Virtual Ability is pleased to present “Mobility Without Limits“, a contest for Second Life creators to build wheelchairs that improve accessibility, mobility, expression, and roleplay for Second Life residents.
The contest runs through September 30, 2026. Winners will be announced by October 10, 2026.
Virtual Ability will award prizes for wheelchairs in several different categories.
Everyday Mobility is for practical chairs for daily use. This includes traditional-looking wheelchairs such as those typically found in hospitals, clinics, or care facilities. It may include full-sized or lightweight chairs, elderly-friendly, or other chairs with a standard appearance.
Racing & Sports are for wheelchairs used in competition or recreation such as marathons, basketball, tennis, etc. They are typically sleeker or more streamlined than traditional chairs. These chairs will be judged higher if they have items such as custom racing animations, speed effects, and/or sports-related accessories.
The Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Fun, Novelty category is for whimsical but usable designs. Potential examples include steampunk, cyberpunk, elven, magical floating chairs, drone/jetpack chairs, retro… Creativity is encouraged!
The Mobility for Every Avatar category is for designs created specifically for avatars whose size or proportions require something beyond a standard wheelchair, including tinies, dinkies, larger avatars, or fantasy and other unique body types.
A total of L$250,000 in prizes will be awarded. Within each of the four categories, the first-place wheelchair will receive L$30,000, second place will receive L$15,000, and third place will receive L$5,000. An additional grand prize of L$50,000 will be awarded to the best wheelchair of all categories. All payments will be in Linden Dollars and only payable inworld.
Judging of contest entries will be done by a volunteer panel that includes residents who regularly use wheelchairs in-world, experienced Second Life creators, accessibility advocates, and event organizers from the Virtual Ability community. (Judges may not submit an entry in the contest.)
The judges will evaluate each entry across the criteria of functionality, creativity, appearance, and script/animation integration. Wheelchairs that are easy to use, exhibit appropriately integrated animation, adjustable seating and avatar positioning, adjustable coloring and styling of wheels, cushions or accessories, and compatibility with different body types will score higher.
This contest is only for work that is new or substantially new. All wheelchairs submitted must be original and created specifically for this contest.
All entries submitted in the contest must include full permission (copy, modify, and transfer) wheelchair objects. Any included scripts or HUDs may be no-modify, but must allow copy and transfer. The entry must include an irrevocable, cost-free license that allows Virtual Ability to use, copy, display, distribute, or modify the wheelchair in support of its accessibility, educational, and community programs, or for any purpose Virtual Ability wishes, free of charge. This license is non-exclusive, and the creator retains all intellectual property rights to their work. Virtual Ability will not list any wheelchairs on the SL Marketplace.
To submit an entry in the contest, place your wheelchair and an entry notecard in a folder and send it to our avatar named “VirtualAbility Gumbo” no later than September 30, 2026. See below for what information must be in the contest entry notecard.
Click for FAQs / Additional Details
Why are we doing this?
This is a contest for builders/creators to make wheelchairs for Virtual Ability, which we will then be able to provide to anyone in the SL community. This is also a way for Virtual Ability to “give back” and support SL’s amazing creators, while encouraging them to build more accessibility devices.
Can a builder use prefab materials, or does it have to be from scratch?
Prefab elements are ok, so long as the wheelchair is substantially new, the builder has transferable rights to all components, and the submitted wheelchair has the permissions listed above.
Should the wheelchair be a wearable object, a vehicle, or something else?
While we won’t reject a vehicle, a wearable object is preferable, since you can teleport with it and use it in more places than you can a vehicle. However, we want to encourage creativity and flexibility in approach!
What is VAI’s definition of a “wheelchair”? Does a golf cart count?
While scooters, skateboards, golf carts, Segways, and many other devices can serve to assist people with limited mobility, the focus of this contest is on devices that provide the general appearance and function of a wheelchair. They should be designed to be operated by a person with lower-body limitations that restrict movement and improve accessibility and mobility for those individuals.
Is there an entry fee?
No – anyone can enter. No real-life individual can submit more than three entries, however.
Can a team of collaborators submit an entry in the contest?
Sure! However, to keep administration simple, we will only pay any prize money to the single avatar that is shown as the Creator of the wheelchair object. It would then be up to you to divvy those funds up as appropriate within your team.
How will winners be announced?
We will contact all winning creators inworld, and also post the list of winners here on this web page.
Will Virtual Ability make money from these wheelchairs?
Virtual Ability does not intend to sell any of the wheelchairs it receives via this contest – we intend to give them away to the SL community. Since the license we ask for is non-exclusive, creators are free to sell, distribute, modify, or otherwise use their creation in any way they choose after the competition.
What about scripting and animations?
Basic scripting to convey the sense of motion (for example, the wheels turning) is required. The better the submitted entry does at fully integrating scripting and animation so that everything works seamlessly together and the operation of the wheelchair appears realistic, the higher the entry will be rated by the judges.
What else will the judges be looking for?
Additional/optional animation or scripting that would enable a second avatar acting as a caregiver or companion to appear to be pushing the wheelchair would be lovely! Practical features or options such as adjustable seating, a HUD, theme-appropriate attachments (wheel covers, anyone?), etc. will be judged favorably. We encourage creativity and outside-the-box thinking to build mobility solutions that residents will genuinely enjoy using.
Click for Contest Entry Information
Every entry in the contest must contain a notecard with the following information. Create a notecard with this information and place it in a folder along with your wheelchair.
Your avatar user name
The name of your wheelchair
What category you are entering this wheelchair in
The following language, which represents your agreement to these terms and conditions:
I hereby provide a non-exclusive, unrestricted, unconditional, unlimited, worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual, and cost-free right and license to Virtual Ability whereby they may use, copy, display, distribute, or modify my contest entry and all its components in support of Virtual Ability’s accessibility, educational, and community programs, or for any purpose Virtual Ability wishes, free of charge. I confirm that I, the creator, retain all intellectual property rights to my work beyond this license.
You may also, optionally, include a second notecard with brief information about yourself (the creator), such as a link to your store, that will be included with the wheelchair when it is distributed.
Got comments, questions or other feedback about the contest?
Contact Eme Capalini or Pecos Kidd inworld for an invite to the contest-specific Discord channel.
Interested in helping with virtual world accessibility projects but the wheelchair contest isn’t for you?
We’d love to explore possibilities! Contact Eme Capalini inworld.