FROM THE SKYBOX BY ERIC CARLYLE, CO-FOUNDER
Wheelchair Rugby My New Sports Passion
R
ugby, rugby, rugby. By now, many of you already know that Compete Magazine was founded during the 2006 Bingham Cup in New York City. So whenever we do a rugby issue, I get really excited. To me, rugby is like life. It is a sport that has a position for almost every body type (how diverse is that)? In fact, there is even a wheelchair version of rugby. The International Wheelchair Rugby Federation (www.iwrf.com) oversees the sport. It is dubbed “the only full contact wheelchair sport in the world.” Wheelchair rugby has been around since the 1970s but debuted as a medal sport at the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney. To make it clear, wheelchair rugby is not a watered down version of traditional rugby. Wheelchair rugby is full contact, fast paced and it includes male and female athletes playing on the same team. Each athlete must have functional impairments in at least three of their four limbs. An indoor sport that is played on a modified basketball court, wheelchair rugby combines elements from several sports, including basketball, rugby and ice hockey. Teams consist of four players each. Players score by crossing the opposing team’s goal line. Being a full contact sport, players use custom rugby wheelchairs to compete in the sport. Currently over 3,000 individuals participate in wheelchair rugby globally. The game is actively played in over 27 countries. So besides rugby, I now have a whole new sport to get excited about. After doing some research, I am a full-fledged wheelchair rugby fan. I admire both the sport of wheelchair rugby and the athletes that compete. Sport On,
Eric Carlyle, Co-Founder eric@competenetwork.com
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| COMPETE | February 2014