Author: Editor Prime

Wheelchair rugby, a dynamic and high-impact Paralympic sport, has long been beloved for its intensity, skill, and teamwork. However, women, girls and non-binary individuals have historically been underrepresented in this electrifying game. World Wheelchair Rugby (WWR) has formed a task force with the goal of increasing women, girls and non-binary individuals’ participation in wheelchair rugby on a global scale.

The goal of this survey is to gain input from the wheelchair rugby community about recruitment and retention, lived experiences of wheelchair rugby, barriers to participation, potential solutions, as well as your thoughts on a vision for the future.

We welcome the voices and perspectives of anyone over the age of 18 engaged with wheelchair rugby. We do ask that you identify the stakeholder group you belong to and provide some demographic information, but otherwise your replies will be anonymous. The survey should take about 15 minutes.

To access the survey in English or French, click one of the links:

EN: https://bit.ly/world-wheelchair-rugby-gender-equity-survey

FR: https://bit.ly/world-wheelchair-rugby-enquête-équité-entre-les-sexes

Please complete the survey by August 23, 2024. Thank you in advance for your time and effort in completing this survey.

If you have any questions about the accessibility of this survey, you can contact:aspender@thegreater.ca

WWR is pleased to announce and recognise the 33 strong team heading out to the Paris Paralympics to oversee and officiate the wheelchair rugby tournament.

John Timms (GBR) is the WWR International Federation Delegate “This is a great team of people who have been committed and hard working over a number of years.  They have come through a selection process to obtain their opportunity to officiate and deliver a World Class Tournament, working alongside the amazing teams and athletes.”

The WWR Management and Officiating Team for Paris 2024 Paralympics:

Senior Management Team

John Timms	IF Delegate	GBR
Tim Johnson	Deputy IF Delegate	NZL
Melanie Beziat	Head Table Official	FRA
Izabela Sauerbier	Supervisor Classifier	POL
Alison Bridge	WWR Liaison	GBR
Darren Roberts	Head Official	USA

International Technical Officials

Jonathan Corson	Assistant Head Official	NZL
Katja Grotensohn	Evaluator	GER
Christian van de Riet	Evaluator	SUI
Brian Ward	Game Commissioner	GBR
Nicole Hoim	Game Commissioner	GER
Kevin Bowie	Referee	CAN
Joseph Bongiovanni	Referee	USA
Kristin Hempfling	Referee	GER
Liam Costello	Referee	AUS
Joshua Kearns	Referee	USA
Paulina Szmit	Referee	POL
Pierre-Alexandre Briere	Referee	CAN
Lukasz Szymczak	Referee	POL

National Technical Officials

Nadine Bieneck	GER
Thomas Candela	FRA
Christine Ducret	FRA
Stana Felicite	FRA
Camille Kerneguez	FRA
Manon Lombard	FRA
Victor Meynier	FRA
Karolina Motejkova	BEL
Jana Slavickova	CZE
Sara Viguier	FRA
Aurelie Weislo	FRA
Heather Williams	GBR

Media Team

Joe Elliott	WWR Media	GBR
Megumi Masuda	WWR Photographer	JPN

The Paris 2024 Competition Schedule is now available to view!

We are excited to announce the pools for the Paris 2024 Paralympics Wheelchair Rugby Competition!

Watch the premiere now on the WWR YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/Nfd79W2or90

World Wheelchair Rugby (WWR) would like to recognise and congratulate its President, Richard Allcroft who has received the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2024 King’s Birthday Honours List for “services to Wheelchair Rugby”.

Following a six year tenure on the WWR Board he ran a successful campaign and was elected as President in 2018. Richard’s vision was based on WWR being recognised and respected as a leading International Federation within the Paralympic Movement. 

In addition, he has been involved in wheelchair sports and the Paralympic Movement for 30 years mainly with Wheelchair Rugby. Working with his local wheelchair sports club, National Governing Body and other roles such as International Federation Delegate for the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

Richard has lead WWR successfully through the Covid Pandemic and subsequently a number major developments including the rebranding of the International Federation as World Wheelchair Rugby and continues working with partners World Rugby developing links and a number of projects including the International Wheelchair Rugby Cup staged at the Rugby World Cup.

Richard is also actively involved at the Sheffield Spinal Injuries Centre (SIC) in the UK.  This is with the knowledge and support of the consultants and all involved with the multi-disciplinary team.  The role centres around peer support, advice and educating patients in assistive technology in partnership with a large National charity called Aspire.

Front: Rob Tarr, Richard Allcroft, Tim Johnson
Back: Joe Elliott, Kathy Newman, Stan Battock, Jacques Erasmus, Greg Ungerer, Alison Bridge, John Timms

Thank you to the WWR Heads of Working Group and Staff for attending a series of workshops in Sheffield this week for 3 days.

Richard Allcroft, President, said: “It was a great few days listening to the discussions that will help shape the future of the sport. Whilst we know we have many challenges and some amazing opportunities, this group of people do an amazing job contributing to our success at World Wheelchair Rugby.”

Photography: @2024 Masanori Udagawa / photowellington.com

World Wheelchair Rugby (WWR) proudly announces that The Hague has been selected as the host city for the upcoming European Championships in 2025. The championships will take place from April 21 to 27 at the Sportcampus Zuiderpark. This state-of-the-art campus, complete with its own stadium, is one of the premier sports centers in South Holland.

WWR Head of Competitions Tim Johnson said: “WWR is honoured to bring the Wheelchair Rugby European Championship back to the Netherlands. We would like to thank the national federation, the city of The Hague, and the LOC Team TOC for their support and dedication in making this possible. It promises to be a fantastic event showcasing top-tier parasport.”

Participation of the Netherlands
During the tournament, teams from 8 different countries will compete for the European title. As the host country, the Netherlands has guaranteed participation, while the other participating countries will be announced at a later date. In 2023, the following countries were qualified for this prestigious final tournament: Germany, Denmark, Great Britain, Netherlands, Switzerland, France, Israel, and Czech Republic.

Quote from Gehandicaptensport Nederland (national federation), director Dos Engelaar: “As the National Federation, we are incredibly excited to host the European Wheelchair Rugby Championship in the Netherlands again after nearly 30 years. Wheelchair rugby is a sport full of passion and adrenaline, a beautiful sport to watch. With the arrival of this tournament, we offer the Netherlands the unique opportunity to experience this sport at an international level.”

The European Championship occurs biennially and the 2025 event will provide direct qualification for the top teams to the 2026 WWR World Championships, and serves as a crucial initial gauge for the path to the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. The previous European Championships took place in May 2023 in Cardiff, Wales.

Sportcampus Zuiderpark

The Hague boasts the Sportcampus Zuiderpark, a multifunctional sports complex that serves as an epicenter for various institutions actively engaged in groundbreaking research focused on innovation in elite sports, exercise physiology, and community involvement. This makes it a prime location for the Wheelchair Rugby European Championship.

Hilbert Bredemeijer, Deputy Mayor for Education, Youth, Sports, and Services of The Hague, expresses: “I am incredibly proud that the European Wheelchair Rugby Championship is coming to The Hague next year. It’s fantastic to witness international top athletes competing for the European title at this spectacular tournament. It will be a celebration for sports enthusiasts in The Hague at the Sportcampus.”

The local organizing committee for this elite sports event is Team TOC, a prominent sports events agency. Known for their successful organization of the European Para Championships in August 2023 in Rotterdam, the company brings a wealth of experience in parasports. CEO Eric Kersten eagerly anticipates the event: “We are thrilled to take on the organization of this wheelchair rugby tournament. We have long awaited the opportunity to organize an event in this sport, and now it is a dream come true in the beautiful surroundings of The Hague.”

To mark 100 days to go until the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has launched a promotional film that addresses the romantic stereotypes of what some people think the Paralympics represent versus the brutal reality of high-performance sport.   

Paul McCartney’s 1984 seminal song We All Stand Together is the soundtrack for the film titled ‘The Paralympic Dream’ which, like the original music video, features stunning animated scenes. 

The advert was developed by the IPC’s advertising agency adam&eveddb. The creative is initially set in a dream-like animated city of Paris where Para athletes run, jump, fence, and paddle, hand-in-hand alongside loveable singing plants and animals.  

However, the animated love-in and song is abruptly interrupted with the harsh realism of Paralympic sport as British Paralympic taekwondo athlete Amy Truesdale is kicked in the chest and crashes to the mat.  

As Amy climbs back to her feet and lands a blow on her opponent, the advert cuts to a stunning montage of outstanding sporting action from previous Paralympic Games. 

The film is being made available to the IPC’s media rights holders and members organisations to support their promotion of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. 

Craig Spence, the IPC’s Chief Brand and Communications Officer, said: “With our Paris 2024 Paralympic promotional film we wanted to challenge the perceptions and stereotypes some people have of the Paralympic Games in the most fun and creative way possible.  

“For some, the Paralympics is an idyllic event where the athletes are carefree and just happy to be there. The truth is that Paralympic sport is highly competitive and, at times, pretty brutal. To compete at the Paralympics, you have to be a world-class high-performance athlete and we show this in the film through fast-paced sporting action. 

“We created this film because we are aiming for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games to attract record TV audiences and massive crowds of spectators. This film will be used by Media Rights Holders and IPC member organisations to engage new audiences in what will be spectacular and historical Paralympic Games this summer.” 

adam&eveDDB chose the Paul McCartney track for the advert because it has a loveable childlike quality that perfectly matches the idealistic world they were trying to create and then jolt them out of it in the most memorable way possible. 

The advert, which also has a 30 and 15 second cut-down in English, has been made available in nine languages, and has audio-described and subtitled version. 

The full video can be found on the WWR Social Media Channels.

WWR are pleased to announce that Stan Battock has been appointed the Interim Head of the organisations Technical Working Group (TWG) following Darren Roberts stepping down from the role earlier in the year.

Stan Battock a former Head of the Technical Committee and member of the TWG stated “I am honoured and humbled to accept the appointment as the Interim Head of the Technical Working Group for Wheelchair Rugby.  I look forward to working with the members of the TWG to achieve the outcomes that will make a difference to the sport and the technical officials involved in this great game.”

Richard Allcroft President of Wheelchair Rugby added “As an organisation, we will be entering into our next strategic phase over the next 12 months. Central to what we do are our volunteers which of course includes all of our technical officials ranging from referees, evaluators, game commissioners through to our many table officials.

Stan has years of experience within wheelchair rugby. I’d like to thank Stan for stepping into this interim position and I know he will help shape our next strategic objectives.

I’d like to thank Darren Roberts who has led the TWG since 2018. Darren is moving on after accepting a promotion within his daytime job which I know he will contribute to significantly. I wish him all the best.

Darren was also supported by Jon Corson throughout his tenure and my thanks go to Jon as well for his continued contributions.”

After 14 years as Head of Classification for World Wheelchair Rugby, Greg Ungerer will be stepping out the role on the 30th June 2024.

Greg Ungerer stated, “Over the last 14 years, we have seen some major changes to the Wheelchair Rugby Classification System, as we move towards a more evidence-based approach to classification.  It has been a pleasure to work with so many dedicated and talented classifiers over these years, and to have been part of the wonderful work of the Classification Working Group.  I am so pleased that Jacques has agreed to take on the role of Head of Classification, and having known Jacques for many years, I know he will bring a wealth of experience and fresh perspective to the role.”

On taking up the mantle Jacques Erasmus said, “It is an honour and privilege for me to step into this position – a position that Greg excelled in and I hope/trust I can continue his exceptional work. Thank you to the WWR Board for supporting my appointment and I look forward to working together with and serving the WWR family (WWR Board, WWR colleagues, WWR officials, WWR member nations and of course the athletes”.

President of WWR Richard Allcroft added, “Classification is the cornerstone of Paralympic sports and Wheelchair Rugby has a robust system in place which of course is underpinned by our fantastic group of volunteer classifiers. I know that the future work and development of our classification systems is in safe hands with Jacques steering the Working Group. I wish him all the best in the new role.

My thanks to Greg Ungerer who steps down after many years of service and commitment to Wheelchair Rugby. It is always difficult to convey how much work Greg has put into the sport but I know that anyone who has worked closely with him understand this and have benefited from his calm and professional approach to all areas of business.”