Rose Hollermann competes in women's wheelchair basketball during the Parapan American Games Santiago 2023 on Nov. 23, 2023 in Santiago, Chile. Team USA/Joe Kusumoto
If you’ve been missing the exhilaration of Olympic Basketball, the Paralympics are here to fill the void with a version of the game that may be even more exciting to watch than the original.
HOW IT WORKS
In terms of gameplay rules, wheelchair basketball resembles Olympic basketball with four ten-minute quarters. Scoring is also the same, with a regulation three-point line. The difference comes in the form of dribbling rules. In wheelchair basketball, a player is allowed to place the ball in their lap and push twice before having to pass, shoot, or dribble again. There is no double dribble rule in wheelchair basketball.
All players must remain firmly seated in their wheelchairs for the duration of the game, and technical fouls are given to players who try to push themselves out of their chairs to gain an advantage during gameplay.
Players are also classified based on ability level. They are evaluated based on the extent of actions that can be taken without compromising the balance of their wheelchairs.
This is called their volume of action, and players are rated on a scale from 1.0 (no active movement of the trunk possible) to 4.5 (maximum ability to move wheelchair trunk without compromising balance). The trunk of the wheelchair is the upper part, including the backrest and the seat, in which the participant’s upper body is located.
The volume value assigned to each of the five players actively on the court may never exceed 14.0 in total. When a team is in violation of this rule, they receive a technical foul.
Photo Credit: Let’s Play.com
THE COMPETITION
At the Rio Paralympic Games in 2016, Team USA won gold in women's wheelchair basketball. At Tokyo in 2020, they won bronze. This year’s team has a mix of players from the 2020 team along with a handful of national team rookies.
Germany and the Netherlands were Team USA’s main competition at both of the previous Paralympics. In Rio, Germany received silver, and the Netherlands received bronze. In Tokyo, the Netherlands received the gold medal.
PLAYERS TO WATCH ON TEAM USA
Paris will be Natalie Schneider’s 5th Paralympic Games. Schneider has won two gold medals and one bronze with the women’s wheelchair basketball team.
“Here I am, still playing and 40,” Schneider said in 2023. “A much longer career than I had anticipated because I started so late.”
In the 2022 World Championships, Schneider averaged 6.5 points per game and 6.1 rebounds per game.
Though the most decorated member of the women's wheelchair basketball team, Schneider said in 2023 that she would be done after the 2024 games. “After Paris I swear I’m done. I’m totally done after Paris,” she said.
Powerhouse Rose Hollermann, who played in Rio in 2016 and Tokyo in 2020, has won gold and bronze respectively. In the 2022 World Championships, Hollermann averaged 19.8 points per game, the highest on the team, and 8.0 rebounds per game. She is expected to be a major part of the team in Paris, contributing to high team scores.
Lindsey Zurbrugg is another pivotal player for the team. In the medal-deciding game at the 2022 World Championships, Zurbrugg scored nine points. In the entirety of the competition, she averaged 9.3 points per game and 4 assists per game.
In their first game on Friday, August 30th, the women’s team faced Germany. Team USA won by a large margin in a 73-44 game. Courtney Ryan led the team, scoring 17 points, with Hollermann close behind with 16 points. Becca Murray had 12 assists, and the team total was 30. Murray also hit the team’s only successful three of the entire game.
Team USA will face Great Britain in the quarterfinals on Wednesday (9/4).
The full schedule for wheelchair basketball events can be found here.
Edited by Emily Tsipis
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