USA Wheelchair Rugby

The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games may be postponed until 2021, but USA Wheelchair Rugby is still focused on capturing its fourth Paralympic gold medal. Following a December 2019 training camp, the 16-person Paralympic training squad was announced. This squad will train and compete together until the final 12-person Tokyo Paralympic roster is named. The Paralympic Games will now take place August 24 to September 5, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan and will be the seventh Games the U.S. Wheelchair Rugby Team has competed in. To learn more about the players and competition results, visit usawr.org.

Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Training Squad

#2 Chuck Melton (Richview, IL)
#3 Joe Jackson (Maricopa, AZ)
#4 Adam Scaturro (Lakewood, CO)
#5 Chuck Aoki (Minneapolis, MN)
#6 Jeff Butler (Austin, TX)
#7 Montrerius Hucherson (Tallassee, AL)
#8 Ernie Chun (Phoenix, AZ)
#9 Eric Newby (Bailey, CO)
#10 Josh Wheeler (Tucson, AZ)
#11 Lee Fredette (East Moriches, NY)
#12 Chad Cohn (Tucson, AZ)
#14 Joe Delagrave (Prairie du Chien, WI)
#15 Jake Daily (Freeburg, IL)
#20 Liz Dunn (Warren, PA)
#22 Kory Puderbaugh (Boise, ID)
#33 Ray Hennagir (Deptford, NJ)

What is Wheelchair Rugby?

Wheelchair Rugby is a sport with roots grounded in wheelchair basketball and ice hockey and was developed by three Canadians from Winnipeg, Manitoba as an opportunity for athletes with quadriplegia to compete. The sport was originally called Murderball due to the aggressive nature of the game. It was introduced to the United States in 1979 at a demonstration at Southwest Minnesota State University. In 1981, Brad Mikkelsen, with the aid of the University of North Dakota’s Disabled Student Services, formed the first team, the Wallbangers, and changed the game’s name from Murderball to quad rugby. Today it is called wheelchair rugby.

In 1988, the United States Quad Rugby Association (USQRA) was formed to help regulate and promote the sport on both a national and international level. There are now more than 40 organized teams in the United States with many others in the developmental stage. In addition to the teams in the U.S., there are at least 29 international teams with 20 more in the development stage. Wheelchair rugby is one of the fastest growing wheelchair sports in the world.