Richard Voris can't imagine life without wheelchair rugby.
The Winmalee-raised athlete will take to the court with Chad Graham, also from Winmalee, and his NSW Gladiator team-mates for the Wheelchair Rugby National Championships from June 28.
"It's a very tactical sport and I train five days a week for it," Voris, who moved to Sydney earlier this month, said.
"It's the only full contact disability sport in the Paralympics. It doesn't matter if you have little function or a lot of function, everyone's involved on court.
"It gets you back to feeling what it was like before your accident."
The 28-year-old acquired a spinal injury at the age of 19 in an accident at a swimming pool in the Blue Mountains where he was hanging out with friends.
Voris heard about wheelchair rugby from a friend during spinal rehabilitation, taking up the sport in 2013, and he's never looked back.
"It's very exciting and fast-paced, people go flying," the former Winmalee High student said.
He and Graham are also part of Australia's national wheelchair rugby team, the Australian Steelers, and in May they versed teams from the USA, Great Britian and Japan at a highly competitive match-up in the US.
"The Japanese team are lightning quick and some are close to 40 years old. There's a long lifespan for players in this sport if you look after your shoulders in this sport."
Voris would love to represent Australia at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, and the wheelchair rugby world championships in two years' time.
He's keen to address the stigma around disability sport and it "not being as entertaining as able-bodied sport". Everyone is welcome to watch the national championships at the Quaycentre in Homebush from June 28-30.