In a world focused on sports and recreational activities, using a wheelchair for mobility assistance can feel like being stuck in a cage. It’s more difficult to get out and about and do the things you love.

How can you enjoy your usual physical activities and enjoy life while using a wheelchair?

Even if it feels confining, there are plenty of adapted sports that have been created with wheelchair users in mind. Here are just a few examples of activities that you can do while in a wheelchair.

What Are Adapted Sports and Why Are They Important?

Adapted sports are sporting events that have been altered for disabled individuals. Whether it’s for wheelchair users, deaf individuals, or any other range of disabilities, there are sports for everyone to play.

Being inclusive and creating sports for disabled individuals is great for everyone. Making sure that everyone, regardless of their ability levels, has some way to stay active and entertained is crucial.

Adapted Sports for Wheelchair Athletes

Fortunately, there are plenty of different sports that have been adapted for wheelchair users. Many sports are even internationally recognized and have been included in the Paralympics. Here are just a few of the sports that you can get involved in even while using a wheelchair.

Cycling

Special bicycles have been created for people who have limited or no use of their legs or back. Instead of the typical setup, these bikes are reclined closer to the ground and come with either foot pedals or hand pedals. They can be used by moving the pedals back and forth with your arms rather than your feet to move forward.

For stability purposes, these bikes have been redesigned into tricycles for balance. There are also cycles that can be pushed by other people if necessary.

Paddling

Canoes, kayaks, and other paddle-based boats can be modified to allow a wheelchair on board.

From there, you can still use your arms to paddle the boat and enjoy a nice time out on the water. Tandem kayaks, canoes, and larger paddle boats can be used for group paddling as well. 

Basketball

Entire basketball teams for people who use wheelchairs have been created for the court. Very few changes are necessary for wheelchair basketball, though wheelchair contact and dribbling rules are adjusted slightly to make playing easier and fairer.

Wheelchair basketball players use specially modified chairs with angled wheels to help them get around the court. There are teams all over the world that play and the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation is always looking for new members.

Tennis

Similar to wheelchair basketball, wheelchair tennis has specially developed chairs to help get around the court and slightly modified rules.

With the help of these rules, wheelchair users can play against or with standing individuals while the game remains fair for everyone. 

Dance

Even dancing has been made accessible for wheelchair users. Any type of wheelchair can be used for dancing, and you can practice any kind of dancing that you love. 

Wheelchair dancing has become an internationally recognized sport that is both fun and beautiful to watch. There are many rules to account for wheelchair usage in competitive dancing competitions, but recreationally you can make up your own rules and just have fun with it.

Sailing

Paddling isn’t the only sport you can use to get yourself out on the water. Modified sailboats have been designed to allow the use of a wheelchair while using the wind to get around.

Aside from the adjustments to the actual boat, there is no difference between wheelchair sailing, and any other type of sailing. Just get on your boat, enjoy the breeze, and set sail.

Hockey

While wheelchair hockey is done off the ice to accommodate wheelchairs, many of the same rules are kept. There are categories both for manual and electric wheelchairs to keep things open for people with all types of disabilities.

Wheelchair hockey usually takes place on a basketball court and involves balls rather than pucks. However, hockey sticks and goals are still used for playing. As another internationally recognized wheelchair sport, wheelchair hockey is a great game to get into if you want to stay active and have fun.

Snow Skiing

Snow skiing has been made possible as a sitting sport with adjusted skis that are specially designed to be attached to chairs. The goal, similar to other forms of skiing, is to follow the rules of your specific ski sport.

Any form of snow skiing has been adapted to account for wheelchair uses. Whether you prefer something simple like downhill skiing or want a more complicated course, there are plenty of options for you on the ski slope.

Volleyball

Seated volleyball is another sport that usually takes place on the basketball court. It’s extremely similar to its standing counterpart, with only a few adjusted rules to keep things fair. 

Using the same type of wheelchairs as with basketball and hockey, wheelchair volleyball is a great way to play competitively with friends on the court.

Stay Active Anytime

We’ve only scratched the surface of the different adapted sports that wheelchair athletes can play in. If you want to stay active and competitive, don’t worry, there’s bound to be a great sport for you to do.

If you have any questions about what type of wheelchair would work best for you, Freedom Mobility Center is here for you.

We’d love to help you find the right mobility device to help you get around. Be sure to contact us with any questions you might have.