Abstract
Using Merleau-Ponty’s propositions concerning phenomenology this paper aims to understand the physical experience of athletes using powerchairs. Powerchair football is an adapted team sport specifically conceived to be practiced by people who use powerchairs. To conduct this study, we carried out in-depth interviews with eight French powerchair football players. The results of this study show that modifications of the powerchair allow mutual adjustments between the powerchair and the individual. These modifications are prior to the embodiment process of the powerchair which takes place during the practice of sport. Results also evidence that embodying the powerchair in a sporting context offers the opportunity to reconnect with intentionality and contributes to the development of an athletic identity.