‘Murderball’, Boccia and Goalball: Paralympic sports explained

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Four thousand athletes representing more than 150 nations have gathered in Paris to kick off the 16th edition of the Paralympic Games. There are a total of 549 gold medals up for grabs in 22 sports, up from 20 after badminton and taekwondo made their debut in Tokyo.

Many will be familiar with Olympic disciplines like swimming and rowing returning in their Paralympic forms, but the Games will also feature several sports that do not appear at the Olympics at all.

Due to the classification system, which splits each sport into different groups of athletes with similar impairments to ensure fair competition, the Paralympics has multiple versions — sometimes many multiples — of each event.

Take athletics for example. The Olympics has two finals, one each for men and women, whereas the most recent Paralympics in Tokyo had 29, each featuring their own narratives and rivalries. And with it all taking place in 11 days to the Olympics’ 12, the schedule is packed. For a full guide to what to watch and when, see our key events explainer.

Even those Paralympic sports with familiar-sounding names may surprise the uninitiated. Wheelchair rugby has its parallels to rugby of course, but also combines elements of basketball and handball, which is why the ball is round and not oval-shaped. It has evolved into a brutal game often referred to as “Murderball”, on account of the aggression and noisy contact, which frequently leads to punctured tyres and wheelchairs flipping over.

Less familiar are boccia (pronounced bot-cha) and goalball. Two disciplines unique to the Paralympics that have featured fully in the sporting line-up since 1984. The accessibility of boccia in particular has allowed athletes with severe disabilities to take part and compete for their national teams.

Before the Games get under way, here is an overview of some of the most unique Paralympic sports and how they are played and won.

Goalball

Designed exclusively for blind and visually impaired athletes, Goalball is a fast-paced team sport of 12-minute halves where players must use their whole bodies to block shots.

Teams of three, all blindfolded to equalise vision levels, lie down on either side of a court (roughly the size of those used for volleyball) with raised, tactile pitch lines they use to determine where they are.

Much like in blind football, the crowd must be silent so the players can hear the movement of the ball and its internal bells.

Shots must be bounced to count, and are especially hard to block given that the 9m long goals stretch the entire width of the court.

Teams take turns attacking and defending. If your team has the most goals when the clock runs out or you go 10 clear, you win.

Boccia

A boules variant originally developed for people with cerebral palsy, all boccia players compete in a wheelchair and have an impairment that affects motor function.

Two sides, red and blue, line up either as individuals, pairs or teams of three, with six balls of each colour.

Precision is the name of the game here. The goal is to finish the round, or “end”, with your coloured ball closer to the white ball, the “jack”, than the opposition.

Boccia is played slightly differently depending on the classification. Some athletes play with their hands, some with their feet. Others compete using a ramp and a pointer attached to their heads, aided by assistants who position the ramps according to their instructions.

Sitting volleyball

Slightly more self-explanatory, the rules of sitting volleyball are very similar to its Olympic counterpart. There are a few differences however: the court is smaller and the net is much lower for a start.

Crucially, athletes’ buttocks or backs must maintain contact with the floor, especially when playing the ball.

Each match follows a best-of-five sets format, with the winning team the first to reach 25 points in each set.

In the cases where teams come up even at two sets a piece, there will be a tie-breaking fifth set that goes to 15 points.

Wheelchair rugby

A full-contact team sport that combines elements of rugby, volleyball and handball. Its high-impact, aggressive plays frequently result in noisy collisions and upended wheelchairs.

Many were first introduced to the brutality of the sport, often referred to as “Murderball”, by the eponymous 2005 documentary that trails players competing at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens.

Accordingly, the specialised wheelchairs are equipped with a solid frame, an anti-tip device at the rear, and a double bumper.

But wheelchair rugby is about more than just being able to take a hit. Players score by carrying a modified volleyball across the try line. In possession, players must dribble at least once or pass at least every 10 seconds.

Matches are split into four eight-minute quarters and players must outsmart defenders and progress towards the opponent’s try line by throwing, rolling, dribbling, or carrying the ball on their knees. Unlike rugby, forward passes are also allowed.