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Adaptive Softball for Wheelchair Users
In 1975, softball was adapted so that wheelchair users and other people of varying physical disabilities could participate in this much loved sport.
The first team was known as the Sioux Wheelers. The sport originally caught on in Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois and eventually caught on in Canada and other countries worldwide.
People involved in the adaptive softball community have been dedicated to growing the number of teams for over the last 30 years, as well as making this sport a Paralympic sport. Not only is the adaptive softball community supportive and active in growing the sport, but they’ve even sought and found allegiance and sponsorship with their Major League Baseball (MLB) team counterparts, including the Chicago Cubs, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays and Minnesota Twins.
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Rather than a classic baseball field, players will compete on a hard surface, such as a blacktop or parking lot, although it is painted like a traditional baseball diamond and field. This is in order to provide easy maneuverability in a wheelchair. While traditional softball bases are 60 feet apart, they are 50 feet apart in adaptive softball, making for a mere 10-foot difference.
The Softball
Another difference between traditional and adaptive softball is the size of the softball. Softballs in adaptive softball are 16 inches, so that wheelchair users can keep one hand on the wheelchair while they catch the softball without a glove.
Softball Wheelchair
Sports wheelchairs are used in sports, such as adaptive soccer and adaptive softball, and are designed to help players make sharp turns and reduce the likelihood of tipping over when maneuvering quickly on the field. They are different and unique from traditional wheelchairs in that the wheels are angled about 20 degrees, (whereas a traditional wheelchair’s angle is two degrees), and they have anti-tips bars, or “wheelie bars,” on the backs of their chairs.
Classification System
Using the same classification system that is used for wheelchair basketball, teams are balanced by a point scoring system. A team must not have players participating with a total of more than 22 points. A team must have at least ten players, with one or more of the players being quadriplegic, to be able to start a game. The point values are as follows:
Quadriplegic (any) = 1 point
Class I = 1 point
Class II = 2 points
Class III = 3 points