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 rugby community and the many teams that make up our community and work to enable others to be part of it.
2016 has kicked off with plenty of team activity. The most obvious is the Super Series, now in full swing and with Division 3 playing its first games tomorrow at Stoke Mandeville – good luck to our newest league teams who I know will be eager to compete and test themselves against one another.
This week we have met with Gordon and Nigel from the Saracens Foundation to talk about our continuing partnership work around creating opportunities for young people to play as part of our youth programme. You get a real ‘team’ feel whenever you go to Sarries. It is not just about creating the best premiership rugby club, there is much more to the culture of the club than that and this is epitomised by their Foundation which delivers so many fantastic opportunities for the north London community. We enjoy some great partnership working with the Foundation and some of you will remember that it was the Sarries youth team who won the first ever youth tournament at the Copper Box.
The GB team will be very much in the headlights this year as we get ever closer to the Rio Paralympics. The team has a busy time leading up to this with a number of camps and international competitions. At the end of next month they will get their first taste of South America as they head to Rio for the Test event. Later in the spring we will host Sweden and Canada in a training competition and then it will be off to Vancouver for the Canada Cup. It all sounds very glamorous and in some ways the attention and the experience is, but it is also very demanding for our athletes and staff both physically and mentally so the importance of that special team bond cannot be underestimated. I know the wider GBWR team will be behind them, supporting in every way possible.
Our team of Trustees came together this week for a development day. It was impressive to see two of our new Trustees integrate so well and so quickly with the rest of the Board and to add new challenges and a fresh perspective to what we do. We are fortunate to have such well qualified and experienced volunteers as Trustees to help guide the direction of our sport and to ensure we meet our governance and legal obligations. We spent a great deal of time talking about future challenges around funding, growth and how we might respond to the next 4 year funding cycle. Our initial Tokyo submission has already been commented on by UK Sport and Lorraine and I will be working with the GB Head Coach and partners to deal with all the feedback in preparation for our final submission which has to be in to UK Sport by 14 March.
This coming week I will be visiting Roma Sports in Bridgend, another highly effective team. They always inspire me with their enthusiasm, innovation and commitment to being the best. They seem to achieve a real sense of energy and fun as they seek to meet whatever we throw at them. They are a strong partner and again will sponsor our National Championships, to be held in Sheffield this year.
Enjoy being part of your own teams, cherish those friendships and the positive energy and joy that comes from working and playing together.
David Pond
