Wheelchair Rugby League 2015

We are approaching the beginning of the 2015 Wheelchair Rugby League Season and the Official Season Launch will take place at Morley Leisure Centre on Sunday March 8.

2014 was very successful, providing a vibrant domestic competition which provided opportunities for all to participate and belong as players, coaches, match officials and volunteers.

The Grand Final took place in Bradford and resulted in a victory for Leyland Warriors, overcoming Mersey Storm and Halifax in the Grand Finals.

The inaugural Home Nations was also a huge success, pitched at the right level and gave a huge boost to our Representative and International competitions, which are so important to our continued development. Scotland, Ireland and Wales had all moved on from the 2013 World Cup and are growing in depth and strength.

2015 promises to be even more successful with the introduction of the Wheelchair Rugby League Challenge Cup and, a first ever, European Championships at the end of the year.

The England WhRL Open Trials process has been huge and engaged over 50 players and will undoubtedly have a positive impact on all of our clubs as the learning and development will shared by all of our clubs and continue to raise our standards on and off the playing field.

2015 will also see the introduction of a WhRL specific one day Coach Education Course in the next few weeks.

This will reflect the changes in the running game coach education programme and has been specially designed for Wheelchair Rugby League.

This education programme ties in further development opportunities for Match Officials, building on great progress since the World Cup and the WhRL Match Officials team now numbers twelve.

Internationally we are making great progress. We have a common set of Laws across the globe and we are engaging at club level with our cousins in France with Catalan Dragons and Toulouse set to tour in 2015.

The International Programme has been carefully developed with the RLEF and RFL to ensure we are on track for the 2017 World Cup which is due to take place alongside the running game World Cup in Sydney.

Crucially, we have attracted a major sponsor with the signing of Lend Lease, the international property and infrastructure group, on a four year deal.

Lend Lease will be title sponsors of the competition, here and in Australia, as well as the primary sponsor for the national teams. http://www.lendlease.com/

The Management Team meets on the third Thursday of each month, alternating between Brighouse (Holiday Inn) and Manchester (RFL @ Media City) and meetings are open to all to contribute to.

Phill Roberts, GB Head Coach and Steve Abel, Match Officials Development Officer are regular attendees and are helping shape our future.

Martin Coyd, Chair of WhRL said, “Wheelchair Rugby League has made great progress in the past 12 months and achieved some notable successes under the energy, guidance and leadership of the Wheelchair Rugby League Management Group.

“It is a diverse team with different backgrounds and travels East, West and North for the monthly meetings.

“We aim to ensure that all of our players, coaches, match officials and volunteers have an opportunity to be a part of the Rugby League Family.”

“I believe that, due to the inclusive nature of our sport, that we can go global and become a truly international version of The Greatest Game.

“By working together and ensuring we do the right thing for everyone, we can build on strong foundations and create a sustainable future for everyone.

“We have attracted admiration and support from sponsors, councils, politicians and national and international sports bodies, ensuring our future is very bright.”

“I would like to say a big thank you to all of those people, who pull up trees each and every week, making our game work and providing opportunities for everyone in our community to participate, grow, enjoy and have a great time playing, officiating, watching and volunteering in Wheelchair Rugby League.”