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Wheelchair Dance Sport
Photo by
Reginald Tiessen from The Triumph of the
Human Spirit: The Atlanta Paralympic Experience (p.
34). Oakville, Ontario: Disability Today
Publishing Group.
Athlete Eligibility and Classification
Athletes with physical disabilities that affect the
lower limbs are eligible to participate in wheelchair dance sport. The
impairment must be obvious and must make ordinary walking and dancing
impossible. Examples of minimum disability include amputation through the
ankle, limited muscle strength in both legs, ankylosis of the ankle or knee
joint, spasticity or limited coordination, or leg shortening of at least
7cm. Normal upper body function is expected.
Athletes are classified into either the LWD 1
(14 points or less) or LWD 2
(more than 14 points) classes based upon their
performances on these tests:
 | Wheel control.
Ability to accelerate and stop the wheel by either hand. |
| Push function. Ability to control wheelchair
movement while pushing and while in hand contact with the dance partner. |
| Pull function. Ability to control wheelchair
movement while pulling and while in hand contact with the dance partner. |
| Full arm function. Ability to perform a
controlled movement of the free arm reaching full extension of the joints
and full coordination. |
| Trunk rotation. Ability to fully rotate the
trunk without losing balance. |
Events
Competition in wheelchair dance sport is defined by
dances and forms.
| Dances
 | Standard dances include the waltz, tango, Viennese
waltz, slow foxtrot, and quickstep. |
| Latin-American dances include the samba,
cha-cha-cha, rumba, paso doble, and jive. |
|
| Forms
| Combi dance - a wheelchair user dances with a
nondisabled partner. |
| Duo dance - two wheelchair users dance together. |
| Group dance - wheelchair users only or together
with nondisabled partners dance in formations or free performances. |
| Single dance - a wheelchair user dances alone. |
|
Playing Area
The surface of the dance floor must be a minimum of
200 square meters, with no side of the floor less than 10m in length.
Rules
Wheelchair dance sport is governed by International
Dance Sport Federation (IDSF) rules as modified by the International
Paralympic Committee (IPC). The IDSF rules can be accessed at
http://www.idsf.net, and the IPC rules can
be accessed at http://www.paralympic.org.
These rules specify the dance forms, duration and tempo of the music, number
of couples that may occupy the dance floor, and costumes. Several rounds of
competition are conducted (e.g., first round, second round, semi-final, and
final), with the number of rounds determined by the number of competitors.
IPC rules specify enough rounds that each couple has the opportunity to
dance twice. Performances are evaluated by five to seven judges.
Equipment
Dancers' costumes are regulated by IDSF rules. As of
this writing (January 2002), there are no IPC rules regarding wheelchair
design.
Links
Page prepared by Gail Dummer |
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