Wheelchair Rugby 5s (WR5s)

Wheelchair Rugby 5s

WHEELCHAIR RUGBY 5’S

World Wheelchair Rugby has recently released its playing guidelines for a new variant of the sport aimed at encouraging greater participation in Wheelchair Rugby 5’s.

'Fives' is the fast-paced version of traditional wheelchair rugby, similar to T20 for cricket or 'sevens' to rugby union. Game rules are the same, except there is 5 players on each team rather than the traditional 4, with matches also played in 2 x 12min halves rather than quarters.

Classification to compete in 'fives' is far less strict than traditional wheelchair rugby, opening our great game up to the thousands of people who have always wished to be able to participate at a competitive level.

As the name suggests, Wheelchair Rugby 5s (WR5s) includes five players on court, whereas the Paralympic discipline has four (WRFours). The Paralympic discipline of wheelchair rugby is aimed at tetraplegic players, whereas WR5s is open to anyone with a permanent physical impairment and paraplegics. The introduction of WR5s allows the sport of wheelchair rugby to be introduced to a wider audience, giving more people the opportunity to enjoy all the benefits that come with participating in organised sports.

The Basic Rules Of Wheelchair Rugby 5s

Wheelchair Rugby is played on a basketball court with up to 12 players on the squad and a maximum of 5 players on the court at any one time.
Teams are made up from both women and men.
A Maximum of 10 points on court per team. All players are classified from 0.5 to 4.0 on a player's points scale. Assessed on the players functionality and mobility.
Wheelchairs – there are two types 1. Defensive Chair has an enlarged pick bar to aid with pinning the opposition 2. The Attacking Chair has a small pick bar, which makes the chair shorter and nimbler.
Tip Off – the game is commenced by two opposing players competing for the ball via tip off, like basketball. The ball is round like a volleyball with a textured surface to help with grip and is over inflated so that it increases the bounce.
A team scores by a player crossing the try line when in control of the ball. Two casters must cross the line for the try to count.
Inbounding – this is how the game is restarted. The player has 10 seconds to inbound the ball, their chair must be fully behind the line.
The Team must get the ball out of their half within 12 seconds and bounce or pass the ball every 10 seconds, with a total shot clock time limit of 40 seconds.
Contact is encouraged; however, you cannot spin the opponent's chair by hitting behind the rear axle or touch the opponent with your body, both resulting in a penalty. When a player is tipped off his wheels the support staff have 1 minute to get the player back onto their wheels.
Sin Bins – 1 minute in the bin – the player can return to court after 1 minute or when the opposition scores a try (not a penalty try) - Flagrant Foul – 2 minutes in the bin or three tries.