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Wheelchair basketball
Wheelchair basketball is basketball played by people with varying physical disabilities that disqualify them from playing an able-bodied sport. It is recognized by the International Paralympic Committee as the sole competent authority in wheelchair basketball worldwide.
It is estimated that more than 100,000 people play wheelchair basketball from recreation to club play and as elite national team members.
Wheelchair basketball is included in the Paralympic Games. The Wheelchair Basketball World Championship is played two years after every Paralympic Games. Major competition in wheelchair basketball.
Rules
Wheelchair basketball retains most major rules and scoring of basketball, and maintains a 10-foot basketball hoop and standard basketball court. The exceptions are rules which have been modified with consideration for the wheelchair. For example, "travelling" in wheelchair basketball occurs when the athlete touches their wheels more than twice after receiving or dribbling the ball. The individual must pass, bounce, or shoot the ball before touching the wheels again.
Wheelchair design
Basketball wheelchairs are designed for enhanced stability. The center of gravity is where the chair and the athlete's mass are equally distributed in all directions, this prevents the wheelchair from flipping over. A wheelchair also has a higher seat that makes it easier to tip. Basketball chairs have lower seats and wheels that are angled outward so that the center of gravity has to move a greater distance before it passes over the fulcrum and tips the chair. Forwards and centers are typically under the net, so their chairs have higher seats and therefore less mobility, but the height increases the player's reach for shots at the hoop and for rebounds. Guards have lower seats and therefore greater stability for ball handling and getting down the court as quickly as possible.
Adapted swimming
Swimming is particularly valuable for people with disabilities, since the water allows them to move without assistance, an important discovery and experience for anyone with a disability. The buoyancy conditions are relatively favorable for quadriplegics. Once a swimmer has learned to control his or her position in the water, he or she very quickly gains confidence. Swimming has a very high psychological and therapeutic value for people with disabilities since the buoyancy relieves the strain on the body, allows them to move without assistance and stimulates all vegetative functions. It promotes mobility in the joints and stimulates the circulation and breathing. There are of course swimming competitions as well, at both national and international level. These cover all swimming techniques, performed on stretches of between 25m and 400m, as individual and relay races.
Swimming Classification
Swimmers are classified according to the type and extent of their disability. The classification system allows swimmers to compete against others with a similar level of function.
Swimmers with physical disabilities are allocated a category between 1 and 10, with 1 corresponding to the most severe types of disability. Physical disabilities of Paralympic swimmers include single or multiple limb loss (through birth defects and/or amputation), cerebral palsy, spinal cord injuries (leading to paralysis or disability in limb coordination), dwarfism, and disabilities which impair the use of joints.
Blind and visually impaired swimmers compete within separate categories, being allocated to categories 11, 12 or 13. Category 11 corresponds to totally blind swimmers, while competitors in category 13 have severe but not total visual impairment. Category 11 swimmers compete with blackened goggles to ensure competitors are on an even level. Category 11 swimmers are also required to use tappers but they are optional for category 12 and 13.
Swimmers with mental disabilities compete in category 14.
Numbers are combined with a letter prefix depending on the event type. An "S" prefix corresponds to freestyle, backstroke and butterfly, while "SB" corresponds to breaststroke and "SM" to the medley. Hence, a swimmer with severe physical disabilities competing in backstroke may compete in an S3 event, while a blind swimmer in the medley would compete in class SM11.
For relay races, athletes from different classifications compete together, but the sum of their individual classifications must not exceed a given points total. For example, a relay team for a 34 points freestyle relay may consist of two S8 swimmers and two S9 swimmers (9 + 9 + 8 + 8 = 34), or an S10 swimmer and three S8 swimmers (10 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 34).