‘Murderball’ to Debut at 2012 Paralympics in London

posted on Jun 13 by Admin in the Disability News, Fun, Paralympics, Wheelchair Sports category

Started in the 1970s, ‘Murderball’ is now known worldwide as wheelchair rugby and will be making its Paralympics debut next year in the 2012 London games. The object of the sport is quite simple: there are two teams, each with four players, who are trying to get the ball across the court in their laps before the opposing team does. The defending teams ram into their opponents at high velocity to prevent the opposition from scoring and no matter the cost to their bodies, which is how the game received its name ‘Murderball’ name. The sport is expected to have the biggest audience ever in Paralympics history.

Mandip Sehmi, a participant in the sport and the British team’s poster boy, says of the game, “The full contact nature of wheelchair rugby will challenge people’s perceptions on disabled sport.”

“The sport has grown in momentum over the years but next year is going to be huge,” Sehmi added. “The more people see it, the more they love it, and that’s the case from friends and family to the man on the street. You are seeing that directly with more people getting involved in terms of playing numbers, but also in terms of media and commercial interest.”

Sehmi knows that wheelchair rugby will be taking the world by storm. “It really is like nothing else and I think a lot of people are surprised at the way we fly into each other. It is one of the most exciting sports in the Paralympics.”

Aside from blowing away stereotypes of people in wheelchairs as frail or timid, Sehmi and his teammates are also having the time of their lives. “For me in my career, I am having so much fun and not many people can say that.”

Source: http://www.morethanthegames.co.uk/paralympics/3114706-murderball-set-take-london-2012-paralympics