Eight teams participated in wheelchair rugby at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China. Teams could have up to 12 players, but no more than 11 of the team members could be male. In wheelchair rugby, each player is given a sport class based on their upper body function. The classification is a 7-level score ranging from 0.5 to 3.5, with lower scores corresponding to more severe disability. The sum score of all a team's players on the field could not exceed 8.
Australia | Team staff | |
|---|---|
| Coach | Brad Dubberley |
| Assistant coach | Robert Doidge |
| No. | Name | Sport class | Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Bryce Alman | 2.0 | 32 |
| 3 | Ryley Batt | 3.5 | 19 |
| 7 | Grant Boxall | 2.5 | 32 |
| 5 | Shane Brand | 1.5 | 35 |
| 4 | Cameron Carr | 2.0 | 31 |
| 2 | Nazim Erdem | 0.5 | 38 |
| 1 | George Hucks | 3.0 | 40 |
| 12 | Steve Porter (captain) | 2.5 | 38 |
| 11 | Ryan Scott | 0.5 | 26 |
| 13 | Greg Smith | 2.0 | 41 |
| 6 | Scott Vitale | 2.0 | 23 |
Canada | Team staff | |
|---|---|
| Coach | Benoit Labrecque |
| Assistant coach | Marco Dispaltro |
| Assistant coach | Adam Frost |
| No. | Name | Sport class | Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Ian Chan | 3.0 | 31 |
| 2 | Jason Crone | 1.5 | 21 |
| 13 | Jared Funk | 0.5 | 34 |
| 5 | Garett Hickling | 3.5 | 37 |
| 10 | Trevor Hirschfield | 1.0 | 24 |
| 11 | Fabien Lavoie | 3.0 | 27 |
| 9 | Say Luangkhamdeng | 2.0 | 31 |
| 1 | Daniel Paradis | 0.5 | 47 |
| 4 | Erika Schmutz | 1.5 | 35 |
| 15 | Patrice Simard | 1.5 | 29 |
| 8 | Mike Whitehead | 3.0 | 32 |
| 14 | David Willsie (captain) | 2.0 | 40 |
China | Team staff | |
|---|---|
| Coach | Wen Yan |
| Assistant coach | Wu Zhiming |
| No. | Name | Sport class | Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Chen Jun | 2.5 | 23 |
| 8 | Cheng Shuangmiao (captain) | 2.0 | 28 |
| 7 | Cui Maosheng | 2.0 | 32 |
| 2 | Han Guifei | 3.0 | 21 |
| 1 | Pan Zilin | 3.5 | 35 |
| 12 | Shao Dequan | 1.0 | 20 |
| 10 | Tao Zhenfeng | 0.5 | 32 |
| 6 | Tian Shilin | 2.0 | 24 |
| 5 | Wang Sheng | 3.0 | 35 |
| 11 | Xia Junfeng | 0.5 | 36 |
| 9 | Yu Zhongtao | 1.0 | 25 |
| 15 | Zhang Wenli | 1.5 | 40 |
Germany | Team staff | |
|---|---|
| Coach | Pierre Sahm |
| Assistant coach | Bert Metzger |
| No. | Name | Sport class | Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Maik Baumann | 3.0 | 28 |
| 3 | Christian Goetze | 1.0 | 33 |
| 14 | Joerg Holzem (captain) | 2.5 | 35 |
| 10 | Salih Koeseoglu | 2.5 | 28 |
| 4 | Wolfgang Mayer | 2.5 | 43 |
| 13 | Nacer Menezla | 2.0 | 33 |
| 8 | Oliver Johannes Picht | 3.0 | 36 |
| 11 | Micael Reis | 2.5 | 30 |
| 12 | Wolfgang Schmitt | 0.5 | 25 |
| 7 | Dirk Wieschendorf | 1.0 | 33 |
| 1 | Christoph Werner | 2.0 | 39 |
Great Britain | Team staff | |
|---|---|
| Coach | Mark Edward O'Connor |
| No. | Name | Sport class | Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Alan Ash | 2.0 | 35 |
| 10 | Andrew Barrow | 2.0 | 29 |
| 2 | Jonathan Coggan | 0.5 | 25 |
| 8 | Troye Collins | 2.5 | 36 |
| 9 | Justin Frishberg | 2.0 | 36 |
| 5 | Bulbul Hussain | 1.0 | 36 |
| 6 | Ross Morrison | 2.5 | 29 |
| 3 | Steven Palmer | 1.5 | 35 |
| 12 | Josie Pearson | 1.5 | 22 |
| 7 | Jason Roberts | 1.5 | 35 |
| 1 | Mandip Sehmi | 2.5 | 27 |
| 4 | Paul Shaw | 1.0 | 37 |
Japan | Team staff | |
|---|---|
| Coach | Yasuo Shiozawa |
| Assistant coach | Daisuke Aoyagi |
| No. | Name | Sport class | Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Shingo Fujishima | 3.0 | 36 |
| 12 | Shunsuke Kawano | 1.5 | 32 |
| 8 | Hiroyuki Misaka | 2.0 | 27 |
| 6 | Takuo Murohashi | 2.0 | 33 |
| 3 | Yu Nagayasu | 3.0 | 22 |
| 11 | Shin Nakazato | 2.5 | 31 |
| 5 | Koichi Ogino (captain) | 1.0 | 42 |
| 10 | Yoshito Sato | 2.0 | 28 |
| 4 | Shinichi Shimakawa | 3.0 | 33 |
| 1 | Yoshinobu Takahashi | 0.5 | 33 |
| 9 | Manabu Tamura | 2.5 | 33 |
New Zealand | Team staff | |
|---|---|
| Coach | Grant Sharman |
| Assistant coach | Tim Johnson |
| No. | Name | Sport class | Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Daniel Buckingham (captain) | 3.0 | 27 |
| 7 | Tim Johnson | 2.0 | 32 |
| 11 | David Klinkhamer | 1.5 | 26 |
| 2 | Curtis Palmer | 2.5 | 31 |
| 4 | Sholto Taylor | 2.0 | 36 |
| 6 | Geremy Tinker | 2.0 | 35 |
| 5 | Jai Waite | 1.0 | 32 |
| 14 | Adam Wakeford | 1.0 | 30 |
United States 
| Team staff | |
|---|---|
| Coach | James Gumbert |
| Assistant coach | Edward Suhr |
| No. | Name | Sport class | Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Andy Cohn | 2.0 | 30 |
| 10 | Will Groulx | 2.0 | 34 |
| 8 | Scott Hogsett | 1.0 | 35 |
| 4 | Bryan Kirkland (captain) | 2.0 | 37 |
| 5 | Norm Lyduch | 1.0 | 36 |
| 2 | Seth McBride | 2.0 | 25 |
| 7 | Jason Regier | 0.5 | 33 |
| 9 | Nick Springer | 2.0 | 23 |
| 1 | Chance Sumner | 3.0 | 31 |
| 6 | Joel Wilmoth | 3.5 | 19 |
| 3 | Mark Zupan | 3.0 | 33 |
Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby XIII in non-Anglophone Europe and South America, and referred to colloquially as football, footy or league in its heartlands, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 m (74 yd) wide and 112–122 m (122–133 yd) long with H-shaped posts at both ends. It is one of the two major codes of rugby football, the other being rugby union. It originated in 1895 in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England, as the result of a split from the Rugby Football Union (RFU) over the issue of payments to players. The rules of the game governed by the new Northern Rugby Football Union progressively changed from those of the RFU with the specific aim of producing a faster and more entertaining game to appeal to spectators, on whose income the new organisation and its members depended.
The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games, the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was first time the new Paralympic logo featured in the Summer Paralympics since its rebranding after the 2004 Summer Paralympics.
Wheelchair rugby is a team sport for athletes with a disability. It is practiced in over twenty-five countries around the world and is a summer Paralympic sport.
Wheelchair Rugby at the 2004 Summer Paralympics was staged at the Helliniko Indoor Arena from September 19 to September 25.
China was the host of the 2008 Summer Paralympics, held in Beijing. China's delegation included 547 people, of whom 332 were competitors. The athletes, 197 men and 135 women, ranged in age from 15 to 51 and competed in all twenty sports. 226 of the competitors participated in the Paralympic Games for the first time. The delegation was the largest in Chinese history and at the 2008 Games. China topped the medal count at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens. China dominated the medal count winning the most gold, silver, bronze, and total medals by a wide margin in Beijing.
The Wheelchair Basketball competition of the 2008 Summer Paralympics is held in Beijing National Indoor Stadium and Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium between September 7, 2008 and September 16, 2008. There will be two medals awarded in this event.
Wheelchair rugby at the 2008 Summer Paralympics was held in the Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium from 12 September to 16 September.
The United States sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China. A total of 213 U.S. competitors took part in 18 sports; the only 2 sports Americans did not compete in were soccer 5-a-side and 7-a-side. The American delegation included 16 former members of the U.S. military, including 3 veterans of the Iraq War. Among them were shot putter Scott Winkler, who was paralyzed in an accident in Iraq, and swimmer Melissa Stockwell, a former United States Army officer who lost her left leg to a roadside bomb in the war.
Brazil sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China The country debuted in the Games in 1972 and 2008 was its 10th participation.
Wheelchair Rugby at the 2000 Summer Paralympics was officially a mixed sport; however, no women participated. This was the first year that the sport was an official part of the Paralympic program. It had previously been a demonstration sport at the 1996 Paralympics. Eight teams took part in the competition.
Japan competed at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China. The country's delegation included a women's goalball team, men's and women's sitting volleyball teams, men's and women's wheelchair basketball teams, a wheelchair rugby team, and one wheelchair fencer.
Wheelchair rugby at the 1996 Summer Paralympics consisted of a mixed team event. Wheelchair rugby was being contested as a demonstration sport, and not an official part of the Paralympic program, but medals were awarded and stayed on medal table. Six teams took part in the sport; Sweden and Australia were eliminated after the preliminary round.
Kylie Gauci is an Australian Paralympic 2-point wheelchair basketball player. She participated in the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, where she won a silver medal; in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, where she won a bronze medal, and the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, where she won a second silver medal. Gauci represented Australia at the 2002, 2006 and 2010 World Championships, and was named to the World All Star 5 at the World Championships in Amsterdam in 2006. She has played over 180 international games.
Ryley Batt, is an Australian wheelchair rugby player. He has won two gold and one silver medal at five Paralympic Games and has been selected for his sixth Games in Paris 2024.
Nazim Erdem, is an Australian wheelchair rugby Paralympic gold and silver medalist. He has won two gold and two silver medals at five Paralympics from 2000 to 2016.
Brad Dubberley is an Australian Paralympic wheelchair rugby Head Coach and former athlete. He won a silver medal as an athlete at the 2000 Sydney Games and was the head coach at the 2008 Beijing Games in the mixed wheelchair rugby event. He is the head coach of the Australian Wheelchair Rugby team known as the Australian Steelers.
Ryan Scott, is a Paralympic wheelchair rugby competitor from Australia. In four Paralympics, Scott has won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics and gold medals at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Paralympics.
Grant Boxall is an Australian Paralympic wheelchair rugby player.
Janet McLachlan is a Canadian 4.5 point wheelchair basketball player who won a bronze medal at the 2010 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Birmingham, and gold at the 2014 Women's World Wheelchair Basketball Championship in Toronto.
Erika Schmutz is a Canadian former Wheelchair rugby player and power engineer. She won a bronze medal with Team Canada in the 2008 Summer Paralympics, becoming the first woman to score a try in a Paralympic wheelchair rugby match.