AURORA —The shrill grind of metal on metal and the crash of helmet on helmet echoed Saturday through Wheel Park as 16 athletes in wheelchairs sped up and down the outdoor rink.

They smashed lacrosse sticks into each other’s backs and slammed into the white wall bordering the rink, all while nimbly tossing a ball. Every so often, a player and his chair is toppled over in the chaos.

Wheelchair lacrosse is not for the fainthearted.

More than 100 players in 10 teams from across the country suited up for the Wheelchair Lacrosse national championship Friday and Saturday. The tournament, hosted by the Colorado Rolling Mammoth team, based in Denver, showcases the sport, which is becoming increasingly popular among athletes with and without a disability.

“It’s the fastest game we have in wheelchairs,” said Rob Shahade, team manager of the Rolling Mammoth. “We drill people pretty hard.”

The team began about seven years ago when John Vcelka bought a lacrosse stick so he could play with his nephews. He then took the sticks to Craig Hospital, where he attended rehabilitation after a ski accident paralyzed him from the waist down. He and a friend at the hospital, Daniel Hersch, soon started a regular game of catch.

“It just grew from there,” he said.

The two hosted a clinic with the San Diego Riptide, the only official team in the country at the time. Hersch and Vcelka started recruiting more players who were also in rehabilitation at the hospital and partnered with lacrosse teams for the able-bodied.

The team now has about 12 active players and practices almost every weekend. Players travel for tournaments across the country, and the Rolling Mammoth placed third at nationals last year. This year, they hope to win.

When they’re not traveling, the team practices with players from the Colorado Mammoth and local high school teams, who strap themselves into the sport wheelchairs. One of those high school players joined the team, becoming its youngest member.

The national league, Wheelchair Lacrosse USA, does not limit players based on their abilities. Participants have a wide range of disabilities, including amputations, paraplegia and neurological conditions. Each team is allowed to field three people at one time who don’t have a disability.

Christopher Luna joined the Colorado team about two years ago. He grew up playing football in Temple, Texas, and was looking for an intense, full-contact sport to play after a spinal cord injury from a rock climbing accident outside Colorado Springs left him with paraplegia. Related Articles Meet the disabled activists from Denver who changed a nation

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He learned about the team through Craig Hospital, where he completed rehabilitation and now works in admissions.

“It’s cool to be here at the beginning of this sport and help build it,” Luna said. “There are a lot more people to come.”

The members of the Rolling Mammoth hope the sport will gain enough international interest to be accepted into the Paralympics. Teams have started playing in Italy, Poland and Canada, Shahade said.

“The more we can spread the word, the more we get to play,” he said.

But wheelchair lacrosse is important for other reasons as well, Luna said. Able-bodied players mix with those who use wheelchairs every day, melding two communities. And the chance to connect with people around the country who use wheelchairs is invaluable.

“How many other opportunities are you given to be around this many people in chairs?” he said. “It’s about more than the sport.”