About Wheelchair Rugby

As one of the only full-contact disability sports, it is little wonder wheelchair rugby has been one of the biggest hits at the Paralympic Games over the last ten years.

The sport is open to both men and women, and is one of the only games which allows them to compete on the same team.

But it’s not only players who are welcome; there are loads of opportunities to play your part on the sidelines too. We’re constantly on the look out for referees, coaches, officials and support staff to help at training sessions and tournaments. Get in touch if you’re interested in finding out more.

History

The game was invented in 1977 in Canada by a group of tetraplegic wheelchair basketball players who were tired of losing out on court time to their more functional team mates. Clearly many others felt the same as the sport quickly grew in popularity and spread to the USA.

The sport landed on these shores in the early 1980s, when the States team flew over to give an exhibition at Stoke Mandeville. Soon after our first three clubs were established and there are now more than 30 teams up and down the UK.

Globally, the sport was debuted at the World Wheelchair Games in 1990 and it became a full Paralympic sport at Sydney 2000, following a demonstration at games in Atlanta 1996.

Great Britain have constantly competed with the world’s best teams, qualifying for every Paralympic Games and winning five gold medals at the Wheelchair Rugby European Championships. In 2021 at the postponed Tokyo 2020 games, Great Britain took home a gold medal following a thrilling game against a strong USA team. You can rewatch this memorable game below.

For more information on the game and current world rankings, visit the WWR website

David Pond, former CEO of Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby writes on the history of wheelchair rugby in ‘Pass the Pig’s Bladder’ a celebration of 200 years of rugby football.

As all media outlets seek exciting, creative and different content, wheelchair rugby with its crunch of metal, screech of tyres, and collisions sending chairs and their disabled occupants sprawling across the court, is the ultimate adrenaline experience!

By kind permission of David Pond, the Rugby School, and Mercer Books you can read the full chapter here . The full book can be purchased online here.

Development

GBWR has worked to develop a Junior Programme which provides an opportunity for younger players to experience wheelchair rugby in a junior-only environment, and this programme now has over 90 regular players.

We have also developed a new discipline of the game, wheelchair rugby fives, which allows us to deliver wheelchair rugby opportunities to those with greater functionality than the Paralympic discipline permits. This new discipline has been well-received, with new teams developing across the country playing accross three divisions in the WR5s summer league.

In 2022, to celebrate the wheelchair rugby low point game being showcased at the World Games, GBWR created a low point discipline of their own known as 3v3. This small-sided game is played on a shortened court and is aimed at challenging those with paralympic classifications ranging from 0.5 – 1.5. The introductory competition is being played alongside the WR5s League and current standings can be found here.
Great Britain have recently won the gold medal match against Japan at the World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, after an unbeaten campaign against low point teams from USA, Japan, Canada, Switzerland and Germany.