Archery is a sport that tests accuracy, strength and concentration. Initially used as a form of rehabilitation and recreation for physically disabled people after the Second World War, it has developed into a highly competitive and exciting sport.
Athletics has been part of the Paralympic Games since 1960 and always attracts the largest number of spectators. The sport offers a wide range of competitions and events and is open to male and female athletes in all impairment groups.
Badminton is a great way to learn new skills, meet great people and keep in shape.
Wheelchair Basketball is an immensely popular sport that is open to both men and women with a physical disability. One of the earliest Paralympic Sports - its origins are in the 1940s when it was used as a rehabilitation tool for injured WWII servicemen and women - the adapted game is very similar to the running game.
Boccia is a sport specially designed for athletes with a significant physical disability and has no counterpart in the Olympic Games. It was developed by the Swedish disability sports federation in the 1970's, taking inspiration from games such as bocce, boules and petanque
Bowls is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a pitch which may be flat (for "flat-green bowls") or convex or uneven (for "crown-green bowls"). It is normally played outdoors although there are some indoor venues and the surface is either natural grass or artificial turf. Bowls is also quite similar to boccia and petanque.
Blind cricket is very similar to cricket played by the sighted. The main difference being that the ball is bowled under arm and makes a noise that can be heard by the players. Traditionally, this game is played between two teams of eleven players, made up of players with sight varying from totally blind to those with partial sight.
Wheelchair Curling is a sport for both male and female athletes who are not ambulant or who can only walk short distances, and their disability must be of a permanent nature. The aim of the game is to slide a stone down a sheet of ice towards a target (the house) and to get as close to the centre of the target as possible.
Equestrian as a sport refers to the skill of riding, jumping and training horses and includes disciplines like dressage, show jumping and eventing.
Wheelchair fencing was first developed by after World War 2 and took off from there, particularly in countries like England, France and Italy where there was a strong tradition in fencing. It was introduced to the world as a Paralympic sport at the 1960 Rome Paralympics and has grown in popularity since.
There are many variations of football - 7-a-side and 5-a-side football are enormously popular Paralympic sports, very similar to standard football.
Goalball is the only true hand-ear coordination game in the world. Invented in the 1940’s to help in the rehabilitation of soldiers blinded in the second world war, goalball is now a Paralympic sport that is played in over 100 countries around the world. It is also the only true sport where blind, vision-impaired and fully sighted people can play the same game at the same time.
Gymsport includes a wide array of sports and activities, from educational participation and fundamental movement skills right through to international competitive categories in aerobics, men's and women's artistic, rhythmic and trampoline.
Judo tests strength, touch, balance and sensitivity and demands a physical and strategic performance.
Paraplegic & Physically Disabled Federations, or Parafeds, are organisations that provide opportunities and encourage people with physical disabilities to participate in sport and recreation.
Powerchair Football is a competitive team sport for people with physical disabilities who use power wheelchairs.The game is played in a gymnasium on a regulation basketball court, and two teams of four players use power chairs equipped with footguards to attack, defend and spin-kick a 13-inch (330 mm) football in an attempt to score goals.
Powerlifting is the ultimate test of upper body strength, with athletes sometimes lifting more than three times their body weight.
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean - depending on the type of race and the discipline. The specially-designed boats are moved by oar blades pushed against the water, and athletes can compete in individual, pair or team events.
Wheelchair rugby is a full-blooded, contact sport developed initially for tetraplegics (those whose disabilities affect both their lower and upper limbs) that offers male and female players significant health, social and rehabilitative benefits.
Shooting is a test of accuracy and control, in which competitors use pistols or rifles to fire a series of shots at a stationary target. It’s a sport that almost anybody can do, no matter what type of disability they may have, and is ideal for people who want to improve accuracy, concentration and discipline, while having the opportunity to travel, socialise, meet new people and make new friends.
Snowsports for disabled athletes gradually developed after World War II, as large numbers of injured soldiers and civilians tried to return to their skiing activities. It was in the 1970s that multi-disability skiing competitions began, and in 1974 the first world championships were held in Grand Bornand in France, featuring Alpine (Downhill) and Nordic (Cross-Country) skiing for amputee and visually impaired athletes.
The freedom, fitness and fun to be had in the waves while surfing is no different for disabled surfers. But one crucial difference does exist for disabled surfers starting out, events mostly involve pairing up one participant with a minimum of six volunteers.
Since the first Paralympic Games in Rome in 1960, swimming has been one of the main sports of the Paralympics. As in the Olympic Games, competitors measure their skills in freestyle, backstroke, butterfly, breaststroke and medley events, but are classified based on their functional ability to perform each stroke
Table Tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. Play is fast and demands quick reactions, and is no different for disabled people. The usual table tennis rules are in effect, with slight modifications for athletes in wheelchairs.
Wheelchair tennis celebrated its 35th anniversary in 2011 as an organised sport, and since its inception in the United States in 1976, it has become one of the fastest growing wheelchair sports in the world.
Triathlon is an exciting multi-discipline sport involving a continuous race over various distances in the three disciplines of swimming, cycling and running. A standard triathlon is made up of a swim, followed by a cycle ride, followed by a run.
Sitting volleyball is one of the most dynamic Paralympic sports. It was developed in the Netherlands during the 1950s from a combination of athletics and sitzball, a German sport, which people play seated.
Like many Paralympic sports with ancient roots, canoe and kayak racing evolved from the great and proud history of boats propelled with paddles that dates back to the Stone Age. In New Zealand, Maori canoe races or Kaipara waka hoehoe were, in the earliest years of European settlement, a common feature at local sports meetings. This tradition has been carried on in the form of Waka Ama races that occur as part of various events around the country.
Sailing is a very adaptive sport that all participants can get something out of. Whether it is intense racing, sailing around the world, or just an afternoon cruise, sailing is a sport to be enjoyed by everybody!
