The sport is played with a 13 inch diameter ball and four players per team in the court, which includes a goalie. NTFC attempts to maintain teams for the three levels of the sport recognized by the United States Power Soccer Association – USPSA. These are: Recreational, Non-sanctioned and Sanctioned.
Recreational teams are exactly that. Intended for recreation and skills building. The rules of the game are followed loosely, and scores can be kept or not. This is the entry level of the sport and players get the concept of team playing, association, community and sportsmanship apart from lots of fun and recreation.
Non-conference teams play sanctioned games by the USPSA. The staff and players must be registered with USPSA. Non-conference teams are competitive. Games follow all the conference rules, scores are kept and recorded (logged). These teams do not have a minimum game requirement for the season, but if they wish to be considered for conference level play the following season, they must play a minimum of six sanctioned games.
Conference teams play at the highest level of competition. There are four conference levels in the USPSA, which include the Premier, Champions, Presidents and Founders. The conference system uses a promotion and relegation process to organically move teams up and down through the conferences based on their performance each year. All games are sanctioned, and records are kept. Teams from all over the US play under these conferences.
Whether you want to play for fun or you want to compete at the highest levels of the sport there is a team for you.
Power Soccer History
Around the world
Power soccer has been known by various names and played around the world since the 1970. It is also called power wheel chair soccer, Powerchair football and even “motor” soccer. Since then and until the late 1980 In the USA, Europe and Canada various teams where formed unaware of other country’s programs.
In January 2005, representatives from seven countries; France, USA, Canada, Japan, England, Belgium and Portugal met in Le Chesnay, France and laid the groundwork for the formation of the International Powerchair Football Association (IPFA). IPFA’s objectives were to develop an international governing body for Powerchair football and to promote the sport worldwide.
In July 2006, teams from Canada, Denmark, England, France, Japan and the US, as well as delegates from Portugal, Turkey and South Korea, met in Atlanta, GA, USA. While the teams engaged in many practice sessions and a test tournament to fine tune the proposed laws, other delegates worked on a constitution and elected the organization’s first officers. At the end of these meetings the standardized Laws of the Game were adopted, the constitution was ratified, the name was changed and the international governing body, the Federation International Powerchair Football Association (FIPFA) was formally established with headquarters in Paris, France.
In the USA
During this same period, a dedicated group of people were as working to form the organization that would govern power soccer in the USA. Their work focused on the writing of a Constitution and Bylaws to provide a framework for effective development and administration of the sport nationally. Following the adoption of the Constitution and elections in August 2006, the charter board formed under the direction of President Dominic Russo brought the dream to life and the United States Power Soccer Association, (USPSA) was born. The USPSA became a legal entity in October 2006 and was granted 501(c)3 non-profit status February 2007. The USPSA is headquartered in Carmel, Indiana.
Power soccer today
Over the next several years, many powerchair associations formed around the world and the number of teams competing within FIPFA worldwide is estimated at over 250. As the game continues to evolve, so does the equipment, the rules and…most of all, the players.
There are two other power soccer chapters in Texas. In the Houston metropolitan area is the Houston Firewall lead by Diane Murrell, and in the San Antonio area the Straps Scorpions lead by Jennifer Weatherford.
Today there is a team in Austin, TX taking its initial steps and now the North Texas Fully Charge in the DFW metro is recruiting players and sponsors to start playing on the spring of 2022.