Quarterly newsletter published by the International Wheelchair Rugby Federation (IWRF). Content includes global news articles, photographs, rugby calander and other useful information on the worlds only "full contact wheelchair sport". Also known as Murderball, this sport kicks serious ass!!
www.iwrf.com Inside this issue PAGE 1 Presidents Message 2010 IWAS Games Development PAGE 3 Americas Update Asia-Oceania Update IWRF Contacts PAGE 4 40 Second Rule Equipment Timeouts Ball Restraints PAGE 5 2010 Worlds News Great Britain Cup Classification at Zonals PAGE 6 Maximus Hits Brazil IWRF World Ranking List Global Rugby Calendar PAGE 2 Independence News Zonal Elections Rugby 7’s in Olympics PAGE 7 Mexico Gets Rolling Photo Essay PAGE 8 Tribute to Our Friend The Wheelchair Rugby Press The Wheelchair Rugby Press August, 2009 Volume 1, Issue 1 Greetings everyone. 2009 Zonal Championships are almost upon us. National teams around the globe are preparing with intense training camps and are eager for competitions. For the first time, the America’s zone will be holding a championship of their own, which is a tribute to the development that has taken place within their region. South America has had great success, in part because of the two Maximus tournaments held within the last year, and Mexico recently held a clinic in Mexico City. The America’s zone is to be commended for their hard work and de- termination to grow. It’s important to remind you that elections will be taking place at each of the three zonal championships. If you are interested in serving in one of the many elected positions, you should contact the president within your zone to submit your name and qualifi- cations. Zonal positions are held for two years, and offer a great opportunity to serve the sport. More details on elections and a listing of contacts can be found within this newsletter. The IWRF is less than five months away from becoming an Inde- pendent Sports Federation! In cooperation with IWAS, we have recently negotiated an agreement on the transfer of governance for Wheelchair Rugby to the IWRF. The target date for the trans- fer is January 1, 2010 and is to be confirmed at the IWAS Gen- eral Assembly in Bangalore, India on November 24. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Maura Strange for the guid- ance and support that IWAS has provided us in this process, thank you also to the IWRF Executive Committee for their time and efforts. We would like to congratulate the International Rugby Board (IRB) on the recent news that the IOC Executive Board has rec- ommended that Rugby 7’s be included in the 2016 Olympic Games. The final vote isn't until October, but we still want to tell the IRB and rugby unions around the world, congratulations! In closing, good luck to all of the countries competing at Zonal Championships. We hope that you are able to give your best ef- fort in advancing to the 2010 IWRF World Wheelchair Rugby Championships in Vancouver, Canada. We also want to thank all of the classifiers, referees, table officials, organizing committees, sponsors, and countless volunteers who work so hard to make these tournaments possible. See you on the court! Brad Mikkelsen IWRF President Presidents Message from Brad Mikkelsen 2010 IWAS World Games by Eron Main, IWRF Competitions Commissioner The IWAS World Games will be held in Bangalore, India, from 22 November to 2 December, 2009. For the first time since 2005, wheelchair rugby will be on the competition program, in the form of a combined develop- ment clinic and tournament. Up to six teams will participate in this event, which is targeted at emerging wheelchair rugby nations and de- velopment teams from active countries. The competition is open to full national teams from countries ranked below the top 12 on the IWRF world ranking list, and to national devel- opment teams from countries ranked in the top twelve. The aim is to provide first-time international experience to players and coaches from active wheelchair rugby nations as well as a first exposure to wheelchair rugby competition for players and coaches from developing wheelchair rugby nations. The event will include clinics to train classifiers and referees to a national standard. Referee and classifier certification and international classification will not be conducted at this event. Expressions of interest have been received from some countries, but a firm commitment from at least four countries will be required for the event to proceed. The deadline for entries is 25 September 2009. This is an excellent op- portunity for countries and players to get a first taste of international competition in a multi- sport event. I encourage anyone interested in this event to contact IWAS, the event organizer for further information and a copy of the entry package. Wheelchair Rugby continues to expand around the globe thanks to the hard work of individuals at the local, national and zonal levels! The latest country to emerge is Malaysia, with athletes and organizers keen to grow the sport with the support of the Asia-Oceania Zone. India continues to work on building support for Wheelchair Rugby, and their efforts will be enhanced by the 2009 IWAS World Games taking place in Bangalore this fall. The Games will be targeted towards teams from developing nations, and devel- opment teams from established countries. The event will be an excellent opportunity to create awareness, train officials and classifiers, and provide a springboard for further development of wheelchair rugby in region. The Zone Championships are also fast approaching – with tour- naments in Christchurch, New Zealand (Asia Oceania), Buenos Aires, Argentina (Americas) and Hillerod, Denmark (European). The Championships will be an excellent showcase of how far the sport has come, with full complements of teams in every Zone competing for the honor to attend the 2010 World Champion- ships. Many thanks to all of the hard working volunteers, officials, clas- sifiers, administrators, coaches and athletes around the world who are dedicated to the development of wheelchair rugby. Your passion and commitment have made this sport what it is today, and will support its growth far into the future. Wheelchair Rugby Development by Gail Hamamoto, IWRF Development Commissioner
Transcript
www.iwrf.com
Inside this issue PAGE 1
Presidents Message
2010 IWAS Games
Development
PAGE 3
Americas Update
Asia-Oceania Update
IWRF Contacts
PAGE 4
40 Second Rule Equipment Timeouts Ball Restraints
PAGE 5
2010 Worlds News Great Britain Cup Classification at Zonals
Greetings everyone. 2009 Zonal Championships are almost upon us. National teams around the globe are preparing with intense training camps and are eager for competitions. For the first time, the America’s zone will be holding a championship of their own, which is a tribute to the development that has taken place within their region. South America has had great success, in part because of the two Maximus tournaments held within the last year, and Mexico recently held a clinic in Mexico City. The America’s zone is to be commended for their hard work and de-termination to grow. It’s important to remind you that elections will be taking place at each of the three zonal championships. If you are interested in serving in one of the many elected positions, you should contact the president within your zone to submit your name and qualifi-cations. Zonal positions are held for two years, and offer a great opportunity to serve the sport. More details on elections and a listing of contacts can be found within this newsletter. The IWRF is less than five months away from becoming an Inde-pendent Sports Federation! In cooperation with IWAS, we have recently negotiated an agreement on the transfer of governance for Wheelchair Rugby to the IWRF. The target date for the trans-
fer is January 1, 2010 and is to be confirmed at the IWAS Gen-eral Assembly in Bangalore, India on November 24. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Maura Strange for the guid-ance and support that IWAS has provided us in this process, thank you also to the IWRF Executive Committee for their time and efforts. We would like to congratulate the International Rugby Board (IRB) on the recent news that the IOC Executive Board has rec-ommended that Rugby 7’s be included in the 2016 Olympic Games. The final vote isn't until October, but we still want to tell the IRB and rugby unions around the world, congratulations! In closing, good luck to all of the countries competing at Zonal Championships. We hope that you are able to give your best ef-fort in advancing to the 2010 IWRF World Wheelchair Rugby Championships in Vancouver, Canada. We also want to thank all of the classifiers, referees, table officials, organizing committees, sponsors, and countless volunteers who work so hard to make these tournaments possible.
See you on the court!
Brad Mikkelsen IWRF President
Presidents Message from Brad Mikkelsen
2010 IWAS World Games by Eron Main, IWRF Competitions Commissioner
The IWAS World Games will be held in Bangalore, India, from 22 November to 2 December, 2009. For the first time since 2005, wheelchair rugby will be on the competition program, in the form of a combined develop-ment clinic and tournament. Up to six teams will participate in this event, which is targeted at emerging wheelchair rugby nations and de-velopment teams from active countries.
The competition is open to full national teams from countries ranked below the top 12 on the IWRF world ranking list, and to national devel-opment teams from countries ranked in the top twelve. The aim is to provide first-time international experience to players and coaches from active wheelchair rugby nations as well as a first exposure to wheelchair rugby competition for players and coaches from developing wheelchair rugby nations. The event
will include clinics to train classifiers and referees to a national standard. Referee and classifier certification and international
classification will not be conducted at this event.
Expressions of interest have been received from some countries, but a firm commitment from at least four countries will be required for the event to proceed. The deadline for entries is 25 September 2009. This is an excellent op-portunity for countries and players to get a first taste of international competition in a multi-
sport event.
I encourage anyone interested in this event to contact IWAS, the event organizer for further information and a copy of the entry package.
Wheelchair Rugby continues to expand around the globe thanks to the hard work of individuals at the local, national and zonal levels! The latest country to emerge is Malaysia, with athletes and organizers keen to grow the sport with the support of the Asia-Oceania Zone.
India continues to work on building support for Wheelchair Rugby, and their efforts will be enhanced by the 2009 IWAS World Games taking place in Bangalore this fall. The Games will
be targeted towards teams from developing nations, and devel-opment teams from established countries. The event will be an excellent opportunity to create awareness, train officials and classifiers, and provide a springboard for further development of wheelchair rugby in region.
The Zone Championships are also fast approaching – with tour-naments in Christchurch, New Zealand (Asia Oceania), Buenos Aires, Argentina (Americas) and Hillerod, Denmark (European). The Championships will be an excellent showcase of how far the sport has come, with full complements of teams in every Zone competing for the honor to attend the 2010 World Champion-ships.
Many thanks to all of the hard working volunteers, officials, clas-sifiers, administrators, coaches and athletes around the world who are dedicated to the development of wheelchair rugby. Your passion and commitment have made this sport what it is today, and will support its growth far into the future.
Wheelchair Rugby Development by Gail Hamamoto, IWRF Development Commissioner
The Wheelchair Rugby PressThe Wheelchair Rugby Press
IWRF Independence Update by Eron Main
Progress continues towards establishing the International Wheelchair Rugby Federation. The founding board of the IWRF will hold its first meeting later this month to adopt a provisional constitution, which will guide the IWRF until the first General Assembly in late 2010.
In co-operation with IWAS, we have recently negotiated an agreement on the transfer of governance of wheelchair rugby to the IWRF. The target date for the transfer is 1 January 2010, to be confirmed at the IWAS General Assembly in Bangalore, India, on November 24.
Under the agreement, all current rules and regulations for wheelchair rugby will remain valid until amended by the IWRF. All international classifications, and referee and classifier certifications conducted under IWAS will continue to be respected by the IWRF.
We are now in the process of contacting current IWAS members and wheelchair rugby contacts in our 25 active nations to identify which organizations will become members of the IWRF on independence. I'd like to acknowledge all the hard work done in support of the inde-pendence process by all the members of the IWRF Executive Committee, as well as the co-operation I have received from Maura Strange, Secretary-General of IWAS, and the assistance, guidance, and advice provided by our colleagues at the International Paralym-pic Committee and the International Rugby Board. Together, we have been able to lay the foundation for a successful independent IWRF.
“Under the agreement, all
current rules and regulations for
wheelchair rugby will remain valid until amended by
the IWRF”
ZONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Preparations are well underway for the three Wheelchair Rugby Zone Championships to be held later this year: These will be the first international championships held under the new IWRF Interna-tional Rules passed in 2008. The results of these Championships will be used to directly qualify teams for seven of the twelve posi-tions at the 2010 Wheelchair Rugby World Championships to be held in Vancouver, Canada.
European Championship Hillerod, Denmark - 14 -17 October Head Official - Gilles Briere Chief Classifier - Sarah Leighton Website: www.ecwheelchairrugby2009.dk
Asia-Oceania Championship Christchurch, New Zealand - 2 - 9 November Head Official - Phil Washbourn Chief Classifier - Binnie O'Dwyer Website: www.wheelblacks.com
Americas Championship Buenos Aires, Argentina - 26 October - 1 November Head Official - Bob Lopez Chief Classifier - Doug Mazur Website: www.quadrugby.com.ar
ZONAL ELECTIONS
Elections will be held at each of the three Zone Championships to vote for interested nominees running for key zone positions. Avail-able positions offered within each zone may vary, but typically in-clude a President, Secretary, Development Commissioner, Classi-fication Commissioner, and a Technical Commissioner. All elected positions are held for a two year term, and are served on a volun-teer basis without compensation.
Current zone presidents and their emails are listed below for your reference. If you would like to receive a copy of the available job descriptions, or want to submit your name as a possible candidate, please contact the appropriate person below.
2009 Zonal Wheelchair Rugby Championships and Zonal Elections
European Zone Championship
2009 Americas Zone Championship
IRB welcomes IOC Recommendation The International Rugby Board (IRB) is delighted that the Interna-tional Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board has recom-mended Rugby Sevens as one of two sports for inclusion in the Olympic Games.
Rugby Sevens secured its recommendation in the second round of voting, obtaining the 50 percent plus one majority required with nine of the 14 votes. Five further rounds of voting ensued before the Executive Board confirmed golf as the second recommended sport.
In October the IOC Members will vote in Copenhagen on the two sports individually with a straight majority required for Olympic Games' inclusion from 2016.
Bernard Lapasset, President of the IRB, said: “We would like to thank the IOC Executive Board for selecting Rugby Sevens from what are seven strong and diverse sports. We recognize the sig-nificance of this milestone in our campaign but are also mindful that the ultimate decision rests with the IOC members when they meet in Copenhagen on October 9, 2009.
“The Olympic Games would be the pinnacle of the sport for all our athletes and the Rugby Family, providing the opportunity for the best men’s and women’s players in the world to showcase their talent on the world’s greatest sporting stage. The international Rugby community is united behind Rugby Sevens’ campaign and we now look ahead to October.”
Rugby Olympic fact-file Rugby 15’s was played at four Olympic Games: 1900, 1908, 1920 and 1924
The following countries became Olympic Champions at rugby: France in 1900, Australia in 1908, USA in 1920 and 1924.
The following countries won medals in Olympics rugby tournaments: France - three medals: one gold and two silvers, USA - two gold medals, Britain - one silver and one bronze, Australia - one gold medal, Germany - silver in 1900 and Romania - bronze in 1924.
Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic movement, played, refereed and promoted Football Rugby as it was called in his days.
“The Olympic Games would be the pinnacle of the sport for all our
athletes and the Rugby Family, providing the
opportunity for the best men’s and
women’s players in the world to showcase their talent on the world’s greatest sporting stage. ”
The Wheelchair Rugby PressThe Wheelchair Rugby Press
The Americas Zone has once again been very active, and teams are busy preparing for the first ever Americas zone championship to be held this October in Argentina. Elections will be held at zonals, and details about this process have been emailed to each country. Unfortunately Colombia and Mexico will not be competing at zonals
due to a lack of funding from their NGB’s.
In June, Brazil hosted the second edition of the Maximus Open in
Rio de Janeiro, with teams from Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, Great Britain and the United States competing. Clinics were held for both classifiers and referees, and great success was reported on all ends. Mexico recently held a well attended rugby clinic in Mexico City, that was conducted by several people from the USQRA and myself. In the past Mexico has struggled to get their program run-ning, but this clinic may have been the boost they needed to move forward. This October they will be hosting the country's first rugby tournament, so hopefully they are on their way to becoming active.
For more information on the Americas Zone please contact Dan McCauley at [email protected]
Americas Zone Update by Dan McCauley , Americas Zone President
Only 4 months until the Asia Oceania Zone Championships which will see 5 of the 6 teams in the zone competing. Canterbury Wheelchair Rugby was awarded the event, and this is a huge undertaking for the small regional or-ganization to undertake. Luckily sev-eral of their committee members were on the organizing committee for the
2006 IWRF World Championships, and have vast experience in organizing both local and national events.
This year’s event in Christchurch, New Zealand will see Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Africa and Korea all competing. Al-though China will not be attending, the great news is that they have resumed playing, and will be looking at the next Zone Cham-pionship to compete again internationally. Elections will be held in conjunction with zonals, and details have been sent out to each country.
The following updates are from some of the countries in our zone:
AUSTRALIA The first round of the 2009 Telstra National Wheelchair Rugby League, was held in Adelaide, South Australia from 26-28 of June. This year there are two International imports competing on state teams. Troye Collins (GBR), has joined the newly named Jetstar Gold Coast Wheelchair Rugby Titans, and Jai Waite (NZL), has joined the South Australian Sharks. The first round of the competi-tion brought some good level of rugby for a domestic competition. New South Wales Gladiators are once again the favorites for the championship this year, with athletes like Ryley Batt, Scott Vitale and Pete Allen on the roster. New South Wales Gladiators were unable to field their best team in Adelaide, yet they were still able to blow away the competition. There were also great perform-ances by the Jetstar Gold Coast Wheelchair Rugby Titans, Victo-ria Coloplast Thunder, and the under strength South Australian Sharks. The West Coast Enforcers are a team full of young up and coming athletes, yet just don’t have the experience to com-pete with the big guns at the moment .
State Programs Most states within Australia are having regular team training ses-sions, and those with the numbers are also holding local competi-tions. Earlier this year, National Program Head Coach, Brad Dub-berley held state based training camps which were very informa-tive. There were 57 athletes that attended these camps. The ath-letes ranged with regards to their level of experience, and it was great to see a number of new and talented athletes coming through.
CHINA Chinese rugby has encountered a difficult year in 2009, due to the decrease of our total budget. On May 12, 2008, a terrible earth-quake occurred in Sichuan Province which is believed to have the largest population in China. Nearly 70,000 people were killed, and countless others were injured or disabled. In the past 12 months, the government and entire country has been focused to help the people there to reconstruct and restore their lives back to normal.
At the highest administration level for affairs of people with dis-abilities, China Disabled Persons' Federation is playing a very im-portant role in this huge nationwide project. In this case, most of the budget once marked for disabled sport has been transferred to Sichuan for rebuilding. However, the positive news is that some of the provincial teams have kept training such as Team Beijing, where most of our National team players come from.
Although there won’t be any national or regional competitions oc-curring in China this year, we are still very confident to say that the sport will be keep active in the future. Furthermore, the 8th National Paralympic Games will be held in 2011, and wheelchair rugby will be part of this nation wide event.
NEW ZEALAND With the domestic season now half way through, New Zealand’s one and only 'round-robin development tournament' is two thirds through after successful rounds held in Manawatu’s “Queens City” Palmerston North, and the Capital City Wellington. Teams seeded in the first round robin are now competing in a seeded round robin that was designed to have top-seeded teams playing in the final games in Christchurch on 25-26 July, with 'Auckland Blue' sneak-ing ahead after round 2 (on goal difference only).
We have held our Low Point Nationals for 2009, from which our National Low Point team was selected and then attended the Montreal Low Pointers Tournament. Although the team did not achieve the results they strived so hard for, they certainly did not let themselves down. All players gained invaluable experience and they were exposed to the abilities of other international play-ers with the same grading. It has raised some interesting ques-tions regarding the variation in classification throughout the sport, which we are communicating with the national classifiers.
Our Development team attended the Brisbane Bash, where they were not only able to play alongside players from Australia with international experience, but thanks to the organizers they were able to play together as a team also!
SOUTH AFRICA Wheelchair Rugby South Africa developed three new clubs in the last six months; this however is just the tip of the iceberg as there are loads of disabled people in undeveloped and previously disad-vantaged communities all over South Africa.
During visits to schools for the disabled in one area, close to fifty potential athletes were discovered, all eligible to play Wheelchair Rugby. A shortage in equipment is a huge problem, and is the reason why these potential athletes would only have the opportu-nity to start playing Wheelchair Rugby by 2011.
In our quest to solve this problem, Wheelchair Rugby South Africa has done applications to the National Lottery for funding, and also has been hard at work to find sponsors. Wheelchair Rugby South Africa has also been in negotiations with SA Rugby, our able body counterpart, pursuing a possible association with SA Rugby. This association might assist in solving our need for equipment and assist in the overall development of Wheelchair Rugby in South Africa. SA Rugby however will only be able to make a final deci-sion on this matter during their AGM in April of 2010.
Asia-Oceania Zone Update by Ken Sowden , Asia-Oceania Zone President
About the IWRF
The International Wheelchair Rugby Federation (IWRF) was first established in 1993, as a sport section of the International Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair S p o r t s F e d e r a t i o n (ISMWSF). The purpose of the IWRF is to help develop, promote and regulate the sport of Wheelchair Ruby on a global basis.
Currently there are thirty countries that actively par-ticipate in the sport of Wheelchair Rugby, or who are developing programs within their nation. The IWRF can assist countries interested in establishing programs of their own in a number of ways. To request information on how we can help out please contact us.
The International Wheelchair Rugby Federation is a member of International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports (IWAS), which is formerly known as the In-ternational Stoke Mande-ville Wheelchair Sports Federation. IWAS is an or-ganization which enables and supports the growth and achievements of ath-letes within the Paralympic movement based on the traditions of Stoke Mande-ville.
IWRF Executive Committee
Brad Mikkelsen, President
Cherie Harris, Secretary
Cathy Cadieux Vice President of Finance
John Bishop Vice President Communications
Dan McCauley Americas Zone President
Joke Beekman European Zone President
Ken Sowden Asia-Oceania Zone President Anne Hart Classification Commissioner Gail Hamamoto Development Commissioner
The Wheelchair Rugby PressThe Wheelchair Rugby Press
As mentioned in the previous issue, the implementation of the forty second rule would be reviewed in a later issue of the Wheel-chair Rugby Press. The forty second rule appears to be working very well across all the zones. Feedback to Athlete Representa-tive Ross Morrison has all been positive. Though as with any rule change, there are some questions and issues that arise from the interpretation of the rule.
When does the Forty Second Clock start
This is simple to understand for all players, coaches, spectators and the score-bench as the 40 second clock starts at the same time as the game clock. The only exception to this will be at the tip off at the start of the game and any extra periods. As a team does not have possession of the ball when the clock starts, the forty second clock cannot start until a team gains possession from the tip off.
IE – After the tip off, the forty second clocks start when a player on the court gains control of the ball.
In all other situations a team already has possession of the ball for a throw in from out of court, so the forty second clock starts at the same time as the game clock.
When is the 40 second clock reset.
It appears that the rule is well understood by all participants in the game. To put it simply, when the opposition gain possession of the ball, or when the defensive team causes a stoppage in play, the forty second clock will be reset.
If neither of these situations occur, then the forty second clock will not be reset. However, there will always be incidents in the game that are not covered by the rules – a power cut, liquid on the court, etc. In this situation where the referee stops the game because of incidents outside the rules, then the forty second clock will be reset to forty seconds.
If you have questions about the forty second rule, visit the IWRF’s Global Rugby Talk forum for a clarification, or you can contact me directly at [email protected].
Equipment Timeouts and Substitutions.
The Technical Commission has been asked several times about substitutions during an equipment timeout.
To simplify: An equipment timeout is not a time to effect substitu-tions. Therefore, neither team may substitute during an equipment timeout. The exception to this rule is when the player calling the Equipment Timeout has to be substituted, then both teams may substitute as many players as they desire.
The Technical Commission has instructed the officials not to question why the player who calls the Equipment Timeout needs to be substituted – but to accept the request as legitimate and allow the substitution.
The Forty Second Rule by Stan Battock, IWRF Technical Commissioner
Did You Know
The IWRF Casebook, including all official interpretations can
be downloaded from the File Library on the IWRF website
Ball Holders for players without a lap
Stan Battock
As we are all aware that a rule change has required all players who use a ball holder to rethink how they will build this into their chair. The Equipment Committee has received several requests to review various ball holders. One common request from the Equip-ment Committee is to take photos with and without the ball in the holder.
But in all cases reviewed so far, the Committee has not be able to rule a holder as illegal under the new rules. What the committee has stressed though is that the referee is the final adjudicator on the legality of a chair, or in the case of sanctioned tournaments the Head Official, through the pre tournament chair check.
Shown below are four ball holders that have been reviewed and approved by the IWRF Equipment Committee.
European Technical Commissioner By Stan Battock
Chris van der Riet Suter has decided to stand down from the role of European Zone technical Commissioner. Chris was almost press ganged into this role by her predecessor, but has done a brilliant job for the zone.
In the time Chris has been in the role, we have seen the referees from this zone advance considerably to the point where they are now well regarded internationally.
Chris has also had strong input into the Technical Commission, and was involved in the production of the Casebook. More recently Chris has produced a draft of the referee mechanics manual, which we hope to finalize this year. Chris was also very involved in the referee selection process for Paralympics and World Champion-ships, as well as selecting the referees for the European zone championships in consultation with the Technical Commission.
I have really enjoyed working with Chris on the Technical Commis-sion and will miss her input. However, I will be looking to retain her on some of the committees reporting to the Technical Commission.
Most pleasing is that Chris is not retiring from Wheelchair Rugby - just from the role of Technical Commissioner, so we will all get to see Chris around the court for a while longer yet! Thank you Chris for the fantastic work you have done over the last few years, it has been a pleasure working with you.
Section 4, Article 32
“Innovative changes that give a mechanical
advantage or that do not conform to the presently accepted
norms for a wheelchair, as
detailed in the IWRF Rules, may not be made without prior approval from the
The Wheelchair Rugby PressThe Wheelchair Rugby Press
The second test event for the 2010 World Wheelchair Rugby Championships (2010 WWRC) was the Coloplast Canadian Wheelchair Rugby Championships held May 7-10 at the Richmond Olympic Oval. It was yet another opportunity to test some of the Local Organizing Committee’s operations and to generate more excitement in the media for the Championships.
A very important component of hosting the 2010 WWRC is the planned Schools Program, which will be introduced this fall. Van-couver-area school superintendents were very receptive to the idea when given a briefing recently, and are excited about imple-menting it into the curriculum for young students. Developed with the expertise of 2010 WWRC society president Laurel Crosby, the program will be a significant legacy of the Championships.
A lot of effort is being put into securing and finalizing sponsorships for the Championships. It is gratifying to discover that there is inter-est and support for the sport, and in particular for bringing the Championships to British Columbia.
The Canadian Wheelchair Rugby team had the opportunity to screen an exciting new documentary that focuses on co-captain Ian Chan and the Canadian team’s preparations for the 2008
Beijing Paralympics. It is airing on national television in Canada in Au-gust. Plans are underway to pre-sent a screening during the WWRC.
Above: Darin Hurnanen of the Canadian Nationals title sponsor Coloplast (and ma-jor sponsor of the 2010 WWRC) does the ceremonial tip-off at the Canadian Nation-als at the Richmond Olympic Oval, site of the 2010 WWRC.
Left: Artist Maxwell Newhouse uses the Canadian Championships as inspiration for a painting commissioned for the 2010 WWRC.
News From the 2010 WWRC
The new website at www.2010wwrc.com will be operational
shortly. In the meantime we are
posting updates on Twitter@2010WWRC
Hope you follow along!
Some of the world’s best wheelchair rugby teams competed in the inaugural “Great Britain Cup” August 14-16 in Sheffield, England. The new tournament saw top wheelchair rugby athletes lock horns at the English Institute of Sport (EIS). Paralympic Bronze medalists Canada were joined by Finland, Great Britain and Sweden in the three day, four team tournament.
The first round saw some competitive games, and with great com-mentary and music to back them up, the atmosphere was set for a great weekend of sport. The last game of the morning on Saturday was played between Canada and Sweden (54-35), which secured Canada into a lead position. It was a true reflection of the close nature of the teams playing that had a three-way tie, which was decided on goal difference. One point was all that separated them. With the afternoon games decided, Sweden took on Finland (56-54 in OT) and Great Britain played Canada (40-55).
Sunday was finals day and teams were rested but tired. The music was cranked up and the teams came out fighting. GB was in the Bronze match game against Finland after a disappointing loss to Canada. GB started strong and played their bench giving much
needed game-play to promising upcoming players. The Finnish played hard, but were tired from some previous day games. It was a credit to them on their performance, especially to Leevi Ylonen who was nominated MVP unanimously by teams. Final result was a convincing 54 to 43 win for Great Britain.
So the final in the afternoon was Canada vs. Sweden, the Swedish weren’t going to go down without a fight, but couldn’t hold out los-ing 36 to Canada’s 60.
Richard Allcroft, Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby Events Director, said: “This was the first truly international tournament organised by Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby, and Sheffield proved itself again as a world class host to events. Teams went away with plenty of praise, and we hope to establish the GB Cup in the future”.
Thanks as always must go to the people and sponsors involved. UK Sport, Sheffield City Council, Yorkshire South Tourism, EIS Sheffield and MLS. Also to Sheffield Community Transport and the Sheffield Copthorne Hotel.
Final thanks to the volunteers and officials that made the weekend. Look out for wheelchair rugby – it’s coming to a town near you.
International Tournament Sees Paralympic Hopefuls Come to UK
Great Britain Cup Final Results
1. Canada (CAN)
2. Sweden (SWE)
3. Great Britain (GBR)
4. Finland (FIN)
Tournament MVP Leevi Ylonen - 3.0 (FIN)
European Zone Championship - Hillerod, Denmark Chief Classifier, Sarah Leighton (GBR) [email protected] Viola Altman (NED), Lotta Krossen (SWE), Emilie Newell (CAN) Paula Leppanen (FIN), Claire Tucak (AUS), Anna Nordhal (SWE)
Americas Zone Championship - Buenos Aires, Argentina Chief Classifier, Doug Mazur (USA) [email protected] Anne Hart (USA), Viola Altmann (NED), Emilie Newell (CAN) Paul Easton (CAN), Katie Bourke (AUS), Patricia Beckwith (ARG)
Asia-Oceana Zone Championship - Christchurch, New Zealand Chief Classifier, Binnie O'Dwyer (NZL) [email protected] Assistant Chief Classifier and Trainer, Greg Ungerer (AUS) Deborah Duffield (NZL), Kate Payern (SWE) Jacques Erasmus (RSA)Jennifer Stodler (CAN), Takashi Nakayama (JPN), Gerard Smith (AUS)
Type A classification panels will be used at all 3 zone championships. A “Type A” panel can award an IWRF sport class and sport class status (new, review or permanent) and conduct protests. This type of panel is used at the Paralympic Games, World Championships and Zone Championships.
IWRF Classification Panels for 2009 Zone Championships For more information
The Wheelchair Rugby PressThe Wheelchair Rugby Press
IWRF Ranking List (March 2009)
1. UNITED STATES
2. AUSTRALIA
3. CANADA
4. GREAT BRITAIN
5. NEW ZEALAND
6. GERMANY
7. JAPAN
8. SWEDEN
9. BELGIUM
10. SWITZERLAND
11. FINLAND
12. POLAND
13. NETHERLANDS
14. AUSTRIA
15. DENMARK
16. IRELAND
17. CZECH REPUBLIC
18. SOUTH AFRICA
19. CHINA
20. KOREA
21. FRANCE
22. NORWAY
23. BRAZIL Developing Countries • Argentina • Colombia • Greece • Hungary • India • Mexico • New Caledonia
“Maximus is a gladiator. Maximus competes and wins in his wheel-chair. Maximus is extreme sport.” That was the opening statement of the second International Maximus Tournament held at ANDEF, Brazils Paralympic Training Center located in Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro.
Hosted by the Brazilian Wheelchair Rugby Association (ABRC), Maximus was held June 13-20, 2009, and was attended by teams from Argentina, Colombia, Great Britain, United States and Brazil. The organizers arranged for a Type B classification panel at the event, which was a great benefit for all the countries in preparation of the approaching zone championships. Clinics were also held for classifiers and referee’s, which helped strengthen and reinforce the skills of the participants from South America.
Similar to the first Maximus tournament held in Bogotá, Colombia in 2008, the first two days were dedicated to classification and team training. Both GB and the US squads generously offered much of their time to run joint training sessions with their future opponents from South America. Sharing tips and demonstrating plays with newer players and coaches has become a tradition at Maximus tournaments, and is just one of the things that makes this event so much fun.
Since only five countries were in attendance, a double round-robin format was used for the tournament. In the first round, most games were played with mixed squads made up from the two teams on the schedule. Days one and two were mostly lopsided games, but on day three things got a bit more serious. The first game of the day was between neighboring rivals Argentina and Brazil. Both teams had been smack talking each other all week, and now was time to let their play on the court have the final word.
Brazil had the home court advantage, and started the game with a flurry of goals against their # 1 opponent. Argentina was caught off guard and was down by as many as seven points in the first quar-ter. After regaining their composure, they turned up their defense and slowly got back into the game. Both teams were plagued by turnovers and fouls throughout, but gained invaluable experience from the hard fought match. At the end of regulation, Brazil had fallen to their rival, 41-44.
Next up was Great Britain vs. the United States. GB had brought along several rookies fairly new to the sport, as well as 4 Paralym-pians to serve as mentors. The US squad was made up of young players who had never competed internationally, most with less than 5 experience in the sport. US Coach Troy McGuirk met with GB Coach Tom O’Conner pre game, and invited him to play his big guns if he wanted.
McGuirk wanted to challenge his team, and GB’s mentors were happy to finally get some quality playing time. The Britts won the tip-off, and both squads quickly exhibited the speed and hard hits that make this game so great. The South American teams were lined up on the sidelines, cheering for players from both teams
who they had recently befriended. Everyone seemed to get quality playing time on both sides, but in the end it was Great Britain who earned the victory, 56-43.
The Maximus tournament has a special camaraderie all to its own. Colombia went through the week without a win, yet had the sup-port and mentoring of every person who was there. Never deterred by the score on the clock, all of their players worked hard for every point and every minute that they were in a game. With time a vic-tory will be earned for Colombia, and when it comes it will be cele-brated by the entire Maximus family.
The final day of competition seemed to come too fast. Six days earlier everyone had just arrived, and now it was almost time to go back home. Before that could happen there were still four games of rugby to play, one of which was of special interest to the host team and tournament organizers.
The first two games were mixed matches, and didn’t count towards final standings. The last two games were played in the evening so that locals could come watch, which they did. First up was Great Britain against the United States, in what ended up being a tourna-ment winning blowout for the Britts. As hard as the US squad tried, they couldn’t keep pace with the experienced GB players and lost 57-28. US coach McGuirk stated afterwards, “I am incredibly proud of this young team, and the experience we had here was fantastic. Given the opportunity we will definitely come to Maximus again.”
The final game of Maximus had the feel of a championship. The stands were filled with fans who were ready to watch some rugby. Brazil needed to win the game by 4 points to take third, and Argen-tina knew this. It was clear from the tipoff that this game was going to be a war, and taking prisoners wasn’t an option. As each quarter passed, the lead was traded back and forth. At the start of the last period it looked like Brazil might make the point spread and win the game. As the clock ticked away the final 90 seconds, Argentina forced Brazil to give up the ball and brought the game to a tie. Eve-ryone was thinking overtime, but Brazil had other plans and went on to win in regulation, 48-46. While the victory wasn’t enough to win Brazil a medal, it was a great game for the home team and their fans.
Congratulations to all of the teams that competed at Maximus. There are many people to thank for Maximus’s success, especially the volunteers, classifiers, referees and tournament staff. Your time and enormous efforts made for an amazing experience! Special recognition is extended to Mr. Luiz Claudio Pereira, Vice President of Brazilian Paralympic Committee, for their tremendous support of wheelchair rugby. Sincere thanks to Matias and Karina Costa for organizing Maximus MMIX so well. There is a rumor that Maximus MMX may be in Miami next year, and if this is true they will have to work extra hard to match the high standards that were set in Brazil.
See next page for pictures from Maximus
Maximus Tournament a Great Success
Global Rugby Calendar Ostrava Cup - September 25-27, 2009 Ostrava, Czech Republic Event Contact - David Lukes Official Website - www.skostrava.cz
IWRF European Zone Championship - October 11-18, 2009 Hillerod, Denmark Event Contact - Mette Holstein Official Website - www.ecwheelchairrugby2009.dk
IWRF America's Zone Championship - Oct. 26- Nov. 1, 2009 Buenos Aires, Argentina Event Contact - Juan Foa Official Website - www.quadrugby.com.ar
IWRF Asia-Oceana Zone Championship - Nov. 2-9, 2009 Christchurch, New Zealand Event Contact - Bill Oughton Official Website - www.wheelblacks.com
Rugbymania 2009 - November 20-22, 2009 Nymburk, Czech Republic Event Contact - David Lukes Official Website - www.rugbymania.wz.cz
North America Cup - June 11-13, 2010 Birmingham, Alabama, USA Event Contact - Patty Cornelius Official Website - www.lakeshore.org
Canada Cup - June 18-20, 2010 Montréal, Canada Event Contact - Patrick Côté Official Website - www.cwsa.ca
2010 IWRF World Championships - Sept. 16-25, 2010 Vancouver, Canada Event Contact - Gail Hamamoto Official Website - www.2010wwrc.com
The Wheelchair Rugby PressThe Wheelchair Rugby Press
During the weekend of July 9-12, a group of United States Quad Rugby Association representatives headed to Mexico City to put on a wheelchair rugby training camp. The group included athletes Sam Gloor (2.0), Seth McBride (2.0), and Jeff Odom (3.0), Referee Andy Miller, Classifier Katie Milner, and PT student Jayece Olson. The experienced team was led by IWRF Americas Zone President, Dan McCauley and player - interpreter, Gabe Nyrkkanen (0.5).
The team was invited to Mexico City to provide instruction for Mex-ico's National wheelchair rugby program. Santiago Duarte, quad rugby player and President of Vida Independiente, organized the event. Camp was hosted at the Paralympic Training Center, and was conducted over four days. The goal of the camp was to con-tinue developing the sport of rugby in Mexico, as well as to prepare the players who attended for future competitions.
The camp included a Referee’s clinic led by Andy Miller, as well as a Classifier's clinic led by Katie Milner and Jayece Olson. The group that participated in the referee’s and classifier's clinics in-cluded 17 local individuals who were physical or occupational ther-apy students, along with other professionals and volunteers. 25 quads attended the clinic from Mexico City and surrounding areas, and had varying levels of experience from beginner to novice.
After the first day of training, the group was divided into separate training sessions which included a basic skills course for recrea-tional level players and an advanced course for players with poten-tial to compete on the national team. The camp concluded on Sun-day with the group splitting in two teams for a full on competition.
Special thanks goes out to the following: Santiago Duarte for host-ing the National Wheelchair Rugby Camp; The Mexican Paralym-pic Federation and Paralympic Training Center for providing the facilities; The representatives from the United States who provided instruction; All of the volunteers in Mexico City who provided trans-portation and assistance; And to each of the participants who re-ceived instruction during the training camp.
Additional thanks go out to individuals who donated rugby chairs to the Mexico rugby program: Dan McCauley, Mark Hansen, Sean Brady, Brad Smith and Travis Murao. Also, thank you Tom Vesco and the staff at Vesco Metal Craft who donated their time and efforts for this event.
Wheelchair Rugby Clinic Held in Mexico City by Gabe Nyrkkanen
“25 quads attended the clinic
from Mexico City and surrounding areas,
and had varying levels of experience
from beginner to novice”
Memories from Maximus Brazil
PHOTOS COURTESY OF PPHOTOS COURTESY OF PAULA BRAATENAULA BRAATEN
The Wheelchair Rugby PressThe Wheelchair Rugby Press
The International Wheelchair Rugby Federation (IWRF) would like to offer its condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Anbritt Olsson, who passed away 4 May, 2009 following a short fight against esophageal and liver cancer. Anbritt had been a sen-ior classifier for IWRF for many years. An outstanding contributor to both Wheelchair Rugby and the Paralympic Movement, Anbritt had a long history with sport for persons with disabilities both in her home nation Sweden and internationally. Anbritt was a leader in sport for persons with a disability and also a well-respected and expert physiotherapist in Sweden.
Anbritt’s diverse background in sport for persons with disabilities included physiotherapist to many Swedish Paralympic Teams, classification and sport governance roles. She was involved in a number of sports in Sweden as a classifier, including wheelchair rugby, swimming and equestrian.
She contributed to the development of wheelchair rugby in Swe-den from the beginning. In 1993, Anbritt attended the Stoke Man-deville Games as a classifier for swimming and decided to attend one of the first classification training workshops for wheelchair rugby in Europe. She soon became the head classifier in Sweden, and was also the head classifier in the European Zone for a num-ber of years.
Over her long history, Anbritt served as a wheelchair rugby classi-fier at countless competitions around the world. She was selected as a classifier for the 2000 Sydney Paralympic Games, the first for wheelchair rugby as a medal sport. However, she was unable to attend because of the impending birth of her daughter Lina. Anbritt classified at the 2002 World Championships in Gothenburg, Swe-den and the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games. She also attended the 2007 Torino Winter Paralympic Games in Italy and the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games in China as a physiotherapist for Team Sweden.
Anbritt was very engaged in classification for wheelchair rugby. She worked on testing, refining and writing classification proce-dures so that the rugby classification system would be better and as fair as possible for all athletes. Anbritt was always firm, fair, and honest. She was always professional and treated everyone with respect, especially in situations where she had to tell “tough truths”.
In addition to being a remarkable classifier, Anbritt was also instru-mental in the education and training of many classifiers in wheel-chair rugby. Several IWRF classifiers got their start in classification because of Anbritt, and many classifiers active today were fortu-
nate to learn from her. One of Anbritt’s most valuable lessons was that once you have made a decision, stick to it and trust your in-stinct, an invaluable lesson for classifying and in other areas of life as well.
Anbritt was known to be a bit rebellious from time to time, particularly when there were stresses that needed to be reduced and fun to be had. Rumor has it that she was involved in the disappearance of a refrigerator stored after the Athens Olympic Games in a basement in the Para-lympic Village that mysteri-ously reappeared in the IWRF classifiers’ apart-ment. Even more celebrated was when she managed to get herself and other IWRF rugby clas-sifiers into the IPC opening ceremony party despite a lack of proper accreditation.
Anbritt was our hero in many ways. For example, she saved the life of one of her fellow classifiers during an event in South African in 2005. While crossing a busy street on the way to the venue, and unaware of the different traffic patterns in South Africa, one of the European classifiers stepped out into heavy traffic. Anbritt quickly and powerfully pulled her back, perhaps saving her life.
She loved working with all of her friends in wheelchair rugby and felt so fortunate to combine her passions for work, wheelchair rugby and traveling the world. She especially enjoyed meeting and working with new friends. Anbritt was very grateful for all the sup-port she received from her IWRF classifier family during her brief fight against cancer.
Anbritt was a respected member of the IWRF and the Paralympic Family and her long history was a testament to her sense of ad-venture, generosity and passion for sport and life. Anbritt meant so much to so many, as a physiotherapist, a classifier and as a friend. Her death is a great loss to so many of us and we will miss her very much.
Her partner Håkan, daughter Lina, a brother and her parents sur-vive her.
In Loving Tribute to the Late Anbritt Olsson
“Rumor has it that Anbritt was
involved in the disappearance of a refrigerator stored after the Athens
Olympic Games in a basement in the Paralympic Village that mysteriously reappeared in the IWRF classifiers’
apartment. ”
2004 Paralympics in Athens. Anbritt at work – L to R – Viola Altmann, NED, Caroline Rule, RSA, Anbritt Olsson, SWE and Deborah Duffield, NZL
Stoke Mandeville 1993. Anbritt Olson, kneeling in front row on right. Also in photo, top row L to R Emilie Newell, CAN (active IWRF classifier), Claire Trask, GBR (active IWRF classifier), Anne Marie Glenn, USA (deceased, co-founder of IWRF classifica-tion system), Denise Anderson, USA, Diane Bulger Tsapos, USA (co-founder of IWRF classification system) and on far R, Giggi Josephson, SWE.
