Magee Eagles Player Wins Gold Medal at the 2005 World Wheelchair Games in Rio de Janeiro

"The trip to Brazil was a blast," said Nanayakkara of Roslyn, Pa. "I was very proud and honored to represent my country at the World Wheelchair Games. I have been training hard for several years hoping to get a chance to play for Team USA, and I know that I'll be a contender for the National Team for years to come." Nanayakkara is a member of the Magee Eagles wheelchair rugby team, sponsored by Magee Rehabilitation Hospital and the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles finished second in the 2005 U.S. Quad Rugby Association (USQRA) Division II National Championships in April.

Nanayakkara has quadriplegia and was injured at the age of 21 during a fall while training for karate in 1994. He has not let his injury deter him.

In addition to competing for the Magee Eagles, Nanayakkara volunteers as a peer mentor at Magee Rehabilitation Hospital where he helps individuals who have recently suffered spinal cord injuries understand their injury and what to expect. He shares his experiences with the patients.

Nanayakkara also creates artwork and has twice been included in Magee's annual calendar that features art created by individuals with disabilities. In addition, he is studying psychology at Temple University and wants to become a clinical psychologist for individuals with disabilities.

"The sponsorship for the Magee Eagles Wheelchair Rugby Team by Magee Rehab Hospital has enabled my Philly teammates and me to better our quality of life by being involved in a competitive sport," said Nanayakkara. "I am very grateful to Magee and our local volunteers, without whom little of what we athletes do would be possible."

Picture a wheelchair, add guardrails, invert the wheels and shield them with metal, wrap them in barbed wire and & okay, there's no barbed wire, but that's definitely the feel of it.

Murderball, a new documentary, named for the high-impact, incredibly intense sport of quad rugby is set to hit Philadelphia movie theaters on July 22nd. It's guaranteed to hit audiences in their seats as hard as the players hit each other on screen.

"This movie will do more for disabled sports than the whole Paralympics movement itself," says Tom Hamill, Commissioner of U.S. Quad Rugby Association and head coach of the Magee Eagles wheelchair rugby team.

The Philadelphia Eagles and Magee Rehabilitation Hospital sponsor the Magee Eagles wheelchair rugby team, a team that displays the type of athleticism and passion shown in Murderball.

"You see guys smashing each other at relatively high speeds and you're taken aback because you don't think people in wheelchairs are willing to do that," says Ron Siggs, Vice President of Development and PR for Magee Rehabilitation Hospital.

Siggs knows that many people may misunderstand what Murderball is all about. "Wheelchair rugby is just like any other sport. People who play it have a passion for it. They have a desire to compete at their utmost. Forget wheelchair sports, that's what sports are about."

Murderball will not only bring awareness to the sport of quad rugby, but also help to correct misconceptions about disabled sports in general. The competitiveness and toughness of quad rugby players puts a whole new meaning on the term handicapped.

"Smashing stereotypes one hit at a time" is the tagline surrounding the movie and the sport of quad rugby itself.

Most of the athletes who man these war-beaten vehicles were highly competitive athletes prior to being disabled. "I broke my neck playing rugby football," Hamill explains, "The guys I played with knew I was playing [quad rugby] and thought, oh that's nice.' Then they see it. They see how intense and hard-hitting it is. That's on the club level. Then, you get to Murderball. And you get to see what's happening on the national scene."

A.J. Nanayakkara, a Magee Eagles veteran, recently made the U.S. Quad Rugby National Team. "I have to train hard to be there with the big boys," A.J. says. "I wasn't in the Olympics. I don't have Olympic experience. But, they're building the next generation of rugby elite players and this is where they're building the next Olympic team from."

A.J. hopes Murderball, the movie, will serve dual purposes. On top of helping to dispel misconceptions, perhaps it will motivate inactive quadriplegics to become more active in sports as well as everyday life. "We're trying to get the word out there because there are a lot of quads out there that don't do anything. Hopefully, the movie will inspire them to come and do something. That's why we're trying to get everyone to come see this," he says. "We just play for the love of the game and we love it. We wouldn't do anything else."

To learn more, log onto www.murderball.quadrugby.com. Also, be sure to revisit our website for Magee Eagles Wheelchair Rugby updates and upcoming events.

Magee Places 2nd in National Tournament

The Magee Eagles wheelchair rugby team fell a mere three points short in its quest to bring home its first ever national championship during the United States Quad Rugby Association (USQRA) Division II National Championships in Louisville on April 22-24.

Sponsored by Magee Rehabilitation Hospital and the Philadelphia Eagles, the Magee Eagles fell to the California Quake, 38-35, in the championship game. The team finished 4-1 during the weekend. They defeated the Sharp Edge, 43-25; University of Arizona Wildchairs, 41-39; Chicago Bears, 50-40; and the Tampa Generals, 33-30, en route to advancing to the championship game.

Adam Benscik of Plymouth Meeting, Pa., wearing Donovan McNabb's No. 5, was named the MVP of the tournament while playing for the second-place Magee Eagles.

"While a great athlete like Adam helped the team make tremendous strides this season, our success is the result of the dedication and teamwork of every member of the team," says head coach Tom Hamill, of Swedesboro, N.J., who also was re-elected commissioner of the USQRA.

Wheelchair rugby is an exciting contact sport played on a regulation basketball court. Four players per team are allowed on the court at one time. The goal is to move the ball down the court and cross the goal with possession of the ball when the first two wheels cross the goal line. Players may carry the ball, but must dribble or pass the ball within ten seconds. The sport and the lives of several players are explored in the award-winning documentary Murderball, set for theatrical release on July 8.

Other members of the team include Jim Thompson of Cherry Hill, N.J.; Dan Drach of Cheltenham, Pa.; Eric Anderson of South Philadelphia; Mike Nacci and A.J. Nanayakkara of Philadelphia; Everett Deibler of Lebanon, Pa., Keith Gilcrest of Middleton, Pa.; and Todd Collier of Montgomeryville, Md.

To earn their spot in the national championships, the Magee Eagles placed fourth at the Atlantic Region Sectionals in March. Sponsored by the Philadelphia Eagles, the Atlantic Sectionals were held at the Carousel House in Philadelphia.

Magee's Night of Champions event raises money to support the Magee Eagles and the hospital's other wheelchair sports teams in softball, basketball and tennis. The Fifth Annual Night of Champions will take place on Friday, May 13th, at 7 p.m. at the Sheet Metal Workers Union Hall on S. Columbus Blvd. in South Philadelphia. Tickets start at $125 with many sponsorship opportunities available. For more information, call (215) 587-3090.

Magee Eagles Wheelchair Rugby Team

The Magee Eagles Wheelchair Rugby Team had its most successful season in history last season. In existence since 1990, the team has struggled to make each year's National Tournament, always getting to the doorstep but never crossing the threshold. This past season, however, the Magee Eagles placed third at the Atlantic Sectional Tournament in Sarasota, Florida, which earned them their first berth in the United States Quad Rugby Association National Championships.

At Nationals, in Louisville, Kentucky, the Eagles faced a much stiffer level of competition than ever before, earning a respectable sixth place in the Division II tournament. The team left Louisville with a lot of sore muscles and great pride earned by our accomplishments this hard-fought season. With a strong core of seasoned veterans and a young crop of new talent, the Eagles plan to be a permanent fixture on the National Championship scene in the years to come.

Sponsored by Magee Rehabilitation Hospital and the Philadelphia Eagles, the Magee Eagles proudly wear Eagles green at all of their tournaments, and continue to train and fight hard to make Magee Rehabilitation, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the city of Philadelphia proud.

What is Wheelchair Rugby?
Wheelchair rugby is poised to become the next extreme sport. Players in wheelchairs evoke images of chariot drivers battling on the field. Chrome chairs are surrounded with rigid bumpers. Bumpers, not the player's feet, rake the blows when rammed by other player's chairs. The game is played on a re-lined basketball court. One point is scored when a player carries or passes the ball over the opponent's goal line. Each player has some upper body disability and is classified in increments of .5 up to 3.5, with .5 having the most limited functional ability. Four players, with a total of 8 points among them, are allowed on the court at a time.

What to watch for:
The game is played in four eight-minute quarters. A point is scored when a player carries the ball (a volleyball) across the end line between two cones. Players must bounce or pass the ball every ten seconds. The scoring area is marked by a key: only three defensive players can be in the key; an offensive player can only spend ten seconds in the key. The game starts with a jump ball, and then all restarts come from an inbound. A player has ten seconds to complete an inbound. The ball must get across half court in 15 seconds and cannot be taken back into the backcourt. Chair to chair contact is allowed, and in fact encouraged, however, body contact results in a penalty. A player is also penalized for hitting another player behind the axle and causing a change of direction.

While there are no set positions in the game, players fulfill definite roles. The more functional higher point players are responsible for carrying the ball and scoring. Much like lineman in football, lower point players create the scores by strategic "blocking" and "picking."

For more information on the Magee Eagles Wheelchair Rugby team, or to book the team for an exhibition or halftime at your event, please call Pat Thieringer at Magee Rehabilitation Hospital at (215) 587-3412, or e-mail her at pthieringer@mageerehab.org.

What's Murderball? It's a film about quadriplegics who play full-contact rugby in Mad Max-style wheelchairs - overcoming unimaginable obstacles to compete in the Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece. Click here for more information!

2004 - 2005 Schedule & Results

Rugby Clinic

Magee Beast of the East

Steel Wheelers Tourney

Knock 'n Roll

Boston Tournament

Sectional Championships

National Championships

Thank You
The Magee Eagles would like to thank all of the volunteers who helped out this past season. Volunteers are an integral part of the team, and their assistance made this season run more smoothly than any other in recent history. Finally, the team would like to thank the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation, which continues to lend the use of Carousel House for Thursday night practices.

About Magee Rehabilitation Hospital
Magee Rehabilitation Hospital, a founding member of the Jefferson Health System and ranked among U.S. News and World Report's top rehabilitation hospitals in 2004, is Philadelphia's original provider of physical and cognitive rehabilitation services. The hospital is also the region's leading sponsor of sports and leisure activities for individuals with disabilities. Magee has teamed with local sports franchises to form the Magee Eagles Wheelchair Rugby team, the Magee Sixers Spokesmen Wheelchair Basketball team, the Magee Phillies Wheelchair Softball team and the Magee Freedoms Wheelchair Tennis team.

Night of Champions
One of the ways Magee helps sponsor wheelchair sports is through its annual Night of Champions event each May. The Night of Champions raises funds for all of the hospital's wheelchair sports teams, and features many Philadelphia sports figures. For more information on the Night of Champions event and how you can help visit the Night of Champions website here.

For more information on the United States Quad Rugby Association, visit www.quadrugby.com.