Team USA Prepares for Wheelchair Rugby World Championip

The United States has officially announced the roster for the International Wheelchair Rugby Federation (IWRF) World Championship. Team USA will compete in Sydney, Australia from August 5th-10th against the top 12 teams in the world. Ranked second, the United States will look to avenge a one-point loss to Austraila from the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio.

Over Father’s Day weekend, the USA faced their last big test before the World Championship at the Canada Cup. Team USA competed against five other nations and started off the weekend with a 55-39 win over Denmark. Japan followed up America’s impressive performance with a 67-66 upset over Australia. Day two of round-robin competition setup the medal matches for the final day. Denmark edged out a 57-53 win over Sweeden to claim 5th place. In the next match, Australia took home the bronze medal over Canada.

The United States found themselves paired up against Japan in the gold medal game. Japan’s dominant performances throughout the weekend made them the team no one wanted to face. The entire match was incredibly close, but late in the game team USA was able to establish a four-point lead. They were able to hold off a late charge from Japan and captured the gold medal winning the match 56-53.

You can watch the entire gold medal game below:

For more information about the IWRF World Championship later this summer, please visit www.2018wrwc.com.

Basic Rules of Wheelchair Rugby

The main objective of wheelchair rugby is for the team’s players to carry a ball across the opponent’s goal line in order to score a point. This is easier said than done as defenders are constantly trying to steal the ball back, and the game is incredibly physical. Each team is allowed to have four players on the court at any time and may have up to 12 players total.

A standard volleyball is used and must be bounced or passed between teammates every 10 seconds. Matches are always played indoors on basketball courts and last for 32 minutes. The team with the most points when time runs out is the winner.

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