The joy of being part of a team…

I have been reflecting this week about how much of my life has been about working and playing as part of a team and concluded that all of it has in one way or another. There is something very special about being part of a healthy, well functioning team, whether that is a work based team, a sports team or the family group which is the core team in most of our lives. I can operate on my own, but I never find it as enjoyable or as enriching as I do being part of a group and I know I am less happy and less effective. Team was at the heart of my time in the Navy, a very special sort of team which I feel privileged to have been a part of. I feel equally privileged to be part of the wheelchair rugb...
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Wishing You a Happy & Peaceful Christmas!

It has been a frantic few weeks leading up to Christmas with lots going on. One bit of very good news is that we are finalising the pilot of a Level 2 coaching qualification (equivalent to an independent club coach) - this is aligned to the UK Coaching Certificate and recognised by the UK government’s skills agenda. Once this first pilot has been completed the course will be open for new candidates in the spring of 2016. We will also be developing a series of bolt-on modules to support different sorts of delivery in 2016-17 and in 2018 we will be looking to develop a Level 3. Becoming a Level 2 Coach is not just about coaching wheelchair rugby, it’s about providing a fantastic experience...
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Looking Forward

After the excitement of the European Championships and the World Wheelchair Rugby Challenge our focus returns to the domestic season with the start of the new Super Series. Division 2 battled it out at Leicester at the weekend with Bulls taking an early lead to top the group with 15 points and Canterbury close behind with 13. The Canterbury team got 4 best of class awards so lots of talent and potential on show here. Division 1 start their season on 28 November at Stoke Mandeville. Behind the scenes we are now starting work on the new funding application for Tokyo 2020 - the next 4 year UK Sport cycle which starts in 2017. Although it may seem a long way off, we have to get our initial pl...
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A Game Changer

It is difficult not to conclude that last week’s BT Community Festival and BT World Wheelchair Rugby Challenge represented a real game changer for wheelchair rugby in this country. This was the first time we had ever tried to mount a tournament of this scale and the first time such an event had been placed alongside the Rugby World Cup. Judged against most event criteria we should be proud of what was achieved. For me the most important thing was the athlete experience and having spoken to every team who took part I was happy that without exception all felt that it was a great event and all had enjoyed what one team called a truly ‘unforgettable experience’. Equally important was the s...
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Welcome to Our Rugby Friends

It would be difficult for you not to have noticed that the BT World Wheelchair Challenge 2015 is almost on us. This week we have seen some fantastic promotion of the tournament on ITV, capped with the studio appearance of Steve Brown talking about the sport before the start of the Fiji Uraguay RWC match. The national media is also getting behind it and we should see more in the papers and magazines over the next few days. Tomorrow the Australian ‘Steelers’ arrive, the first of our guests, followed by Canada and then the USA and Japan. By Sunday all the teams will be with us at Stratford and I know you will join me in welcoming them to the UK and wishing them a great stay and a great tour...
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BT Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby Take Gold!

BT Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby are the new European Champions defeating Sweden in a truly nail-biting final by just one point! Our young and determined team held their nerve throughout to win a very tight game in which the teams matched each other point for point, right up until the final second. In winning the tournament, GB also qualified for the Paralympic Games in Rio next year and so have again met all of their performance targets this year. At the after match dinner Johnny Coggan was crowned the best 0.5 of the tournament and Jim Roberts the best 3.0. So ended a very successful tournament for GB who put in some strong performances, looked supremely fit, and demonstrated a composure ...
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