WHEELCHAIR SPORTS: Ready for some football

Inaugural tourney set for November at Freedom Park

Basketball may be the most popular wheelchair sport in the world, but football is definitely the roughest and, arguably, the most exciting.

An inaugural Las Vegas wheelchair football extravaganza tournament is scheduled for Nov. 8 and 9 at the Las Vegas Wheelchair Sports Park -- an asphalt complex located within Freedom Park, at Mojave Road and East Washington Avenue -- to introduce inexperienced teams to the game of wheelchair football.

The event, presented by the Las Vegas Department of Leisure Services' Adaptive Recreation Division, is open to people of all abilities -- and not restricted solely to people who use wheelchairs -- but most of the participants suffer from some type of physical ailment or disability.

"We try to stay away from using able-bodied players, but we allow them because, at first, it was tough to field a full team," said Jonathan Foster, an adaptive recreation leader for the city. "Now the sport's getting so popular, we're not using able-bodied players as frequently."

Teams, made up of 10 players overall and play six-on-six during a game, are formed using a point system. Each team is allowed 11 points, with an able-bodied player counting for five points and a quadriplegic counting for .5. Each team is required to field a quadriplegic at all times.

Teams that compete in the extravaganza -- which is slated to start at 9 a.m. Nov. 8, with a rules clinic, followed by the formation of teams and a tournament -- will automatically advance to the third annual Xtreme Bowl in Las Vegas in April.

The Xtreme Bowl, billed as the Super Bowl of wheelchair football, features a $50,000 purse and is expected to attract close to 200 athletes from around the world.

The sport isn't for the faint of heart, though, Foster cautions.

"Football is the roughest sport out there for players in wheelchairs. It's a scary sport," he said. "It's not a sport anyone in a wheelchair can play. Most of the players aren't afraid of getting hurt or laying on a hit. Road rash occurs all the time.

"We have UNLV athletic trainers and doctors and EMTs, just in case, because people do get hurt. Most injuries come from landing on the asphalt and scraping the ground."

The games are played under NFL rules, as much as possible, and the field is 60 yards long and 22 yards wide, with 10-yard end zones. First downs are earned every 15 yards and formations usually consist of three linemen, two receivers and a quarterback.

Players use heavy-duty 'hammer chairs,' equipped with big bars in the front, which act as bumpers, and take off downfield at full speed on kickoffs -- which are actually throws -- using their chairs as battering rams.

"Guys go flying out of their chairs. They're always toppling out of their chairs, but it's a heavier chair and it can take a lot of punishment," Foster said. "They're pretty heavy-duty chairs, not like your basic wheelchair basketball chair."

Players can "run" or pass, and tackling consists of one player touching another, although most players prefer to actually knock an opponent to the ground.

"You're supposed to touch the person, but if they can shove them over, it makes them happy," Foster said. "Most guys are athletic enough to stay in their chair and pop themselves back up."

If football doesn't sound appealing, Foster said there is a wide range of other wheelchair sports available in Las Vegas, along with myriad other activities, open to people of all abilities.

"Not enough people know we're here doing these things, and it builds character, especially in the younger kids. They push themselves harder than if they're just sitting around watching TV," he said. "It keeps them active and they build friendships and they're able to meet a lot more people with the same disabilities they have.

"Playing a sport in a wheelchair also helps them to perform everyday activities easier. It builds their muscles and it raises their self-esteem tremendously, to be able to score a basket or a touchdown and work hard at it and set goals for themselves."

Foster said he's often inspired by working with wheelchair athletes.

"The willpower of these guys helps me out in my everyday life, seeing what they've been through and still seeing what they're achieving in life, after the tragedies that happened, because most of them weren't born like that," he said.

In addition to football, Foster said the City of Las Vegas offers wheelchair basketball, softball, water-skiing, an over-the-line tournament and much more, including camp-outs, bowling and movie outings, hiking, boating and canoe trips, adult after-work programs and children after-school programs.

Activities, which are virtually all free of charge, also are available to people who are developmentally disabled and visually impaired.

"We try to offer activities for any type of person, with or without a disability," Foster said.

Those interested can call Foster at 229-4796.


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