1979, wheelchair basketball was organized as an event separate from the rest of wheelchair sports, and the provincial teams competed for the Maxine K. Cooper memorial trophy. That award was retired in 1986, and the teams now compete for the Robert W. Jackson trophy.

The Canadian Wheelchair Basketball League was founded in 1986. Club teams compete for the national title using FIBA/IWBF rules, 15 point classification system with able bodied athletes classified = as 4.5 and quadriplegics as 0.5.

National teams have been selected to represent = Canada = at numerous international meets over the years. The first team selected, went = to the Paralympics in I= srael in 1968. At the first Paralympic games organized away from Stoke Mandeville= in Rome 1960 and Tokyo in 1964, our Canadian athletes competed on outdoor courts.

Today, we have over 2000 athletes competing in various city leagues, the Canadian Wheelchair Basketball League (men, women, junior, and Mini), and t= he National Wheelchair Basketball Association (175 teams for men, women, junio= r, and collegiate players in North America)= .

Canada's men’s team won a silver medal at the 1986 Gold Cup World Championships in Melbourne, Australia and struck gold in international competition in 1989 at the Stoke Mandeville World Games. In 1990, both mens= and women teams finished with bronze medals at their respectful gold cups and b= oth captured gold at the 1991 Stoke Mandeville World Wheelchair Games. The men finished fourth at the Paralympics in Barcelona, Spain in 1992 while the women captured the first gold medal for Canada at that event. They re= peated their Gold Medal performance at the 1994 World Championships while the men settled for Bronze at their Gold Cup World Championship event hosted by Canada in Edmonton, Alberta. The women won Gold= again at the Atlanta Paralympics while the men finished in fifth position. The Ju= nior Men captured the first Gold Medal awarded for this age category in the 1997 World Championships in Toronto= , Canada. I= n 1998 at the Gold Cup World Championships in Sydney, Australia= the women retained their number one ranking while the men repeated their bronze medal performance. Since then the Men's won gold at the 2000 and 2004 Paralympic Games and a bronze medal at the 2002 Gold Cup. The Women's Team won gold in 2000 and 2002 and had to settle for bronze medal at the 20= 04 Athens Paralympic Games.

The formation of the CWBA in 1994 has brightened the future for wheelchair basketball development in Canada. The people involved in the early days have paved the way for modern day athletes. As a result of their work the opportunities available today are m= uch greater. The Canada Games Council recognized the sport for the first time at the 1995 Games in Grand Prairie and Jasper= , Alberta. Also in= 1995, Sport Canada recognized CWBA athletes by providing carding status, which me= ans approximately $250,000 that goes directly to athletes and their sport development annually.

The Ottawa-Carleton Wheelchair Sports Association

The Ottawa-Carleton Wheelchair Sports Association (OCWSA) is a non-profit organization that was established to encourage participation in the sport of wheelchair basketball throughout eastern Ontario and western Quebec. It supports the initiation and early development of new sport opportunities= for persons with a disability.

The OCWSA started in 1976 as a wheelchair basketball program at the Royal Ottawa Hospital. Today it = is a flourishing organization operating under a board of directors, elected from= its general membership.

The association operates competitive and recreational basketball programs to su= it the needs and interests of its members. As well, it actively pursues involvement with the community to promote familiarization with wheelchair sports and to educate the public about the abilities and capabilities of pe= rsons with a disability.

The OCWSA currently supports two competitive level teams, the Royals and the Ja= zz.

The Royals, made up of both male and female players, has played in the elite No= rth American Wheelchair Basketball League, which has over 165 teams. In 1992 the team qualified for the "Final Four" Championship tournament, maki= ng it only the third Canadian team to accomplish this feat. In 1994 it repeated and became the first Canadian team to ever make it, twice. In the 1990's no fewer than seven Royals have played on national teams that have represented= Canada = in World games events.

The Ottawa Jazz is our women's team. This team currently plays in the women's conference of the Canadian Wheelchair Basketball League and is the Ontario Provincial representative. This team has also had its fair share of success. Always ranked among the top three women's teams in the country, they were national champions in 1993, 1995, 1998, 2000 and silver medalists in 1999 a= nd 2001.

How to play Wheelchair Basketball

The wheelchair is considered a piece of equipment in the game and has the follo= wing restrictions:

§ Only one cushion is permitted on the seat of the chair and may not exceed 10cm in thickness for class 1.0 - 3.0 players and no more than 5cm for 3.5 - 4.5 pl= ayers;

§ Foot rests may not be higher than 11cm;

§ There must be floor protection material on the underneath of the front of the wheelchair;

§ Seat height may not exceed 53cm;

§ The chair may have 3 or 4 wheels with the large wheels not to exceed 67cm;

§ There must be a hand rim on each wheel;

§ Steering devices, brakes, or gears are not allowed on the chair;

§ Black air tires are not permitted;

§ Arm rests and other supports are not allowed to project beyond the line of the player’s legs or trunk in a natural sitting position.

§ The horizontal bar at the back of the wheelchair (backrest) must be padded to prevent injury.

The wheelchair is considered part of the player's body in relation to establish= ing responsibility for contact on court in the case of charging, blocking, going out of bounds, and other violations.

An offensive player may not remain in the key area for more than three seconds= .

A player may wheel the chair and bounce the ball simultaneously, however, if = the ball is picked up and\or placed on the players lap, he\she is only allowed = to push twice before they are obligated to shoot, pass, or dribble the ball ag= ain. There is no double dribble rule in wheelchair basketball. A traveling viola= tion occurs if the player takes more than two pushes while in possession of the = ball and not dribbling.

In addition to the technical fouls that may be assessed from time to time as in stand up basketball, a player lifting his\her legs to gain an advantage or lifting out of there chair is given a technical foul. The player must remain firmly seated in their chair and must not use their lower limbs to steer the chair or gain an unfair advantage.

In the event that a player falls out of their chair a referee may stop the pla= y if in their opinion the player is at risk of being injured, otherwise play will continue.

On an in bound play, the offensive player is not allowed to go into the key un= til the ball is handed to the in bounding player by the referee.

The height of the basket, distance to the foul line, three point line, etc., are the same measurements as in the game of stand up basketball.