About the game
The Adaptive Sports Program of Ohio says the objective of murderball, or the much less sinister-sounding wheelchair rugby, is for a player to carry a ball across the opponent’s goal line in order to score a point.
A volleyball is used and must be bounced or passed between teammates at least once every 10 seconds during play. The sport is played in four eight-minute quarters on an indoor basketball court.
All players are classified based on their abilities from 0.5 to 3.5 points. Four players from each team are allowed on the court at a time and the classification value between them cannot exceed 8 points.
It is open to male and female athletes with amputation or limb loss, spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, brain injury or stroke. To be a team member, at least three limbs must have some form of impairment.
More information
If you have an indoor basketball court that can be used by the Akron Rhinos for a tournament, call Adaptive Sports Program of Ohio at 330-262-1200.
To learn more about participating in any of the program’s sports, call 330-262-1200 or visit http://adaptivesportsohio.org.
Online extra
See a video of the Akron players practicing and more photos with this story at www.ohio.com.