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Entry level sports PWC

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Entry level sports PWC

The content of this document is OFFICIAL.

Please note:

The research and literature reviews collated by our TAB Research Team are not to be

shared external to the Branch. These are for internal TAB use only and are intended to

assist our advisors with their reasonable and necessary decision-making.

Delegates have access to a wide variety of comprehensive guidance material. If

Delegates require further information on access or planning matters, they are to call the

TAPS line for advice.

The Research Team are unable to ensure that the information listed below provides an

accurate & up-to-date snapshot of these matters

Research question: What options are available in the market for powered wheelchair users to participate in sport at an entry level?

Date: 07/06/2022 Requestor: Megan [s47F - personal privacy](/foi-library/releases/759e22e37354-foi-24-25-0593-decision-document/release-materials/material-001__s47f-personal-privacy/) Endorsed by (EL1 or above): Nicole s47F - personal priva Researcher: Aaron [s47F - personal privacy](/foi-library/releases/759e22e37354-foi-24-25-0593-decision-document/release-materials/material-001__s47f-personal-privacy/) Cleared by: Aaron s47F - personal privacy

  1. Contents

Entry level sports PWC ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1

  1. Contents ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1

  2. Summary ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 2

  3. Power wheelchairs in sport ………………………………………………………………………………. 2

  4. Powerchair soccer ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3

4.1 Power wheelchair requirements …………………………………………………………………….. 3

4.2 Suitable models of power wheelchair ……………………………………………………………… 4

  1. Powerchair hockey ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4

5.1 Power wheelchair requirements …………………………………………………………………….. 4

5.2 Suitable models of power wheelchair ……………………………………………………………… 5

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  1. Correspondence …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 6

6.1 Western Electric Sporting Association …………………………………………………………….. 6

  1. References ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 9

  2. Version control ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 10

  3. Summary

Few sports are designed specifically for power wheelchair (PWC) users. The most popular such sports in Australia are powerchair soccer and powerchair hockey.

The standard specialised powerchair soccer PWC is the Strikeforce. There are other models of specialised powerchair soccer PWC but I have found no evidence that these retail in Australia. Beginning players may start in their own chairs with footguards attached. Powerchair Sports Victoria website states that some non-specialised PWCs “have the characteristics to be suitable as an introductory sports chair”. However, in the opinion of another professional, these non-specialised chairs are not safe or fit for purpose.

There are at least two models of PWC designed for powerchair hockey, the E-hockey and the TurboTwist. I have found no evidence that these retail in Australia. Most powerchair hockey players likely use their own or second hand PWCs. However, in the opinion of one professional, these non-specialised chairs are not safe or fit for purpose.

I have sought further information from other PWC sporting groups. I will update this research paper if further information is received.

Due to the minimal information available on safety and required technical specifications for entry level PWCs, I am unable to say with confidence whether there are other suitable entry level alternatives to the Strikeforce.

  1. Power wheelchairs in sport

Many sports are adapted for play by wheelchair users. Wheelchair basketball, rugby, and goalball are well known examples. Fewer have been adapted for play by PWC users (Duvall et al, 2020). Sports designed to be played by users of PWCs include power soccer and power hockey (Powerchair football, n.d; Powerchair hockey, n.d). Wheelchair tennis allows users of PWCs in the quadriplegic division (International Tennis Federation, 2022). The World Para Dance Sport Technical Committee of the International Paralympic Committee began an unofficial online competition in 2021 including events for PWCs (Picasso, 2021). Some wheelchair sports can be played regardless of the kind of wheelchair you have. Duvall et al. (2020) note that of the 28 activities included in the Paralympics, only Boccia, Archery, Shooting and Curling could be played in a PWC. Of these 4 activities, only Boccia specifies that a powerchair can be used. The other 3 do not state what type of device can be used.

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Cybathalon is a competition designed to showcase developments in assistive technology and includes a PWC race (Wheelchair Race, n.d).

While some sports require the wheelchair to remain stationary and therefore do not depend on the device specifications, sports that require the chair to move during play often require specific modified or customised wheelchairs (Duvall et al, 2020). The largest PWC sports in Australia are powerchair soccer and powerchair hockey.

  1. Powerchair soccer

4.1 Power wheelchair requirements

A Powerchair soccer player needs a PWC with a lap belt and footguard. The footguard is a cage that extends around the front of the wheelchair which the player uses to kick the football (FIPFA, 2020a).

The FIPFA rules for PWCs are:

 Powerchairs must have 4 or more wheels.  3 or 4-wheeled scooters or similar equipment are not permitted.  The maximum speed allowable during the match for powerchairs is 10 km/h,

forwards and reverse.  Backpacks, bags, etc. are not allowed to be attached to power chairs during play

(essential equipment accepted e.g. Oxygen / feeds / ventilators etc).  Chairs must not have any sharp surfaces or items that might become entangled with

other powerchairs (inc. essential equipment).  Lateral side supports (armrests) must be in place on both sides of the powerchair.  Appropriate additional restraints are required equipment for those athletes who need

them, these may include restraints for chest, shoulder, head, arm or leg.  No part of the chair shall be constructed so as to be able to trap or hold the ball.  Additional protection must be added to the powerchair which will prevent the ball

from becoming trapped or the wheels riding over the ball.  Rear protection can be added to a chair to protect the motors and minimise possible

entrapment of the ball (FIPFA, 2020b, p.13).

There appear to be standard characteristics which are useful for play beyond what is specified in the rules. Duvall et al. (2020) note that PWCs designed for soccer have a low centre of gravity and use rear wheel drive: “The low centre of gravity aides in stability while permitting high speed and acceleration. The rear wheel drive allows more power to be transferred to the ball through the cage by swinging the front end of the chair” (Duvall et al, 2020, p.2).

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4.2 Suitable models of power wheelchair

In the opinion of the president of the Western Electric Sporting Association, there is no safe, entry level alternative to the Strikeforce for powerchair soccer (6.1 Western Electric Sporting Association). The Strikeforce is a PWC specifically designed for powerchair soccer. It is manufactured in the USA and price starts in Australia at $16,335, though it may be considerably more with required personal customisation (STRIKE FORCE, n.d). The website for the South Melbourne powerchair soccer club says that the Strikeforce is the international standard for powerchair soccer devices. They also note:

Players will start playing powerchair football using their day chair. Powerchair Sports Victoria can assist new players [to get started] including providing guards which can be attached to their day chair. Those players interested in participating in powerchair sport may look to invest in a sports chair. Some day chairs have the characteristics to be suitable as a introductory sports chair (Powerchair Sports Victoria, 2021).

On the Melbourne City club website, their list of players notes that while most use Strikeforce, one player uses a Magic Mobility chair, and another uses a Quantum Rehab chair. The specific model of chair is not stated (Powerchair Sports Victoria, n.d a, n. d b).

Other specially designed soccer chairs include:

 Equaliser by Power Sports in UK  DB Bullet by DB Bullet in UK  Invacare TDX2 Sprint, a variation on a standard TDX2 model by Invacare UK  TTS3 PowerSoccer, by Degonda Rehab in Switzerland

I have not found evidence that any of these products retail in Australia. DB Bullet also note that they can transfer existing control gear and seating onto the DB Bullet chassis. They also sell a footguard which they market as “a universal attachment to suit most electric day chairs” (Products, n.d).

  1. Powerchair hockey

5.1 Power wheelchair requirements

According to the 2021 International Powerchair Hockey Rulebook, requirements for PWCs used in powerchair hockey are:

 wheelchair must have 4 – 6 wheels, with a maximum of 2 safety wheels  wheels must be fitted with tyres that do not mark the playing field  wheels with 2 wheels on 1 axle count as 1 wheel  wheelchair can have no sharp or protruding parts

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 except the wheels, all parts of the wheelchair must be high enough for a regulation

ball to pass under (that is, over 73mm)  guards to protect the wheelchair from damage are permitted provided that the

guards:

  • are rounded and have no sharp or protruding parts
  • allow the ball can pass underneath
  • do not extend beyond 5cm from the further edges of the wheelchair. (IWAS,

 wheelchair must not accelerate beyond 15.5 km/h (IWAS, n.d).

As with powerchair soccer, powerchair hockey chairs may have characteristics which are useful or even required for play beyond what is specified in the rules. Duvall et al. (2020) note that powerchair hockey chairs are compact and highly manoeuvrable. The sport is faster play than powerchair soccer, reflected in the maximum permitted speed on the field (15km/h for hockey, 10km/h for soccer). The chairs also sit higher than powerchair soccer chairs, allowing for better control of the stick. They generally have mid-wheel drive.

5.2 Suitable models of power wheelchair In the opinion of the Western Electric Sporting association president, [[s47F- personal privacy](/foi-library/releases/759e22e37354-foi-24-25-0593-decision-document/release-materials/material-001__s47f-personal-privacy/)](/foi-library/releases/759e22e37354-foi-24-25-0593-decision-document/release-materials/material-001__s47f-personal-privacy/) , there are no safe alternatives to the E-hockey made by Wolturnus in Denmark or the Turbo Twist made by Degonda Rehab in Switzerland. All indications are that these models of PWC are not yet available for purchase in Australia. However, s47F- personal privacy suggests that retailers would import them if they thought the powerchairs would be funded by NDIS (6.1 Western Electric Sporting Association). s47F- personal privacy also suggests that while playing powerchair hockey with day chairs is possible, it can often lead to safety risks including tipping and may cause injury (6.1 Western Electric Sporting Association).

A history of powerchair hockey from the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) states:

In the seventies, Powerchair Hockey was born. Back then it was still called Electric Wheelchair Hockey. There were no sports chairs yet, so everybody played in their own electric wheelchair. Players began adding protection to their wheelchairs to protect them from getting damaged. Since the nineties, wheelchair manufacturers have been making electric wheelchairs that are also suitable to play Powerchair Hockey with. Nowadays, there are also sports wheelchairs that only get used to play this sport with. Those wheelchairs are very light, maneuverable, fast and have protection around them. This isn’t a contact sport, but collisions happen (IWAS, n.d.).

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  1. Correspondence

To source information on wheelchair models available in Australia, I sought comment from professional sporting associations around Australia. I contacted:

 Disability Sports Australia  Australian Powerchair Football Association  Western Electric Sporting Association  Powerchair Sports Victoria  Queensland Powerchair Football Association  NSW Powerchair Football Association  Australian Powerchair Hockey Association NSW At present, I have only received responses from [[[s47F - personal privacy](/foi-library/releases/759e22e37354-foi-24-25-0593-decision-document/release-materials/material-001__s47f-personal-privacy/)](/foi-library/releases/759e22e37354-foi-24-25-0593-decision-document/release-materials/material-001__s47f-personal-privacy/)](/foi-library/releases/759e22e37354-foi-24-25-0593-decision-document/release-materials/material-001__s47f-personal-privacy/) Western Electric Sporting Association and Sales Administrator for NDIS provider Wild West Wheelchairs.

6.1 Western Electric Sporting Association

From: s47F - personal privacy Aaron Sent: Monday, 6 June 2022 9:04 AM To: [s47F- personal privacy](/foi-library/releases/759e22e37354-foi-24-25-0593-decision-document/release-materials/material-001__s47f-personal-privacy/) support@wildwestwheelchairs.com Subject: RE: Wheelchairs for powerchair soccer and hockey [SEC=OFFICIAL]

Hi s47F- persona

Thanks so much for the info. It’ll be really helpful.

I’ll get in touch if I have any further questions.

All the best

Aaron s47F - personal privacy

Research Officer

National Disability Insurance Agency Email aaron.s47F - personal privacy @ndis.gov.au

Work days: Monday – Thursday

From: s47F- personal privacy xxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx Sent: Thursday, 2 June 2022 5:43 PM

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To: s47F - personal privacy Aaron <Aaron.s47F - personal privacy @ndis.gov.au> Subject: Re: Wheelchairs for powerchair soccer and hockey [SEC=OFFICIAL]

Hi Aaron,

Thanks for your email. I will just clarify some of your points:

 There are a few 2nd hand hockey chairs around Australia, which may be available to rent for competitions, but there are not enough to go around The 2nd hand hockey chairs are privately owned, only 4 exist in Australia, and owners are generally reluctant to loan them, although they may be loaned during inter-state competitions. For local- entry level - competition, day chairs are able to be used, however they are not suitable for safety reasons - regardless of modifications - as discussed.

 A couple of European companies, Wolturnus and Degonda make hockey chairs but there are no retailers in Australia that stock them. Australian Disability Equipment suppliers in WA, NSW and South Australia have been looking to stock Wolturnus and Degonda, chairs, but the NDIS has so far declined all applications for both Wolturnus and Degonda hockey chairs.

I have attached FIPFA Official rules and regulations to this email, and you can find rules on playing equipment in Section 4 (p.13). The FIPFA Document was published in 2010, and the Strikeforce Powerchair for Soccer has been introduced to the market since the publication of this document.

For Powerchair Hockey, as per the website of the international governing body:

In the seventies, Powerchair Hockey was born. Back then it was still called Electric Wheelchair Hockey. There were no sports chairs yet, so everybody played in their own electric wheelchair.

Players began adding protection to their wheelchairs to protect them from getting damaged. Since the nineties, wheelchair manufacturers have been making electric wheelchairs that are also suitable to play Powerchair Hockey with. Nowadays, there are also sports wheelchairs that only get used to play this sport with. Those wheelchairs are very light, maneuverable, fast and have protection around them. This isn’t a contact sport, but collisions happen.

Players can drive on the playing field with a maximum speed of 15km/h. This is the international standard, but in some national leagues there is no speed limit. At the moment, sports chairs can drive about 18km/h.

Since 2012, there is speed control on EC’s and WC’s. Before the tournament starts, all wheelchairs are inspected. The wheelchairs will only get approved for the tournament if they don’t drive faster than 15,5km/h. The official limit is 15km/h, but a deviation of 0,5km/h is allowed.

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I have attached the instructions for checking player equipment which specifies the minimum requirements of a Power Hockey chair, as well as the IPCH Game Rules. Rules about powerchairs can also be found in section 5 of this document.

Whilst none of the documents stipulate a specific model of chair required for both sports, the Strikeforce, Turbo Twist and Wolturnus E-Hockey chair are the standard for Powerchair Soccer and Powerchair Hockey respectively. There is no safe entry-level alternative to these chairs.

Please get in touch if you have any more questions - I’d really like to assist!

Regards,

[s47F- personal privacy](/foi-library/releases/759e22e37354-foi-24-25-0593-decision-document/release-materials/material-001__s47f-personal-privacy/)

Sales Administrator

Wild West Wheelchairs

s47F- personal privacy

Unit 6, 16 Stanford Way

Malaga, WA 6090

From: s47F - personal privacy Aaron Sent: Thursday, 2 June 2022 5:01 PM To: support@wildwestwheelchairs.com Subject: Wheelchairs for powerchair soccer and hockey [SEC=OFFICIAL] Hi s47F - persona

Thanks heaps for your time this afternoon.

Just to confirm what we talked about:

 Soccer and hockey chairs have different requirements and can’t easily be

repurposed for the other sport.  Day chairs are generally too heavy and tip too easily to be used for soccer or

hockey.  Its possible to make some modifications to day chairs (eg. install footbars) but the

chairs will still be unsafe.  Strikeforce is so far the only brand of soccer chair you’ve seen in Australia.  There are a few 2nd hand hockey chairs around Australia, which may be available to

rent for competitions, but there are not enough to go around.

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 A couple of European companies, Wolturnus and Degonda make hockey chairs but

there are no retailers in Australia that stock them.

Does that about cover it?

As far as technical specifications, I am interested in what makes a suitable chair for both hockey and soccer. What are minimum requirements in terms of speed (forward and reverse), turning speed, rear wheel/mid wheel drive, weight, height etc.?

Thanks again for your help.

All the best Aaron [s47F - personal privacy](/foi-library/releases/759e22e37354-foi-24-25-0593-decision-document/release-materials/material-001__s47f-personal-privacy/)

Research Officer

National Disability Insurance Agency Email aaron.s47F - personal privacy @ndis.gov.au

Work days: Monday – Thursday

  1. References

Duvall, J., Satpute, S., Cooper, R., & Cooper, R. A. (2020). A review of adaptive sport opportunities for PWC users. Disability and Rehabilitation. Assistive Technology, (preprint online), 1 - 7. https://doi.org/10.1080/17483107.2020.1767220

Fédération Internationale de Powerchair Football Association (FIPFA). (2020a). Powerchair Football: Laws of the Game. https://www.apfa.org.au/wp- content/uploads/2021/11/FIPFA-Laws-of-the-Game-2020.pdf

Fédération Internationale de Powerchair Football Association (FIPFA). (2020b). Powerchair Football: Technical Supplement. https://www.apfa.org.au/wp- content/uploads/2021/11/FIPFA-Technical-Supplement-2020.pdf

International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS). (n.d). What is PCH?. IWAS Powerchair Hockey. http://powerchairhockey.org/whatispch/

International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS). (2021). International Powerchair Hockey Game Rules. http://powerchairhockey.org/wp- content/uploads/2021/07/IPCH-Game-Rules-2021-1.pdf

International Tennis Federation. (2022). Wheelchair Tennis Classification Rules. https://www.itftennis.com/media/7271/itf-wheelchair-tennis-classification-rules-v20-1- jan-2022.pdf

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Picasso, A L. (2021) World Para Dance Sport launches second edition of Online Challenge. International Paralympic Committee. https://www.paralympic.org/news/world-para- dance-sport-launches-second-edition-online-challenge

Powerchair football. (n.d.). Disability Sports Australia. Retrieved June 7, 2022, from https://www.sports.org.au/powerchair-football

Powerchair hockey. (n.d.). Disability Sports Australia. Retrieved June 7, 2022, from https://www.sports.org.au/powerchair-hockey

Powerchair Sports Victoria. (2021). South Melbourne. https://psv.org.au/south-melbourne/

Powerchair Sports Victoria. (n.d a). Craig Kilby. Retrieved June 7, 2022 from https://psv.org.au/player/Craig-Kilby

Powerchair Sports Victoria. (n.d b). James North-Coombes. Retrieved June 7, 2022 from https://psv.org.au/player/James-North-Coombes

Products. (n.d). DB Bullet. Retrieved June 7 from http://dbbullet.co.uk/products

STRIKE FORCE PWC & Soccer Guard. (n.d.). Push Mobility. Retrieved June 7, 2022, from https://www.pushmobility.com.au/products/strike-force-power-wheelchair-soccer-guard

Wheelchair Race. (n.d). Cybathalon. Retrieved June 7, 2022 from https://cybathlon.ethz.ch/en/event/disciplines/whl

  1. Version control

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