Author: Editor Prime

It was an exciting Day One of low point wheelchair rugby competition at The World Games. Competition started with a matchup between Japan and USA. The dynamic duo of brothers Seiya and Takayuki Norimatsu got Japan off to a strong start, and they never looked back defeating USA 50, 14. USA’s young squad never backed down and had a bright third quarter causing multiple turnovers for Japan. Joel Rodriguez had a strong offensive performance for Team USA and led the way in scoring.

Germany and Canada met in match number two of the day. It was close throughout. Trevor Hirschfield and Patrice Dagenais served up a one-two punch across the try line for Canada, and Germany showed fantastic team play as well. Their text book offensive transition set up picking angles and passing lanes, which resulted in tries for all of the players from the 1.5s to the 0.5s. Additionally, their full court defense caused key turnovers in the third and fourth quarters. Despite playing the same four athletes – Britta Kripke, Robert Teichmann, Thomas Schuwje and Christian Riedel – for almost the entire game, Germany had enough energy left in the tank to pull away in the fourth and take a 41-33 victory over Canada.

Game three was a matchup between European rivals Great Britain and Switzerland. While Switzerland’s 0.5 player Peter Roos was the first to score, GB quickly took control of the game with the offensive power of Myles Pearson and Nicholas Cummins. At the end of the second quarter, GB was up 27-9. Team Switzerland never gave up and never stopped pushing. 1.0 player Adrian Moser had a standout performance, playing almost the entire match and making important offensive and defensive plays. Still, Great Britain was too strong to overcome and won 51-17.

Match four turned the heat up in the chilly Birmingham Crossplex arena as Japan and Germany went head-to-head. It was a back-and-forth match from the start. Once again, Seiya and Takayuki Norimatsu led the way in scoring for Japan while Robert Teichmann and Thomas Schuwje were Germany’s offensive duo. Japan ended the first period with a 9-7 lead, but Germany came back in the second period, ending the first half with a 16-16 tie. Team Germany scored first to start the third, but it was quickly followed up by a Japan try. Two back-to-back turnovers by Germany allowed Japan to once again take the lead 19-17. Costly turnovers by Germany in the third and fourth periods and defensive stops by Japan allowed them to extend their lead and take a 35-30 victory.

The day ended with Canada taking on Great Britain. Both teams showed balanced play and scoring ability from 1.5s to 0.5s, and the first period ended in a 9 all tie. The speed and defensive pressure of Great Britain caused key Canadian turnovers in the second and allowed them to take a 21-16 lead going into the half. Defense was the name of this game. Both sides applied pressure in the full and half court making it difficult for either side to score. Once again, the speed of Myles Pearson and passing ability of Nicholas Cummins gave GB the advantage, and they cruised to a 42-30 victory to end the day.

Day One Results

• Match 1: Japan 50, USA 14
• Match 2: Germany 41, Canada 33
• Match 3: Great Britain 51, Switzerland 17
• Match 4: Japan 35, Germany 30
• Match 5: Great Britain 42, Canada 30

• Canada 0-2
• Great Britain 2-0
• Germany 1-1
• Japan 2-0
• Switzerland 0-2
• USA 0-2

Day Two Schedule

Friday, July 15

All times are listed in UTC-6

• 9:00 Japan vs Switzerland
• 11:00 Great Britain vs USA
• 13:00 Canada vs Switzerland
• 15:00 Germany vs USA
• 17:00 Japan vs Great Britain

Low point wheelchair rugby makes its debut at The World Games 2022 in Birmingham, USA July 14-17. Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Switzerland and USA will compete to see who has the world’s best low pointers.

Canada, Great Britain and Japan come into the competition with experienced rosters packed with Paralympic talent, but that will not secure them the gold. Germany and Switzerland may not have the same storied resumes, but they have a history of producing top low pointers and are ready to assert themselves as leaders in the game. USA brings its very first low point team to Birmingham – a squad of fresh talent eager to compete in front of a home-nation crowd. It is going to be a thrilling four days of competition.

Currently, the games will not be live streamed, but you can follow World Wheelchair Rugby social media for score updates after each match, photos and daily recaps.

Schedule

All times are listed in UTC-6

Thursday, July 14

• 9:00 USA vs Japan
• 11:00 Germany vs Canada
• 13:00 Switzerland vs Great Britain
• 15:00 Japan vs Germany
• 17:00 p.m. Canada vs Great Britain

Friday, July 15

• 9:00 Japan vs Switzerland
• 11:00 Great Britain vs USA
• 13:00 Canada vs Switzerland
• 15:00 Germany vs USA
• 17:00 Japan vs Great Britain

Saturday, July 16

• 9:00 USA vs Canada
• 11:00 Switzerland vs Germany
• 13:00 Canada vs Japan
• 15:00 Great Britain vs Germany
• 17:00 Switzerland vs USA

Sunday, July 17

• 8:30 Fifth Place Match
• 10:15 Bronze Medal Match
• 12:00 Gold Medal Match

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

The draw for the 2022 Wheelchair Rugby World Championship competition took place on Thursday 7th July.

With less than 100 days to go before the first tip-off of the 2022 WWR Wheelchair Rugby World Championship in DGI Huset Vejle, the draw process allocated the 12 qualified teams into to Pools A and B.

The results of the draw are as follows :

Group A

Great Britain

United States

France

New Zealand

Germany

Switzerland

Group B

Japan

Australia

Canada

Denmark

Brazil

Colombia

You can view the draw via: https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2F2022wrwc%2Fvideos%2F1197555857451038%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=0

It’s so good to be back! After a 4-year hiatus, six of the world’s top Wheelchair Rugby teams returned to the Richmond Olympic Oval for the ninth Canada Cup.

A New Champion

Reigning world champions Japan became the third team to lift the Canada Cup after defeating Canada 57-56 in a thrilling overtime classic. Neither team led by more than two tries in an exciting and back and forth final that excited spectators at the Richmond Olympic Oval and had big plays from both sides.

Four-time Paralympian Trevor Hirschfield (1.0) forced the overtime when he completed a three-way passing play at the buzzer to tie the score 52-52. With only 12 seconds left in regulation, Mike Whitehead pushed down the court and tossed the ball to Zak Madell who found Hirschfield parked on the goal line to tie the game as the clock winded down. 

Japan’s Yukinobu Ike used his height to win the crucial overtime tip-off as the teams traded tries. Tournament MVP Shinichi Shimakawa was the hero of the match, making a stunning hit on the baseline with 0.4 seconds on the clock to prevent Canada from scoring and seal the victory for Japan who now take over the #1 spot in the World Wheelchair Rugby Rankings.

Denmark take the bronze

Thanks to a 52-50 victory over the defending Paralympic champions Great Britain, Denmark finished on the Canada Cup podium for the first time giving the world a preview of what to expect from the next World Championships hosts. The rising European star Leon Jorgenson (3.0) paired effectively with Sebastien Frederiksen (3.5) to lead the Danes to their first medal outside of Europe.

Great Britain finished in 4^th and gave valuable minutes to a number of emerging young talents like Faye West (3.5) and Ollie Mangion (3.0) in the bronze medal match and throughout the week as they continue to integrate newer players into their team post-Tokyo.

Depth and development for Australia and France

Australia and France rounded out the Canada Cup field and got to put their secondary lines to the test. With Sebastien Verdin absent for France and Chris Bond missing for Australia, both teams came into the Canada Cup aiming to work on different lines than their established hi-lows.  Australia may have played the most exciting game of the round-robin phase when they outlasted Denmark 65-64 in overtime.

Wrapping up and looking ahead

While the ever-changing Covid-19 climate created challenges for hosting and participating countries, the 2022 Canada Cup teams and fans enjoyed four exciting days of hard-hitting, fast-paced and world-class Wheelchair Rugby.

Tournaments like the Canada Cup wouldn’t be possible without the help of many incredible staff, volunteers and sponsors. Special thanks to the Government of Canada, Government of British Columbia, Richmond Sport Hosting, Molten, Sheraton, Marriott and Hilton Vancouver Airport Hotels, Richmond Olympic Oval, IBEW Local 258 and host organisations Wheelchair Rugby Canada and BC Wheelchair Sports.

All six Canada Cup teams will be back in action at the World Wheelchair Rugby Championships this October in Vejle, Denmark. We’re excited to watch as the top 12 teams battle for the world title. The Canada Cup will be back in 2024!

Awards

Best in Class:
0.5 Eric Rodrigues (Canada)
1.0 Jake Howe (Australia)
1.5 Kaare Momme Nielsen (Denmark)
2.0 Gavin Walker (Great Britain)
2.5 Rodolphe Jarlan (France)
3.0 Leon Jorgenson (Denmark)
3.5 Zak Madell (Canada)

Fan Favorite: Kylie Grimes (Great Britain)
MVP: Shinichi Shimakawa (Japan)

Final Standings
1. Japan (5-1)

2. Canada (5-1)

3. Denmark (3-3)

4. Great Britain (2-4)

5. Australia (2-3)

6. France (0-6)

Jackie Patatas, Wheelchair Rugby Program Manager, BC Wheelchair Sports Association – jackie@bcwheelchairsports.com

Nathan Bragg, BC Wheelchair Sports Association Communications Coordinator – communications@bcwheelchairsports.com

WWR is delighted to announce that the 2023 Asia-Oceania Championship will be hosted by Japan Wheelchair Rugby Federation in, Tokyo. 

Confirmation of the dates will be announced  later this year.

Teams will compete in what is a direct qualifier for the Paris Paralympic Games in 2024.

Richard Allcroft, WWR President said:

“It’s great to see wheelchair rugby returning to Japan after the unique experience of the Paralympic Games in 2021. The sport has been developing in the Asia region and it’s great to see some of our newer developing nations competing on the international stage.

Japan have consistently performed at the top and are always considered to be medal contenders. They were proudly crowned as World Champions in 2018 and bronze medallists at the Tokyo Paralympics.

It is the first time we have seen a Championship occurring in the region since the pandemic began in 2020 and I know that Japan will deliver an exciting event.

Make sure to come along and get tickets for our exciting sport. We’re here to win, not to inspire.”

Kathy Newman WWR Head of Competitions stated:

“I am pleased to see Japan hosting the 2023 WWR Asia Oceania Championship.  Japan has a rich history of hosting international events and we are looking forward to working with the Organizing Committee.  Japan has high standards hosting events and we are sure this event will meet our expectations”.

And from the Japan Wheelchair Rugby Federation (JWRF):

“The JWRF is very excited that “Tokyo” has been awarded the bid to host the 2023 WWR Asia-Oceania Championship.

Japan has a long history and experience of hosting WWR events including such events as our first Oceania Championship in 2003 through to the World Wheelchair Rugby Challenge in 2019.

The JWRF will prepare for a great tournament and welcome our zone members.

We look forward to seeing you all in “Tokyo” in 2023. “

For further information please contact Kathy Newman (knewman@iwrf.com)

We often hear from members they would like us to circulate bid documents earlier.  We continue to improve the bid documents and changes occur each time we issue bids. We would like to encourage all of you to think long term when it comes to your hosting plans. WWR provides the competitions calendar well in advance of the events. Please take a look at the calendar and proactively submit applications to host Championship or Regional events – you don’t need to wait for the bid documents to be circulated for you to consider submitting a bid. You can always communicate with the CWG well in advance to get more information so you can plan your hosting strategy early on.

There are so many benefits to hosting that you can take advantage of. Here are a few examples:

• Norway has just been awarded the rights to host the 2022 WWR European Qualification Championship.  Part of their bid included the opportunity for them to access funding to purchase a new hardwood floor. With their successful bid they will now have a floor available for future events.
• Great Britain won the bid the host the 2023 WWR European Championship in Wales.  The Welsh Rugby Union is a partner in the delivery of this event and they have made a long-term commitment to developing new clubs and increasing participation committed to creating 5 new wheelchair rugby clubs in Wales.
• Opportunity to host educational sessions to build capacity for your members and in your region.
• Local community support provides some crowd based home team advantage.
• Opportunity to reduce overall team costs to compete in these events.
• Opportunity to upskill or train new local officials and volunteers.

World Wheelchair Rugby are delighted to be auctioning a Vesco Wheelchair Rugby Competition Chair in aid of the WWR Hall of Fame. The chair is provided by Hall of Fame sponsors Vesco Metal Craft Inc.

The winning wheelchair can be customised to the end user’s specification free of charge, a full breakdown of features can be found in the “WWR Hall of Fame Auction – Bid Document”. The Chair has a reserve price of $5,000USD, the guide price for the chair is $9,000USD.

The auction is live until the 8^th April 2022.

To participate in the auction, complete the bid document by clicking on the link below returning to the WWR Office by email (office@worldwheelchair.rugby) before the auction deadline.

Vesco Metal Craft Inc. will arrange shipping of the completed chair and pay the cost of shipping within the 48 contiguous US States and Canada. If the winning bidder is located outside of the North American territory, the wheelchair can be delivered to the WWR World Championship’s, Vejle, Denmark later in the year. If neither of these delivery options work alternate arrangements will be made.

Good luck to all involved in the bidding.

The WWR Board wishes to recognise and support the humanitarian efforts that are taking place in many countries following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Many of our Member Nations and individuals of the wheelchair rugby family will have supported the aid efforts already. World Wheelchair Rugby encourages you to donate as we have towards the efforts of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and for those who also wish to donate, a link is available in this website article. https://www.unhcr.org

Our thoughts are with all of those people displaced by the continued devastation inflicted on the country and the Ukrainian people.

From the Board of World Wheelchair Rugby

WWR is delighted to announce that the 2022 Wheelchair Rugby European Qualification Championship will be hosted by the Norwegian Rugby Association at Skien Fritidspark. 

Four days of competition will commence Wednesday 7^th September 2022 with finals day on Saturday 10^th September 2022. 10 European Wheelchair Rugby National teams will be competing for places at the European Championship 2023 to be hosted by Great Britain to be held at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales in late April early May 2023.

Richard Allcroft, WWR President said: “I’d like to thank Erik Baret from the Norwegian Rugby Federation for his drive and commitment to wheelchair rugby. It has been a dream of his for many years to bring an exciting event to Norway. The challenges of the pandemic over the last two years have brought about an opportunity to host a larger gathering of our European Nations. A 10 team European Championship Qualifying Championship that forms part of the pathway to the Paralympic Games and World Championship. Good luck to all involved and I look forward to seeing you in Norway”.

Kathy Newman WWR Head of Competitions stated

“The WWR Competitions Working Group is thrilled to see the upcoming 2022 WWR European Qualification Championship being hosted in Norway for the first time.  This is an exciting move forward for the Norwegian Rugby Association as they move to implementing a hosting program and growing their national team program.  Hosting events offers many valuable benefits and Norway is already reaping benefits through the support of their government ensuring a lasting legacy for wheelchair rugby in Norway.  WWR looks forward to working closely with Erik Baret and his team in delivering an exceptional tournament.

Erik Baret of the Norwegian Rugby Federation

The Norwegian Rugby Federation is looking forward to welcome teams from the European Wheelchair Rugby family to Norway, and the world class venue at Skien Fritidspark with their impeccable accessibility both in the venue and hotel. We have been working for many years on both expanding the wheelchair Rugby community in Norway, and developing our organising skills with club, regional and national events. The time has come to take it a step further and host a WWR licensed event. The development of wheelchair rugby in Norway, our ability to host WWR licensed events, will get a significant boost from hosting this event. We look forward to work closely with WWR and its resource personnel.

Per Thorkildsen President Norwegian Rugby Federation
The Norwegian Rugby Federation is proud to be allocated this tournament and are looking forward to welcome all the athletes , their support staff and officials to Norway. For us it shows the strength of our federation where wheelchair rugby and rugby Union work together under one umbrella to grow both sports.  I wish to thank the WWR for the approval and all involved in Norway to make this happen. See you in Norway this September!

For further information please contact Kathy Newman (knewman@iwrf.com)

About WWR.

WWR is the global governing body responsible for the sport of wheelchair rugby, and a member of the International Paralympic Committee. The mission of WWR is to grow and support the global Wheelchair Rugby Family, with a vision to be a world leader in Para Sport. For more information, please visit our website at worldwheelchair.rugby or email office@worldwheelchair.rugby