Quad rugby games slam stereotypes

DANVILLE -- The ear-arresting sound of metal crashing into metal filled Squire Recreation Center in Danville as men in Mad Max-style wheelchairs slammed into one another during quad rugby games over a July weekend.

"It's a mix of basketball, football and bumper cars, because we do run into each other quite a bit," said Greg Taylor, a quadriplegic rugby player.

Ben Huggins said he organized the tournament as part of his internship with Danville Parks and Recreation. Quad rugby has been an interest of his after he saw "Murderball," a 2005 documentary that introduced the sport and its athletes to an international audience.

Athletes from the Carolina Crash of Charlotte, the Raleigh Sidewinders and the East Coast Cripplers of Virginia Beach competed. The final game featured the Crash versus the Sidewinders. The Sidewinders won 20-11.

The sport showcases the abilities of the athletes who play it and everything that they have accomplished. Huggins said those are reasons he brought the sport to Danville.

"Once you see them hit that first time, you look at them more as athletes, instead of someone in a chair," Huggins said. "That's really what I want people to get out of it in the end."

The sport lets them smash stereotypes, said Justin Richardson of the Sidewinders as he riffed off the slogan of the United States Quad Rugby Association.

"You think about quads, the first thing that comes to mind a lot of times is people that can't function much," Richardson said. "The sport helps kill those stereotypes that we're a bunch of people sitting around collecting Social Security."

Greg Taylor, of the Crash, said sometimes the disabled are seen as fragile.

"We're out here proving that we are capable of playing sports, and enjoying it," he said.

Richardson said he couldn't wait to play quad rugby for the first time four years ago. He helped put the team together in Raleigh and has been a team captain every year.

He was a competitive swimmer and diver before his injury.

He said the sport brought something back that was gone from the time between his injury and when he started playing.

"Quad rugby has been huge for me the last few years," he said.

Taylor has played quad rugby for 13 years. He said the sport taught him a lot about himself and what he could do after his accident.

He injured his spinal cord while mountain biking 15 years ago. Taylor said he hit a patch of mud while going downhill, which sent him over his handlebars.

"It was great to get back out there and find that I could play sports again," Taylor said. "My body's trying to tell me to quit. I'm getting a little old for this, but I'm still having a lot of fun."

He said the sport helps keep him in shape, and he trains regularly.

Richardson and Taylor said rugby gives them the chance to meet people in similar situations and brings the camaraderie of a team sport to everyone that plays.

The rules blend those of hockey, basketball and football, Richardson said. The sport is full contact, and chair positioning on the court is similar to wheelchair basketball. There's also a penalty box.

Huggins, who organized the event, said that four players are on the court at one time.

"Basically, you just try to cross the goal line without getting knocked over or having the ball ripped out," Huggins said.

Quad rugby also has other rules about how long you can hold the ball, getting the ball up the court and the types of wheelchairs that players use.

The athletes are classified from 0.5 to 3.5, Richardson said. And the total classification of all four players on the court can't be higher than eight. A high-functioning player would be classified as 3.5.

"It has more to do with muscular function because all of our injuries and disabilities are different," Richardson said.

Matt Tomsic is a staff writer for the Register & Bee of Danville.