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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.

amputee runner

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

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