GB’s Richard Allcroft Unanimously Elected as New President of IWRF
At the General Assembly of the International Wheelchair Rugby Federation current Board member Richard Allcroft was unanimously elected as President to replace John Bishop, who stepped down after eight years leading the IWRF. Allcroft becomes the first President of the IWRF from outside North America, with predecessors Pawel Zbieranowski (Canada), Brad Mikkelsen (USA) and Bishop (USA) previously holding down the role.
“I’ve been involved internationally since about 2010 and I’ve really enjoyed it, just understanding the international landscape, particularly our partnerships with the International Paralympic Committee and World Rugby,” Allcroft said. “We’re at a very exciting time for the sport. You only need to look at the World Championship we’ve just had and the excellent level of competition throughout.”
Outgoing President John Bishop expressed confidence in the future. “Richard has extensive experience in the sport; he’s served in many different roles and has been a Board member since 2012. He’s very well-qualified and has lots of great ideas. I feel very comfortable that the IWRF is going to be in fantastic hands going forward.”
Bishop reflected on his time as President with pride. “It’s really a team effort between the Board, our Committees and of course our members across the world. I’m especially proud of the growth and development of our sport. In 2008, the Americas zone was the US and Canada, and today we have six countries in South America that are actively participating internationally and several others nationally. We have new growth in Europe and we’re seeing a lot of growth in the last couple of years in the Asia-Oceania zone, especially in South-East Asia.”
Allcroft paid tribute to Bishop for his outstanding tenure. “He became President when we were a newly independent international federation and has developed us to where we are today,” Allcroft added. “We govern more than 30 nations playing our sport, we’ve just run a major World Championship and we do that through fantastic people that are involved in the sport.” In his election manifesto Allcroft made 4 pledges:
- Improve communications between the IWRF and its member nations
- Implement a modern governance and leadership structure to reflect the global game
- Strengthen international partnerships in the Paralympic movement
- Enhance the strategic relationship with World Rugby
Incumbent Vice President Ken Sowden of New Zealand and Athlete Representative Jens Sauerbier of Germany were re-elected to their positions. Canada’s Gail Hamamoto was elected to the Board to fill the position vacated by Duncan Campbell, one of creators of Wheelchair Rugby and a member of the IWRF Hall of Fame, who retired from the Board after eight years as a Director. Hamamoto is the Executive Director of the British Columbia Wheelchair Sports Association and has previously served as a member of the IWAS Wheelchair Rugby Executive Committee. They join Board members Cathy Cadieux, Gary Pate, and Chief Executive Officer Eron Main.
Allcroft’s election as President created a vacancy for a Director on the Board. At a Board meeting immediately following the General Assembly, the new Board appointed Steve Loader of Australia, Deputy Chair of Disability Sports Australia and Chair of the 2018 IWRF World Championship, to fill the vacant position.
