What are the rules of wheelchair netball?

Answer 1

There are no officially approved rules for wheelchair Netball at present. However most wheelchair netball is played to fairly standard, simple modifications of the IFNA rules.

The basic modifications are:

1) footwork rules are replaced by maximum travel: wheels must travel no more than 1.5 revolutions once the ball has been received.

2) 4 seconds rather than 3 seconds before held ball is called

3) one bounce of the ball is allowed whilst taking posession

4) ball may be held in the lap whilst stopping or turning

5) unlimited substitution

Modifications also apply to the 3ft obstruction rule, but these are more variable in practice; extremes run from a "stationary wheel" principle (equating to landing foot) to 3ft for any part of the chair.

As wheelchair netball is not generally played competitively in the UK at present, there is a common tendency to make adjustments as liberal as possible to encourage participation rather than to focus on close officiation. It is also common to allow those without impairment to participate (in wheelchairs).

As the sport develops competitively, it is likely that competition rules will not only consolidate some of the above practices, but also include some additional considerations, e.g. a "points system" (as in wheelchair Basketball) to balance teams with players of different levels of impairment.