The Findlay Rugby Club will host a Pay to Play Wheelchair Rugby tournament on Saturday, Jan. 3, at BFR Sports & Fitness,  215 Snider Road, Bluffton. 

The event will feature up to 10 area rugby teams competing (in wheelchairs) against each other indoors on a gymnasium court. Players from the Adaptive Sports of Ohio organization will be featured, as well. Matches begin at 9 a.m.

Teams may still register for $125; the general public is welcome to watchwith a free-will donation.

Wheelchair Rugby was first developed in Canada as a team sport for quadriplegic athletes. After being introduced in the United States, the name was changed to “quad rugby,” but it is also commonly known as wheelchair rugby.

The objective of wheelchair rugby is for a player to carry a ball across the opponent’s goal line in order to score a point. A volleyball is used and must be bounced or passed between teammates at least once every 10 seconds during play.

The sport is played in four eight-minute stop-time quarters indoors on a basketball court. All players are classified based on their abilities from 0.5 to 3.5 points. Four players from each team are allowed on the court at a time and the classification value between them cannot exceed 8.0 points.

Open to male and female athletes with: amputation/limb loss, spinal cord injury/wheelchair-users and cerebral palsy/brain injury/stroke.

The Adaptive Sports Program of Ohio (ASPO) is a 501(c)3 organization established to promote the health and wellness of individuals with physical disabilities by providing competitive and recreational adaptive sport opportunities throughout the State of Ohio.  Currently, ASPO offers ten sports in Ohio, and has partnered with the U.S. Olympic Committee to offer Paralympic Sport Ohio.

The host club is Findlay Rugby Club.
Teams interested in participating may contact Carl Bowers Jr by calling 567-674-8653.  Contact Adaptive Sports of Ohio through the web site http://adaptivesportsohio.org/.