Powerchair Hockey

Powerchair hockey is a fast-paced sport played by athletes using electric wheelchairs to propel themselves skillfully across the court.

In this game of tactics and high-energy, players use a lightweight hockey stick to propel a ball past their opponents and into the goal.

The game emerged by accident in the 1970s. In the early part of the decade a small number of schools began to integrate pupils with impairments into sports, mainly those who had more severe disabilities. A game like hockey was perfect because a longer stick is used which can be controlled from a seated position and where a player has reduced muscle power.

To begin with the sport was known as ‘wheelchair hockey’ but ‘electric’ was added later to denote the fact the players use electric wheelchairs.

Over just two years between 1978-1979 two trial competitions were held in the Netherlands. In 1982 the first international competition was held.

IWAS Powerchair Hockey website