Competitive Team Sports

There’s nothing quite like being part of a team that comes together to play a sport and compete to win! DASA offers the biggest selection of disabled competitive team sports and Para sport opportunities in the Midwest.

Many of our sports teams make it possible to play at a competitive level and several offer development teams for athletes new to the sport. DASA is also proud to be a SILVER Paralympic Sport Club!

Players do not need experience or a wheelchair to get started. However, athletes do have to have an irreversible physical disability, which consistently interferes with functional mobility. DASA provides coaching, as well as adaptive equipment for initial practice and play.

Adaptive Sport Athletes do not have to use a wheelchair in everyday life to play adaptive sports.

If you or your athlete is interested in playing on a competitive team, trying out for Nationals, or going on to the Paralympics, and you are new to DASA, please fill out the New Athlete Form first. If you are a returning athlete, please fill out the registration form for the sport you’d like to play, and be sure to check out our calendar for the latest information.

All sports teams and practice times, dates, locations will be updated as each season gets closer and registration opens.

Archery

Bullseye! What started as a recreational activity for DASA athletes has become a full-session, adaptive archery sports program with a competitive team of archers to show for it. Competitive Paralympic Archery is identical to Olympic Archery in that archers shoot 72 arrows from a distance of 70 meters at a target of 122 centimeters, trying to achieve a perfect score of 720. Please contact us if you would like to know more.

Boccia

Boccia is a game of strategy and accuracy that was originally designed to be played by people with cerebral palsy. Now, the sport includes athletes with impairments that affect motor skills. Please contact us if you would like to know more.

Paralympic Powerlifting

If you’re ready to get strong and push yourself to limits you never could’ve imagined, try Para Powerlifting! This competitive sport is open to male and female athletes over age 11 and up with the following 8 eligible physical impairments and a range of physical disabilities, including cerebral palsy, spinal cord injuries, lower-limb amputation, poliomyelitis. Please contact us if you would like to know more.

Power Soccer

Power soccer allows those with disabilities the opportunity to play the most popular sport in the world. Power Soccer is the first disabled competitive team sport designed and developed specifically for people of all ages and genders who use a power wheelchair. Participants include people with quadriplegia, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, head trauma, stroke, spinal cord injury, and other disabilities.

Click on the button below if you want to learn more.

Sled Hockey

Sled hockey is an exciting disabled alternative competitive team sport that follows rules similar to able-bodied hockey. Instead of using ice skates, sled hockey players sit on a specially designed sled (sledge) equipped with two skate blades. Players use two short hockey sticks, not only for shooting and passing, but also for propelling themselves across the ice with the metal picks attached to the top of the shafts.

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Swimming

Adaptive swimming emphasizes core strength, body awareness, endurance, and water safety. We begin with basic full-body movement and letting the athlete get comfortable with their own abilities in the water. DASA swimmers typically do not use flotation devices, which helps with developing greater self-awareness of their body and their abilities in the water. As a disabled swimmer progresses towards independence in their swim strokes, they are given the opportunity to move up to the competitive DASA Swim Team or train for the Paralympics.

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Track & Field

Try your skills at racing on the track, throwing the shot put, discus, and javelin, or flying high in the long jump! Try track and field recreationally for strength and endurance or go for the chance to be on the competitive team. DASA is fortunate to have disabled-specific equipment available for use during the season. Athletes work on running distances from 60m to 1600m and on throwing the discus, the shot put, and the javelin!

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Wheelchair Basketball

If you or someone you know with a physical disability is looking to participate in a competitive team sport, please consider playing for the DASA Rolling Rams. The opportunity enriches and nurtures the lives of our athletes, builds self-esteem, encourages greater self -confidence, and provides a wonderful social network. The sport also teaches teamwork, competitive skills, and discipline.

You can also train to be on the Paralympic wheelchair basketball team!

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Wheelchair Rugby

Ages 12 and Up*

Just like wheelchair basketball, you start learning wheelchair rugby with skills and drills and benefit from coaching until you try out for the competitive team, the St. Louis Rugby Club, or go all the way to the Paralympics! Wheelchair Rugby (a.k.a. Quad Rugby or Murderball) is a simple game with complex strategies for playing both offense and defense. It is played with a ball similar to a volleyball on a basketball-size court with goal lines marked by cones and a lined-off “key” area.

*For children ages 12-18, parental permission is required.

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Participate in Team Sports this Season

Participating in DASA’s competitive team sports is a wonderful way to socialize, build camaraderie, become physically fit, gain independence, develop self-confidence, and achieve great things. Please join us this season!

To get started, please fill out the New Athlete Form first, then fill out the registration form for the sport you’d like to play, and be sure to check out our calendar for the latest information. If you need assistance, contact us today. 636-477-0716