Don't just sit there, play!

Today's sport wheelchairs let athletes with disabilities play hard and fast. Great Britain and Canada battle in the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, Australia. Canada went on to win the gold medal. Photo by Kevin Bogetti-Smith The Hammer by Colours in Motion is an offensive-action chair intended for contact sports. The antitipper on the back of the Hammer chair prevents back flips, thereby letting players focus on the game instead of the ill effects of gravity. The rigid picker front of the Hammer works as a sort of bumper. The Hammer's camber plate (shown with the wheels off) lets players adjust the angle the wheels make with the ground. Wheel camber lets players turn easier and maintain stability on impact. Spokes of Spinergy Spox on the TiSport BB chair are made from Vectran fibers which bend but maintain stiffness. They have twice the tensile strength of steel, a third the weight, and they act as shock absorbers. The TiSport BB is built from titanium tubing to better absorb shock. The TiSport BB has a standard flip-up antitipper as shown here, or an adjustable titanium fifth wheel. The Leader from New Halls Wheels is a racing chair that features a unicrown fork for maximum aerodynamics and speed. There was a time when people confined to wheelchairs didn't go out in public. Franklin D. Roosevelt, for example, took great pains to make sure he stood for public appearances, even though he was usually confined to a wheelchair. The story is different today. People with all types of disabilities lead active lives and participate in many activities, including athletics. In fact, wheelchair sports have become increasingly competitive and popular throughout the world. Wheelchair sports formally started sometime after World War II when wheelchair-bound veterans sought ways to spend pent-up energy. Common games included table