Player's Guide to Wheelchair Rugby Canada Ages 13+ 2026

Wheelchair Rugby Canada lists three ways to begin:

1. Attend a "Have a Go Day" listed on the domestic calendar: https://wheelchairrugby.ca/domestic-competitions/
2. Contact a local club using the Find a Club tool: https://wheelchairrugby.ca/find-a-club/
3. Email info@wheelchairrugby.ca to be connected with the right contact.

Clubs often have spare rugby chairs and other equipment they can lend to new athletes. The sport is co-ed.

Source: https://wheelchairrugby.ca/start-playing/

Before classification you complete the Athlete Evaluation Form Agreement (it can be emailed to info@wheelchairrugby.ca). Athletes who do not take part in good faith may face penalties. Classification has four steps:

1. Assessment of the eligible impairment and underlying health condition (this may happen before the panel).
2. A physical or impairment assessment to confirm the minimum impairment criteria, then assignment of one of seven sport classes.
3. A technical assessment in a controlled, non-competitive setting.
4. Observation in competition during game play, at your first appearance in that class (preliminary rounds or the end of pool play).

If you fall between two classes you are placed in the higher (less impaired) class and given the OA code. If on-court results do not match the test results, parts or all of the evaluation may be repeated.

Preliminary evaluations are requested by emailing classification@wheelchairrugby.ca, and the sponsoring organization pays all costs, including travel and classifier time.

Source: https://wheelchairrugby.ca/classification/

There are seven sport classes, from 0.5 (most impaired) to 3.5 (least impaired), in 0.5 steps. Wheelchair Rugby Canada gives these general profiles (players in the same class may play different roles, and the profiles are not complete):

• 0.5: mainly a blocker, not a major ball handler; slow acceleration and limited passing.
• 1.0: blocker who may in-bound; multi-directional chair movement but slow acceleration, weaker passes.
• 1.5: excellent blocker and in-bounder, occasional ball handler; limited ball security.
• 2.0: growing ball-handling role; strong shoulders, effective chest passes, little hand function.
• 2.5: ball handler and fairly fast playmaker; safe two-handed catches, improved ball security.
• 3.0: very good ball handler and fast playmaker; functional grip and one-handed passing.
• 3.5: major ball handler and primary ball carrier; trunk function supports excellent control.

Source: https://wheelchairrugby.ca/classification/

The classification points of the players a team has on the court must total 8.0 or less. Under the WWR International Rules (April 2026), a team gets an extra allowance for each woman on the court: 0.5 points for each female player classified 0.5 to 1.5, and 1.0 point for each female player classified 2.0 to 3.5.

Wheelchair Rugby Canada's classification page summarizes this more simply as an extra 0.5 points per female athlete on the court. The wording above is the one in the full WWR rulebook.

If injuries or disqualification leave a team unable to field four players within the limit, it may field three players, and their points must total less than 8.0.

Sources: WWR International Rules, April 2026, Article 35: https://wheelchairrugby.ca/uploads/2026/08/20260401-Wheelchair-Rugby-International-Rules-WWR-FINAL.pdf and https://wheelchairrugby.ca/classification/

• C (Confirmed): class unchanged across three consecutive competitions at least 11 months apart.
• R (Review): further evaluation or a protest is required.
• N (New): new to classification.
• FRD 1: fixed review date, allocated once by an international panel.
• FRD 2: fixed review date, allocated twice by a national panel.
• NE: not eligible (minimum impairment criteria not met).
• CNC: classification not complete.
• OA: observation assessment.
• IM: intentional misrepresentation. The athlete is suspended from Wheelchair Rugby Canada sanctioned events.

Source: https://wheelchairrugby.ca/classification/

Your chair is considered part of you, and you are responsible for it meeting the specifications for the whole game. A chair that does not comply is barred until it does.

• Width: no maximum, but nothing may extend wider than the widest point of the push rims.
• Length: no more than 46 cm from the front-most part of the back wheel to the front-most part of the chair.
• Height: no more than 53 cm from the floor to the midpoint of the seat side rail.
• Main wheels: maximum diameter 70 cm, each with a spoke guard and a push rim.
• Casters: on separate axles at least 20 cm apart (centre to centre); caster wheels must not emit light.
• Anti-tip device: required at the rear, with two wheels at least 40 cm apart; spring-loaded anti-tips are prohibited.
• Bumper: front-most part 11 cm from the floor (5 mm allowance), at least 20 cm wide, with its lowest point at least 3 cm and its highest point no more than 20 cm above the floor.
• Safety: protrusions must be padded, handles for pushing the chair are not permitted, no brakes or counterweights, and tires must not mark the floor.

Source: WWR International Rules, April 2026, Articles 23-31: https://wheelchairrugby.ca/uploads/2026/08/20260401-Wheelchair-Rugby-International-Rules-WWR-FINAL.pdf

Wheelchair Rugby Canada's equipment guidance groups chairs by the class of the player:

• Offensive chairs are for classes 2.0, 2.5, 3.0 and 3.5, with a low-profile front bumper and wings.
• Defensive chairs are for classes 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5, with an extended front bumper to hook other players.

Spoke guards are mandatory. The equipment manager is allowed one minute on court for equipment repairs. All players compete in manual wheelchairs.

Sources: https://wheelchairrugby.ca/equipment-management/ and https://wheelchairrugby.ca/the-sport/

• Court: indoor, 15 m wide by 28 m long.
• Team: up to 12 members, with no more than 4 on the court at once. Players serving penalties count as on the court.
• Periods: four periods of 8 minutes, with a 3-minute interval after the first and third periods and a 10-minute interval after the second.
• Time-outs: three 60-second time-outs per half (not carried over to the second half), and one per overtime period.
• Overtime: if tied, 3-minute periods are played until one team is ahead.
• Possession: a team has 40 seconds of possession to score.

Source: WWR International Rules, April 2026, Articles 3, 34, 50, 56 and 109: https://wheelchairrugby.ca/uploads/2026/08/20260401-Wheelchair-Rugby-International-Rules-WWR-FINAL.pdf

A try is scored when a player in possession of the ball has two wheels touching the out-of-bounds area across the opposing team's try line, between the two posts marking the ends of the line. The player must have possession of the ball before either wheel crosses the line. A ball rolling off a player is not secured, so that player does not have possession.

Each try is worth one point. After a try, the team that conceded takes the ball for a throw-in. The team with the most tries at the end of the game wins.

Source: WWR International Rules, April 2026, Articles 1 and 68-69: https://wheelchairrugby.ca/uploads/2026/08/20260401-Wheelchair-Rugby-International-Rules-WWR-FINAL.pdf

The sanction for all of these violations is loss of possession, with the ball awarded to the other team for a throw-in.

• Twelve seconds: a team with the ball in its backcourt has 12 seconds to get it into the frontcourt.
• Eight-second dribble: a player with the ball must pass or dribble at least once every 8 seconds.
• Eight seconds in the key: a player whose team has the ball may not stay in the opposing key area for more than 8 seconds.
• Backcourt: a team with the ball in its frontcourt may not return it to the backcourt while keeping possession.
• Kicking: deliberately striking the ball with the foot or the leg below the knee.
• Out and in: a player with the ball may not leave the court on the try line and then return without scoring.
• Throw-in: the ball must be released and touched by a player on the court within 8 seconds of the referee's whistle.

Source: WWR International Rules, April 2026, Articles 72-81: https://wheelchairrugby.ca/uploads/2026/08/20260401-Wheelchair-Rugby-International-Rules-WWR-FINAL.pdf

Common fouls come from an illegal action that is a genuine attempt to play the game.

• Offensive common foul (by the team with the ball): loss of possession.
• Defensive common foul (by the team without the ball): a 30-second penalty, served in the penalty box by the player who committed the foul. If the opposing team scores a try, the player is released early, unless a penalty try is awarded.
• If a defensive foul is committed while an attacker with the ball is making a clear attempt to score, the referee may award a penalty try instead of the 30-second penalty.

Examples of common fouls include holding, charging, and having a fourth defensive player in your key area. No more than two players from the same team may serve penalties at the same time.

Source: WWR International Rules, April 2026, Articles 88-92 and 107: https://wheelchairrugby.ca/uploads/2026/08/20260401-Wheelchair-Rugby-International-Rules-WWR-FINAL.pdf