Molly Smith finishing her 365th day of running for GBWR
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Well it is turning out to be a quite memorable summer! The weather is amazing and the heatwave is being compared to the summer of 76 – most of you were probably not even born then and even I was a young Loughborough university student so it is not fresh in my memory! And then there is the football and the England performance which has given everyone a real lift and something to bring the nation together, whilst our politicians and Brexit seem to do all they can to divide us! All of this topped by the incredible rescue of 12 boys and their football coach from the Tham Luang cave complex in Thailand – the faith, skill, courage and humility of all involved in this is truly inspiring, though let’s not forget the sacrifice of ex Thai SEAL Saman Kunan who died while trying to deliver oxygen tanks to the trapped soccer team.
Well the summer may be with us but for most the holidays are yet to come and its business as usual. The final Super Series weekend of the 2017/18 season is here as six of the Division Two sides head to Leigh Sports Village to play for the remaining points. Promotion to Division One is still up for grabs and with four teams all tied on ten points behind league leaders Burn it promises to be a great weekend of wheelchair rugby. Listen out for the Paul Arnold’s live radio preview on BBC Try Time on Thursday 19th July 6.45pm. Our Talent Development programme is in full swing and the squad has just completed a challenging weekend camp with Faye West tweeting: “an intense but valuable weekend of rugby! Loved every minute”. And West Kirby has been the latest venue for our Lord’s Taverners Junior Wheelchair Programme where throughout June and July 15 young people have enjoyed getting in a chair and learning the game.
I was invited to the DMG at the end of June where it was good to catch up with club representatives to listen to what clubs are up to and to understand how we can support more. It was also a chance to share some of the challenges we are all facing and to explain our focus over the next year. The AGM will be an opportunity for all Members to take part in similar discussions so I hope you will have marked your diaries for 19 September and be able to attend – details on the home page with more to follow. This month I have had meetings with the Chief Executives of the RFU and UK Sport, both with the aim of trying to gain further support, and along with other NGB Chief Executives, I met with Sport Minister Tracey Crouch where I was able to put a strong case for why our sport should as a minimum receive core funding. These meetings are important as they provide an opportunity for me to continually sell the positives of our game and to try and influence the funding debate at a time when thoughts are already on the next funding cycle. The UK Sport consultation opportunity is part of that process so I urge you to go online and to make your views known. I will be sending out some guidance notes on the NGB position so you may want to wait to get these as they may help you with your response.
The fundraising drive continues and a big thank you to all who are helping us. A special thank you to Molly Smith whose total stands at over £5.5 thousand for her 365 day running challenge. GB Athlete Gavin Walker and Team Manager Lee Stutely were there in Newcastle Quayside to welcome her. Early in the month our Chairman and Aaron Phipps joined me to present wheelchair rugby at the Kent RFU AGM. Following this a number of the Kent clubs are looking at ways they might follow the Sevenoaks example and raise some funds for us over the next season. Thank you to the BOOST Charitable Trust and the Sam Sananes Sporting Legacy fund for committing to supporting us again this year. Meanwhile I continue to work with a number of insurance companies who have made ongoing investments in the team.
The GB team at training camp
For the next 3 weeks all eyes will turn to Sydney Australia and the GIO 2018 IWRF Wheelchair Rugby World Championships. The GB team departs on Monday 23 July after an intensive final training camp in the UK. They will complete their final preparations in Sydney with some joint training sessions with Australia ahead of the start of the competition and their first match v Poland on Sunday 5 August. You can keep up with all the news and games on the championship website https://www.2018wrwc.com. The team and coaching staff are in good heart and looking forward to taking on the best in the world in what is the most important event in the wheelchair rugby calendar aside from the Paralympic Games. Let’s hope they can generate the same excitement and enjoy even greater success than the England football team.
Enjoy the sunshine!
David Pond
