Throwing from a Wheel Chair

Thanks to Chris Holland who told me about this month’s bite.  Chris teaches at Fairfields School in Northampton and he told me how he enables some students, who use wheel chairs, to participate in throwing events during PE.  He attaches a length of guttering – the sort that goes on the roof of your house – to the arm of the wheel chair.  A ball is then placed in the guttering within reach of the wheel chair user who then decides when to release it.  If simply releasing it is what they can manage, then their ball runs down the guttering and goes for some distance.  If they are sufficiently dexterous then they may be able to push the ball faster thereby achieving a further distance. 

This idea would also have a use as part of an activity other than sport.  For example releasing:

• ping pong balls so that they hit a resonant material and make sounds
• different coloured balls to bump into each other and come to rest making patterns
• in a darkened space then you could release balls with lights in to watch the effects