It is just one of those human truths that we all like to compete and through the ages we humans have dreamt up more and more odd ways to pitch ourselves against one another. I mean if you stand back in the cold light of day and look at many sports and games you would struggle to argue that they make sense – when I played rugby my non sporting friends (the less sport more artistic types) would joke about grown men chasing a ball and beating each other up and now I find the same types ask me ‘what is it about this wheelchair rugby thing? you mean they are paralysed and yet they smash the shit out of each other?’ Well I guess so but I learnt very quickly when I came into the world of disability sport that the players I met and got to know certainly did not define themselves by whatever disability they might have – it was all about competing and all about winning – back to that basic human urge to take some one on and do them!
So with that in mind it was great to see Prince Harry launch the Invictus Games this week. The games which were inspired by the Warrior Games in the USA will be for injured service personnel from many nations and will act as a focus for what they can achieve post injury.The games will take place between 10-14 September and I am delighted that we have been able to get wheelchair rugby included. We will work with the organisers to bring our sport into the tournament in an adapted format along the lines of the programme we are running with Help4Heroes. This again will be excellent for our sport’s profile and will further our partnership with the military as well as achiving its most important objective – giving new individuals the opportunity to enjoy the game and compete. It also gives us a chance to see the Copperbox in action for a big international sporting event almost one year ahead of WWRC15.
There was no shortage of will to win at the weekend when our GB squad took on Sweden in a series of friendly games. GB won 2 of the 3 matches played with all players getting court time and the coaches able to explore a number of different lines. Sweden are a good scalp to take – they are pretty much always in the top couple of places in Europe and so offer great competition though we know that we must always be putting them away if we are to meet our objective of being consistently in the top 3 of the world. A good training camp and the athletes and coaches can feel pleased at the progress being made ahead of the big events coming up.
That will to win was in abundance at Twickenham on Sunday! For once the game lived up to its pre-match hype – this was really about competing and putting your life on the line as the Wales No15 Halfpenny showed with his try saving tackle in the last minutes of the game which cost him a dislocated shoulder. But what another great performance from our Ambassador Mike Brown who has had the most amazing series – good luck to him and the team as they finish the 6 nations with Italy at the weekend.
I was really pleased to see that Kelly Gallagher and Charlotte Evans won gold in Sochi in the visually impaired skiing. A fantastic result for them but also for our partner Jane Emmerson and her charity Get Kids Going. Jane has supported Kelly and Charlotte for over 5 years with funding of over £200k. Many individuals and sports could not operate without the support of organisations like Get Kids Going which continues to support many of our athletes with chairs – thank you Jane.
On that note I must stop as I have discussions with potential sponsors for the WWRC15 – lots to do here yet!
David Pond
