Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago Wirtz Sports Program Hosts 4th Annual Chicago Bears Wheelchair Rugby Tournament

December 1, 2003

ADDISON—The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) Wirtz Sports Program will be hosting their 4th Annual Chicago Bears Wheelchair Rugby Tournament on December 13-14, 2003, at the Northeast DuPage Special Recreation Association Building, Addison, Illinois, located off Rohlwing Road, at 1700 Centennial place.

RIC’s quad rugby program is affiliated with the United States Quad Rugby Association (USQRA). Players are classified by injury level and must have impairment in all four limbs to qualify to play. The game is played on a regulation basketball court and the rules combine those of basketball and rugby. The RIC Chicago Bears wheelchair rugby team are ranked 19th in the United States.

Games will be held from 9:00 - 4:00 p.m., Saturday, December 13th, and 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m., Sunday, December 14th. Participating teams will include the RIC Chicago Bears, Minnesota Ice, Milwaukee Iron, St. Louis Rams and Pittsburgh Steel Wheelers.

RIC quad rugby is made possible in part by a grant from the Bears Care foundation, the charitable arm of the Chicago Bears, and the Chicago Blackhawk Charities, a fund of the McCormick Tribune Foundation. For more information or interview opportunities with players of the RIC Chicago Bears, photographs, or b-roll, please contact Anne Charles at (312) 238-6019, or visit RIC’s Center for Health and Fitness Web site at www.richealthfit.org.

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The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago Center for Health and Fitness and Wirtz Sports Programs offers 18 sports and recreation programs free of charge to more than 2,300 people with physical disabilities. RIC is dedicated to helping people with all levels and types of physical disabilities regain or improve their physical functions and empowers them to participate more fully in family, social, vocational and leisure time pursuits.

U.S. News & World Report has ranked the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago “The Best Rehabilitation Hospital in America” for 13 consecutive years.

Journalists contact: mediarelations@ric.org, 312-238-6044.
All others contact: webmaster@ric.org.