Sports for the disabled encompass a broad spectrum of athletic activities tailored to accommodate individuals with diverse physical, sensory, and intellectual disabilities. Some sports are created specifically to cater for disabled athletes, others a modification of mainstream sports.
These sports provide opportunities for participation, competition, and personal development, fostering inclusion and empowerment within the disabled community. Here is a list of
Team Sports for the Physically Disabled
- Wheelchair Basketball — basically regular basketball played on a wheelchair.
- Wheelchair Rugby — a full-contact indoor team sport conducted for players with disabilities.
- Wheelchair Rugby League — a version of rugby league football but played using a wheelchair.
- AFL Wheelchair — a wheelchair version of Australian Football, played between two teams of five.
- Wheelchair Tennis — a version of lawn tennis for those who have lower body disabilities.
- Wheelchair Curling — a variation of curling in which athletes with a disability affecting their lower limbs use a wheelchair to play the sport.
- Wheelchair Cricket — a modified version of cricket for wheelchair athletes.
- Wheelchair Dancing — all of the participants of a team perform dance routines while riding in a wheelchair.
- Powerchair Football — indoor football for people in wheelchairs.
- Power Hockey — like ice hockey but played in an electric wheelchair on a basketball court.
- Sledge Hockey — ice hockey on double-blade sledges for people with physical disabilities on the lower body.
- CP Football — the adaptation of association football for disabled athletes, the 7-a-side version is for athletes with cerebral palsy or similar.
- Amputee Football — a version of Association Football for players with lower extremity amputations.
- Sitting Volleyball — also known as Paralympic volleyball, it is volleyball played while sitting on the ground.
- Seatball — a sport like sitting volleyball for disabled and non-disabled athletes, played on a larger court and allowing for the ball to bounce once between touches (also called Sitzball or Sitball).
Individual Sports for the Disabled
- Wheelchair Fencing — a version of fencing in which disabled athletes fight with thin swords while sitting in wheelchairs that are tightly fastened to the floor.
- Para Badminton — versions of badminton for disabled athletes, either standing, in a wheelchair, or played while sitting.
- Paratriathlon — involves a 750 m swim, a 20 km bike with handcycles, bicycles or tandems with a guide, and a 5 km wheelchair or running race.
- Para-Cycling — cycle racing events using adaptations for disabled athletes, such as tandem bikes and hand-cycling.
- Para-Climbing — Sport Climbing for disabled athletes.
- Para Table Tennis — a version of table tennis adapted for disabled athletes, such a physical disability, intellectual disability or wheelchair users.
- Powerlifting — Paralympic sport
- Boccia — a ball sport similar to bocce, bowls, and pentanque for athletes with physical disabilities.
Team Sports for the Deaf
- Deaf Basketball — basketball that is played by the hearing impaired. Players use sign language to communicate with each other including the refs.
Sports for the Blind
- Goalball — a Paralympic sport for blind athletes using a ball with bells.
- 5-a-side football (blind football) — one of the versions of Paralympic Football is a 5-a-side game for blind or visually impaired Athletes.
- Torball — a team sport for the visually impaired with an inflated ball with bells inside. The aim is to throw the ball through the opponent's goal line.
- Blind Cricket — a modified version of cricket for blind athletes with a larger ball with bells inside.
- Showdown — a game for blind and visually impaired people similar to air hockey.
- Swish — a version of table tennis for blind athletes.
Track and Field Events for the Disabled
- Club Throw — a track and field disabled sports event, the objective is to throw a wooden club as far as possible.
- Softball Throw — a track and field discipline in which you throw the ball as far as possible, mostly used in competitions for disadvantaged groups as a substitute for other technical throwing events.
- Racerunning — a track and field racing sport for disabled athletes, in which they use a specially designed tricycle.
- Ice Sledge Racing — a winter Paralympic sport in which contestants use a lightweight sledge and propel themselves using two poles.
- Wheelchair Racing — a type of racing in which athletes with physical disabilities compete with the help of a wheelchair.
- Wheelchair Slalom — navigating in a wheelchair through a course with challenging obstacles.
Related Pages
- Sports of the Paralympics which includes several wheelchair sports.
- Discontinued Paralympic Sports and Events
- Parasports at the Commonwealth Games
- Disabled Sports Major Events
- Major events for deaf athletes
- Disabled Athletes at the Summer Olympics
- Fitness Testing for Specific Populations
- Complete List of Sports