It’s been such a busy but exciting week! As I write the GB team is in Rio and about to start the Test Event – although they are almost 6000 miles away by air I can still feel that adrenaline surge! There are less than 200 days now before the start of the wheelchair rugby tournament at the 2016 Paralympic Games and the Test Event provides a fantastic performance opportunity and the chance to compete in the venue and get a feeling for the village.
Back home we are well into the Super Series with Storm leading Crash by 4 points in Division 1, Bulls leading Canterbury by 6 points in Division 2 and Stoke leading Woodbridge by 4 points in Division 3. The final series for Division 3 is on 5 March with the other divisions following in early April. Our programme activity is also at full speed. This coming Sunday there is a Youth Taster session in Manchester which Stuart McLindon is delivering as part of the BT funded Youth Programme, and Woodbridge are holding an introductory day in Felixstowe. The weekend also sees the assessment phase of our coaching course so good luck to all of the coaches who are the first to undertake this accredited course –a huge step forward for our sport. And as I speak Kirsty Clarke is in Wales with Amanda Thomas, and in discussions with Wales Rugby Union and Welsh Disability Sport about the further development of our programmes there.
Away from the play I have been meeting with some of our trusted partners as I look ahead and try to ensure we maintain a strong funding base for the future. Early discussions have gone very well and I hope to be able to report some good news later in the year about our partners going forward. In the same vein we have been contributing to the Sport England Consultation work and although we will have to wait and see what the Sport England future investment strategy is, we believe we can demonstrate that we are a good organisation to invest in as demonstrated by our results over the past 4 years. The growth in the number of people playing, the increase in the number of clubs and the innovative programmes such as Rugby Wheels, the Youth Programme, the Military Recovery Centre Programme, and now the work we are piloting around different variants of the game, are all examples of how we as a sport are delivering more rugby in more forms to more people. We are only able to do this because of the commitment of so many of you, so if you are a volunteer a coach, an official or a team manager thank you. But as we know there are so many others who perhaps get less notice because they do what many see as the less glamorous jobs – those who sort out kit, load and unload chairs and equipment, act as club treasurer or chairman, are the welfare officer ensuring the safety of our young people, book the venues… the list goes on and we could not be providing these great opportunities to play without you… thanks so much!
David Pond
