The 6th Congress of Exercise and Sport Sciences

Players` Perspectives on Reverse Integration in Wheelchair Basketball

Yeshayahu Hutzler
The Academic College at Wingate, Netanya, Israel
Israel Sport Center for the Disabled, Ramat Gan, Israel

Wheelchair basketball is an attractive and popular team sport activity within the Paralympic program. It is played on the same court with generally similar rules as basketball. The major modification is the classification system enabling a range of participants with mild (4.5 points) to significant impairments (1 point) to contribute to the team composition and performance, based on a rule of a maximal total number of points on court. The functional capability of a classifiable wheelchair player with a mild impairment should not differ from that of an able-bodied player who has gained experience in wheelchair use and wheelchair basketball techniques and tactics. Due to various reasons, able-bodied individuals have participated in wheelchair basketball in the past, at least, 30 years, under the label ‘reverse integration’ (RI), and their contribution to the game`s development has been discussed among scholars and decision-makers in different countries. The current study reports the outcomes of the perceptions of players with disabilities across various wheelchair basketball divisions in Israel about the RI of players without disabilities in wheelchair basketball league activity and the national team, and about how they might contribute to the growth of this field of sport. Forty-seven athletes with disabilities were surveyed, comprising 16% of the total number of the wheelchair basketball players’ register (n=295) and about 25% of the active players. The results generally favored RI at the league level with higher scores (81.8-94.1%) obtained among A level and Premier level compared to B level leagues (42%). Furthermore, Players of classes 4-4.5 exhibited higher scores (95%) compared to 2.5-3.5 (91.6%) and 1-2 point players (86.7%). The implications of survey outcomes to the further development of the game are discussed.

Yeshayahu Hutzler
Yeshayahu Hutzler








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