5 replies to this topic

[Vanessamaee]

Ive been looking at sports chairs, and lets face it. Im new to being in a wheelchair in general, I dont know the first thing about sports chairs except the have more camber and the tilt wheels on the back. So Im totally open ears to whatever you guys have to offer. What kind of chairs are you using? What do you look for/recommend in a sports chair? THe primary use would be basketball
(I am playing for a college team next year), but I am also planning on using it for tennis and whatever else my heart desires in the future.
Thank You!
Vanessa

[wheelie182]

Both tennis and basketball require you to use the chair pretty heavily with only one hand, so you'll be wanting a lot of camber, and both need that tilt wheel so that all your energy goes into moving forwards. And both are designed for sharp turns. So in that respect, you should be able to use the same chair for both, at least until you get good enough to require the chair to be specialized in some particular way.

You'll also want a nice low backrest so you can lean right the way back to capture those difficult catches/shots.

When you say college team, do you mean college wheelchair basketball team? If so, don't they have chairs you can try out? You really need to try out as many as you can, its very difficult to just pull out a chair specification by simply measuring your "attributes".

I think the chair of choice over here is the RGK sports range.

[cas]

I use a quickie for tennis

[brockit79]

Nessy,

I tried playing basketball once and loved it; the chair was an RGK and in the future, after I've conquered the world, I'd definitely buy one. Lots of camber with a front anti-tip bar which is like a big semi circle on the front (technical terms or what). I was flying around and loved it. The new chair I have ordered (WOOOOOO! can't wait to get it) will have 6 degrees of camber although I am having anti tips (which can be removed when I'm more confident) they are the rear type and I wouldn't personally feel safe enough to whirl around like a loon, although I'd like to, playing basketball. I did see ordinary day chairs being used but I'm not sure what they were.

Go girl and let us know how you get on

Broc

[hoody]

Hi Vanessa,

I have played tennis, basketball, murderball and tag rugby all in the same chair. I got the chair after trying out a few different types. As it will be you first chair you will be finding out what requirements you need Quickie do an all court chair that has the defensive bar on the front which can be removed. The chair is also fully adjustable back rest bucket and foot position. Once you have it set up for yourself you can use it as a template for a custom chair and sell the all court on.

http://www.sportaid....wheelchair.html

[wheelzoffortune]

I just use my regular chair for everything. Basketball, tennis, running, etc. It works fine. The only problem is that the tires wear down quicker than they would normally.