RHI Sports Teams

Beep Baseball

RHI Indy Thunder beep baseball is excellent for those individuals who are looking for action packed, “down and dirty” excitement!! It’s a sport that was developed for the visually impaired athletes, but that great part about this sport is that anyone is eligible to participate.  Beep baseball is not a game for those who are worried about a couple bumps and bruises.  It is a very physically intense game filled with diving, sliding and extreme competition.

Beep baseball is played by auditory cue of a beeping ball and buzzing bases.  Batters listen for the beeping ball to come across their strike zone, swing and hit the ball.  If the batter can get to the beeping bases before the fielders can locate the ball, a run is scored, otherwise the batter is out.

For additional information about Beep Baseball please check out the following website:
National Beep Baseball Association.

Golf

Playing golf is a favorite pastime for many, but it can also be played on the more competitive level with no adaptations to the rules just the equipment.  The RHI Golf team, although open to all RHI athletes, has become very popular among our ambulatory participants with limb injuries. These athletes travel and compete in various regional and national tournaments throughout the season.

Golf can be played by many individuals with different disabilities.  For the individuals who might be unable to grip the club, there are gloves that secure the club to your hand.  Individuals can also play golf directly from their wheelchair, in which case shorter clubs are often an effective adaptation.  Specially designed golf carts are another great way for individuals with spinal cord or lower extremity injuries to play golf from an upright position by raising and lowering the seat. The cart is all hand controlled and the tires do no have treads, so you can take them onto the green.  For additional information about golf please check out the following websites:

National Amputee Golf Association
United States Golf Association

Power Soccer

Power Soccer is the first action packed competitive team sport designed and developed specifically for power wheelchair users with various disabilities.

RHI Indy Cruisers Power Soccer team offers individuals who might not otherwise have the opportunity to experience sport on a competitive level, while enhancing their sense of well-being, decreasing isolation and building social networks with their teammates.

This sport combines the speed and power of the chair with the skill of the participant in an extremely challenging game very similar to soccer. Two teams of 4 power chair athletes compete in this sport in a gymnasium on a regulation basketball court.  The players hit, defend, and spin-kick a 13-inch soccer ball in an attempt to score points by getting the ball through the goal.  For additional information about Power Soccer:

United States Power Soccer
International Power chair football Association
Power Soccer of Indy, Inc.

Quad Rugby

The RHI Quad Rugby team, Indy Quad Squad, is made up of competitive and intense physically active athletes. Rubgy was first developed in Canada for quadriplegic athletes and was commonly known as ‘murderball’ because of its extreme physical nature.

Quad rugby is played indoors on a full length basketball court with 4 eight minute quarters. The object of the game is to score points by carrying the ball across the opponent’s goal line.  One goal equals one point. A volleyball is used and it must be bounced or passed from teammate to teammate at least one time every 10 seconds during a play. 

A classification system is used, just as in wheelchair basketball, to manage the functional abilities of the four players on the court at a time.

For additional information about quad rugby check out the following websites:

U.S. Paralympics
U.S. Quad Rugby Association
International Wheelchair Rugby Federation

Racing

Wheelchair racing is one of the oldest most distinguished wheelchair sports.  Wheelchair racing can be anything from your typical track events, 5K/10K road races, mini marathons, marathons and triathlons. Marathon Racing is a competitive sport facilitated by RHI that is excellent for enhancing physical fitness, increasing social networks, and decreasing feelings of isolation.

Racing chairs are designed to be lightweight with precise dimensions for the most absolute aerodynamic design. Positioning of the body in the chair heavily depends on the level of injury and type of disability.  Kneeling positions are optimal but generally only suited for those who have greater core strength and flexibility.  However, leaving your feet forward resting them on a strap can work for almost anyone on the track.

Track and Field

Track events included distance, relay and marathon races. Field events include shot-put, discus, javelin and pentathlon.

There are certain adaptations to different events to accommodate certain disabilities.  For example, guide runners are usually attached to the visually impaired runner’s wrist, and for participants with spinal cord injuries and other lower extremity impairments, specialized racing chairs are used, along with throwing chairs for the field events.  All athletes are classified according to level of injury.  For additional information about track and field please take a look at the following websites:

Wheelchair Track and Field
Paralympics Track and Field
U.S Paralympics

Wheelchair Basketball

Wheelchair basketball is a sport that is played by athletes with spinal cord injuries and/or a variety of other disabilities ranging from amputees to cerebral palsy. The RHI Pacers will play nearly thirty games a season traveling to play in such places as Charlotte, North Carolina; Gainesville, Florida; and Rockford, Illinois.

Many of the same rules and scoring of able-bodied basketball apply.  The sports maintain a 10-foot basketball hoop and standard basketball court. The exceptions to these rules have been adapted and modified with the consideration of the wheelchair.

All teams which compete above a recreational level use a classification system to evaluate the functional abilities of players on the court at one time.For more information about the sport of wheelchair basketball please check out the following websites:

National Wheelchair Basketball Association
U.S. Paralympics