Wheelchair Slalom (is also called W-Slalom or WSlalom) is a type of racing in which athletes with physical disabilities navigate in a wheelchair through a course with challenging obstacles. Slalom is accessible to both manual wheelchair and powerchair users.
Wheelchair slalom tests both the speed, coordination and chair control of the athlete. The sport involves athletes in a wheelchair navigating an obstacle course, through cones and up and down ramps, as quickly as possible with minimal mistakes. The aim is to be the quickest through the course, with time penalties added to the total time for error at an obstacle.
There is no standard wheelchair slalom course. The courses can be designed with different levels of difficulty. Obstacles include slalom, circled cone, reverse gate, figure-of-8, 180 reverse square or 360 square.
Wheelchair Slalom was once an event at the Summer Paralympics. The sport is set to make a comeback, with demonstration status at the IWAS World Games.
Similar Sports
- Wheelchair Racing — a type of racing in which athletes with physical disabilities compete with the help of a wheelchair.
- Racerunning — a racing sport for disabled athletes, in which they use a specially designed tricycle.
- Para-Cycling — cycle racing events using adaptations for disabled athletes, such as tandem bikes and hand-cycling.
- Wheelchair Rugby League — a version of rugby league football but played using a wheelchair.
- Wheelchair Rugby — a full-contact indoor team sport conducted for players with disabilities
- Wheelchair Basketball — basically regular basketball played on a wheelchair.
- Paratriathlon — involves a 750 m swim, a 20 km bike with handcycles, bicycles or tandems with a guide, and a 5 km wheelchair or running race.
Related Pages
- Sports for the Disabled
- Wheelchair Slalom at the Paralympic Games
- List of Sports at the Paralympics
- Complete list of world sports
- The Encyclopedia of Sports