Inclusion – Developing disciplines of Wheelchair Rugby?
On the eve of wheelchair rugby being included in The World Games in Birmingham, Alabama I wanted to share my thoughts as well as wish the athletes competing all the best.
Developing disciplines is a topic that has been discussed in earnest within the International Federation that I’ve been aware of since 2012. As with all things, discussions have progressed and in 2015, I was part of a strategic planning session where it was addressed. So what do I mean, when I talk about “disciplines”.
As many of you know, the story started with a group of people creating a sport that after only a short period of maybe 10 years was introduced to the Paralympic Games. This discipline has grown and WWR now have 30 member nations with many more being developed. The Paralympic discipline will always be at the core of everything we do while ever I am in this role. It will be one of my strong messages that is passed on to whoever succeeds me in the future.
In 1993 I received a spinal injury due to an accident that altered my life in a direction that was never planned. This was how I was introduced to wheelchair rugby. I was in hospital in my home city of Sheffield and met both men and women who were playing a sport I had never heard of. The people were great and the sport was addictive – I was hooked straight away. I quickly realised sport was going to be part of my new life, it gave me a focus and the social benefit was evident straightaway. When I look back, I also realised how much it played a part in my rehabilitation back into the community.
In those early days, I remember there were lots of people who wanted to play wheelchair rugby whether they were family, friends or individuals with a disability that have come from other sports; or maybe new friends that I’d shared experiences with whilst in hospital.
I was surprised even then that for some people when they came into training they got a response – “you can train with us but unfortunately you can’t compete”. With the best will in the world, people were being offered to try other sports that maybe they could compete in.
Those people rarely stayed involved with Paralympic rugby because they couldn’t compete and without this aspiration, they looked for those alternative sports.
Why was this?, central to the answer is “classification”, a system to minimise the impact of impairment on sport performance that enables individuals to be able to compete at the highest level in a Paralympic Games, equitably. Wheelchair rugby has individuals competing with higher levels of impairment and the sport was originally created with those people in mind. This opportunity for many can be a lack of opportunity for others. Developing other disciplines can be a solution to a fuller inclusive sport.
My thoughts today are not about classification but about how we provide opportunities into all forms of competition either nationally or internationally.
I started this article wishing athletes all the best in Alabama. The sport that is being played is not the Paralympic discipline but the “Low Point Game”. A term well understood in the rugby family but maybe not so much out there in the public domain. “Low pointers” as they are affectionately known were at the heart and the reason why the sport was created. A low point player has the least amount of function in the sport and plays a crucial role in the game, by defending and blocking to enable the scoring of tries. The low point game provides opportunities for this role as well as increasing their skills with ball handling.
Providing an opportunity to play internationally in the world-class multisport environment of The World Games was something I was keen to see take place. My thanks to many people for making this happen including the IWGA, Birmingham Organising Committee, Lakeshore Foundation and World Rugby.
What also excites me is the potential of Rugby 5s. A sport that was developed by a WWR member nation that recognised the need to expand the opportunities for people to play wheelchair rugby. The discipline of 5s has many of the key identifiable components of the Paralympic sport, but is there to attract people so that we reduce having to say to individuals, you can train but can’t compete.
Developing these disciplines will be a challenge for member nations and of course for many this may not be something they can focus on now – that’s ok. For those that want too, the benefits are there and we have seen Great Britain (who developed 5s) increase and improve their club structures so that more people are playing wheelchair rugby. It has had a positive impact on the Paralympic discipline as well with some athletes being able to play both disciplines.
Korea have recognised what I have discussed here and for many years have developed their own discipline. Following discussions between WWR and Korea last year, they trialed Rugby 5s and found that it was something they could introduce to benefit their national programme.
We have since heard of Rugby 5s developing in Poland with newly formed teams competing at the national level.
As international travel is starting to be more accessible during the Covid-19 Pandemic, I wonder, “where will the first international Rugby 5s competition take place?”
It only took ten years for the original discipline to become a global sport. Where will Rugby 5s be in the same amount of time?
My thanks to all those involved in making all disciplines of wheelchair rugby happen.
Kind regards Richard Allcroft
WWR President
Editor’s note – for more information and history of wheelchair rugby please visit
World Wheelchair Rugby – https://worldwheelchair.rugby/about-the-sport/
The World Games 2022, Alabama – https://twg2022.com
IWGA – International World Games Association – https://www.theworldgames.org
Lakeshore Foundation – https://www.lakeshore.org
Richard Allcroft
WWR President