Christmas is a great time for all of us to take a breather and to reflect on the things that really bring value to our lives. Top of these for most of us is our family and our friends and Christmas often gives us an opportunity to spend time with them. This year will be special for some who will enjoy new additions to their family – in particular I am thinking of Ross and Eileen who will have the joy of a first Christmas with their baby son Luke, and Archie and Christy who will spend their first Christmas together as a married couple. There will be others in the GBWR family whose Christmas will be enriched by new relationships and family additions. And look at how the GBWR family has grown this year! By any standard, 2014 has been an incredible year for the growth of our sport as we have seen the number of participants and clubs continue to increase as witnessed by the Super Series which this season has 17 teams participating.
But there are other reasons also for us going into Christmas feeling that we are in a good place. Our GB squad is performing well with so much exciting new talent being nurtured by coaches Paul and Justin, and supported by a strong performance staff. The team had a good World Championships in the summer and are well positioned to meet the challenges of the European Championship and WWRC15 next year. Our Talent squad is now properly established with Phil and Ross helping to develop our future GB athletes and we have also started our coach development programme which will enable us to grow the club and national coaches of the future. This year we can also feel proud about the big part we played in the Invictus Games. Even Prince Harry remarked that the Wheelchair Rugby tournament stood out for him, not least with GB winning the gold medal in the last seconds of the game by a single point. And how good it was to see Jinx recognised with the award of Wales Sport Coach to the Disabled 2014 for the role he played as GB coach to the Invictus team alongside Mike Spence. And only last Sunday we saw the Invictus team itself take the Helen Rollason Award at the BBC Sports Awards 2014.
So lots to feel good about as we take a break but also lots to look forward to in 2015 – not least the National Championships in the Copperbox which should be a very special occasion and of course WWRC15 which promises to be an amazing event as we see the best teams from around the world return to the Olympic Park.
But more of that in the new year – for now I wish you and your loved ones a very happy Christmas and every blessing for 2015.
David Pond
