Anyone who Paralympics Anyone who has ever tuned in to wheelchair rugby knows that it’s a bang! In this contact sport, the four players on their team try to get a volleyball over the opponent’s goal line. And it wouldn’t be called rugby if it could be done so easily without contact with the opponent. That’s one of the few similarities to the pedestrian version of the sport.
There are special sports wheelchairs designed to be as agile as possible for quick changes of direction and to be optimally protected for the so-called blocks. There are no other sports that have the same design as those used in para-rugby. Because nowhere is it as serious as in rugby.
The wheelchairs are made of aluminum or other light metals and are individually adapted to each player. To ensure that the wheelchair can withstand the playing conditions and is always safe to use, the rugby teams have their own mechanics with them.
According to player Mascha Mosel, the German team has “the world’s best mechanic,” namely Peter Sauerbier: “He knows our individual wheelchairs perfectly and always takes care of any problems immediately.” Sauerbier is the father of a long-time German national player, Jens Sauerbier, and has been the German team’s personal mechanic since he retired six years ago.
10,000
euro costs a sports wheelchair for rugby players – depending on the material and properties of the wheelchair, which depend on the degree of disability.
When his son decided to play wheelchair rugby, he first thought: “My God, how can you choose a sport like that,” says Sauerbier: “But the boys (and girls, editor’s note) have such strong coordination that when they fall down, they can turn around in such a way that the risk of injury is pretty low.”
There are an average of four falls per match. This happens despite special safety devices designed to prevent tipping over. The young wheelchair rugby player Mascha Mosel calls the wheelchair “an armor that protects you and stops you from falling. That’s why I’ve never been seriously injured.”
And that was despite the fact that her wheelchair had broken during preparations for the Paralympics. Peter Sauerbier took care of that too, although it is a more difficult task than simply changing a tire. “The wheelchairs have a certain wheelbase, i.e. a certain angle, and if that is no longer correct, the whole wheelchair is not right.” This happens if the angle does not exactly match the weld. “Then you can turn the wheelchair into scrap and lose around 10,000 euros.”
There are two broad types of wheelchairs. Each person on the team has a different task on the field and the sports equipment is built accordingly. Some wheelchairs, so-called defensive wheelchairs, are equipped with a bumper at the front of the wheelchair that is used to catch on to other players and prevent them from moving on.
The offensive wheelchairs, which are mostly used by players with fewer disabilities, are rounded at the front and a little more maneuverable. In the German team, offensive and defensive wheelchairs are represented in roughly equal numbers and are checked daily by Sauerbier.
Despite good preparation, excellent technical support and plenty of support from Germany, the German team was unable to prevail in Paris. They had travelled to the games as underdogs. National coach Christoph Werner was “a little disappointed” but still satisfied with his team’s performance.
“We upset all three of our big opponents in the group. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to pull off a surprise,” said Werner. “But we gave it our all and, most importantly, we did a good job of promoting the sport.” The German team will play in the placement round on Sunday – where points for the world rankings are also at stake.
