|
Home
Contents
Governance
Organizations
Sports
Competitions
Classification
Coaching
Research
Issues
Laws
Links
Michigan
MSU
Webmaster
| |
Wheelchair Hockey
Matthew F. Gerhardt,
©2001
The Wheelchair Hockey League (WCHL) was
created for the enjoyment of participating in hockey. The purpose of the
league is to provide an appropriate means for persons in wheelchairs to have
the opportunity to play hockey, and have the chance to engage in the
competition and excitement of sport. The WCHL includes players in manual
and electric wheelchairs. Players have disabilities such as cerebral palsy,
muscular dystrophy, spina bifida, spinal cord injury, and stroke. The
league was developed and is run and organized by the players with the
assistance of volunteers. A board of directors, consisting of players and
one volunteer, makes league decisions.
Benefits
Benefits of playing in the WCHL include
both physical and psychological. David Simpson, volunteer league physician
and MDA clinic director in Farmington Hills, MI, says he has seen positive
health benefits in participants and feels hockey has helped motivate some
players to keep healthy. When players get sick or hurt they often ask
Simpson when they will be able to compete again. “We use that. It’s a
positive motivator. It gets them well, and keeps them fighting. They’re
staying physically active,” says Simpson. “They’re out there exercising.
You can see the positive energy.” Even though players are serious about
what they are doing, they have lots of fun. League member Mike Belanger
feels, “the closeness comes when we’re off the floor, and the game is just a
bonus.” League events have become an unofficial support group for players’
parents. Information and empathy flow, and parents discuss the challenges
raised by their children’s disabilities.
Classifications
 | The WCHL follows the guidelines of
the United States Electric Wheelchair Association (USEWHA) for making
player classifications. |
| The classification system is based on
strength. It does not take into account a player’s knowledge in playing
the game. |
| Level 1 Players: A player who has
the upper body strength to lift the stick and hit the ball a good distance
and with speed. These players have the ability to shoot and pass the ball
quickly with velocity. These players can switch the ball from forehand to
backhand allowing good ability to control and maneuver the ball through or
around other players. They can reach in front, across, or behind the
wheelchair with a stick easily to bring the ball into control or take it
away from another player. |
| Level 2 Players: This level ranges
from a) players who may be able to lift the stick and hit the ball with
fair distance and speed, but lack the power and reaching ability as seen
in a level 1, to b) players who rely on the momentum of the wheelchair to
shoot and pass the ball, and may be unable to lift and swing the stick.
These players generally keep the stick on one side of their chair or hold
the stick between their legs. They may or may not have the stick attached
to their hand, arm, or leg. Level 2 players lack the ability to easily
reach with their stick to more than one side of their chair. These
players are able to control the ball, but their limited ability to reach
restricts their capability to maneuver with the ball around other
players. A level 2 player will commonly not have the strength to easily
use their backhand to shoot, control the ball, or pass the ball with force. |
| Level 3 Players: Players who either
tape the stick to the wheelchair, or may hold the stick between their
legs. These players rely almost entirely on the momentum of the
wheelchair to shoot, pass, and control the ball. They are very limited in
physical ability to maneuver with the ball around other players, and are
unable to reach with their stick. |
| A team may only play two level 1
ranked players on the floor at the same time. Level 1 or 2 ranked players
can be considered a level 3, only if they tape their stick to their chair. |
| A level 3 ranked player must be on
the floor at all times, playing a forward or defensive position. |
| Goaltenders cannot be a level 1. |
General Rules
|
A total of five players (including
the goaltender) are required on the floor to play a game.
|
|
Goaltenders cannot use a manual
wheelchair.
|
|
The game will begin with a face-off
at the center face-off circle. The referee will place the ball at the
center of the circle and blow the whistle to start play.
|
|
A goal is scored when the ball
completely crosses the goal line. A goal will not be allowed if the ball
was kicked by an offensive player and as a result entered the goal either
directly or after deflecting off any player including the goaltender.
|
|
Each game will consist of three
fifteen-minute periods. Each period will be played on a non-stop basis,
except when a goal is scored. Between each period there will be a
two-minute break.
|
Playing Area
| The playing area will be the surface
of a gymnasium, approximately the size of a basketball court. |
| The nets used for goals should
measure approximately six feet wide by three feet high by one and one half
feet deep. The goal crease should measure approximately seven feet wide
and extend four feet outward from the goal line. |
| On the playing surface there will be
five face-off areas. One in the center of the court and one on each side
of both nets positioned approximately halfway between the nets and
centerline. |
Equipment
| All sticks must be made of a plastic
handle, shaft, and blade. A dowel may be inserted through the blade of
the stick for players with limited ability to stickhandle. The dowel
cannot be made of metal and can not exceed more than three inches in
length on either side of the blade and cannot exceed one half inch in
diameter. |
| No modifications can be made to a
wheelchair that will prohibit the ball from traveling underneath the
chair. No stick blade may be placed between the front and rear tires,
obstructing passage of the ball through that area. |
| A hollow plastic ball, two inches in
diameter, with holes in it, will be used as the official game ball. |
| Participants are free to wear
protective gear such as eyewear, helmet, knee or arm pads. |
Competition Opportunities
Leagues recognized by the USEWHA are
currently located in Minnesota, Michigan, Canada, and Europe. For
information on participating or starting a league, or further details about
the WCHL, contact Andy Siwarski, President and General Manager WCHL, at
andyice96@aol.com, or Tom Martin, Vice President WCHL, at looneytom@aol.com.
For More Information
Websites:
Canadian Electric Wheelchair Hockey
Association (CEWHA) ...
http://geocities.com/cewha/
Power Blacks New Zealand Wheelchair
Hockey ...
http://powerblacks2000.tripod.com
United State Electric Wheelchair
Hockey Association (USEWHA) ...
http://usewha.org
Wheelchair Sports, the portal to
sites about wheelchair sports ...
http://www.wheelchairsport.nl/
Periodicals:
Wood, Tara. (2000). They Shoot,
They Score. Quest, 7(5), 23-27.
|
|
