LondonWRC News... 2018/19
A day to remember... LondonWRC 30Yrs
This past Saturday London Wheelchair Rugby Club celebrated the big three zero. It was a day and night filled with joy and pride. Three decades of a sports club gathered into one hall on the grounds of Harrow Rugby Football Club. It was great to see everyone arrive and catch up with people they knew particularly those who hadn't seen each other for over ten years. From the speeches led by retired Paralympian and now Inspirational speaker Andy Barrow, along with fellow Paralympians Bob O'Shea (original chairman) and Steve Palmer (current chairman) I enjoyed learning more about the club started and how the sport has evolved. Read more >>
NHS – Letter of gratitude
There's always been a lot of pressure on our National Health Service and it seems to be continuously increasing. I personally find most if not all areas are understaffed, underpaid and overworked. An environment with these pressures can cause a lot of stress and most NHS staff carry a lot of weight on their shoulders. Here at LondonWRC a lot of our members have and continue to rely on the NHS. Whether it be one off emergencies, rehab and or regular appointments, we want to show our appreciation. So I've asked a few of our members if there are any departments that aided their recovery or makes their daily lives easier and they'd like to say thank you. As I'm typing I'll tip it off to start... Read more >>
Bernd Best Turnier 2019
It’s not very often London Wheelchair rugby club is ‘as one’. Throughout our domestic season, the club splits into two teams to compete (London Crusaders and London Storm). This allows players to develop and additional game time to hone those skills that get drilled in at training sessions. But every now and then, the club comes together as one, just like we do week in week out at practice. It amasses players that have been developing and proving their worth, sharing the court with seasoned Paralympians. It’s special, infrequent, but truly a privilege to be part of. This year, it meant travelling to Cologne for the bi-annual Bernd Best Turnier. The first time London attended this tournament was 20 years ago, so its one the club always look forward to. Read more >>
National Championships 2019 – LondonWRC Write Up
The 2018/19 GB wheelchair rugby domestic season was concluded this past weekend (6/7 Apr) with the Roma Sport National Championships 2019. Our Crusaders and Storm were both competing in the top tier battling for the title of Cup champions. The format this year was slightly different as five teams faced each other once in a round robin points style tournament.
After heading up to Morningside Arena in Leicester our first game pitched us against each other. As we train together the victor of these London v London games are usually predictable. Crusaders did have a boost to their line-up with newly transferred GB athlete Aaron Phipps. Even so it wasn't enough to hold back the Storm as they charged ahead to a twelve point lead 55-43.
Antibiotic Resistance – Worried?
After being on a few courses last year I started to think about the pills I was popping and remembered a couple of adverts that came out last year. I'm talking Antibiotics. In 2018 I took them for a bladder infection maybe twice, a chest infection, after bladder stone removal and after I had my wisdom teeth out to prevent infection. Four or five courses in a year isn't bad... right? I haven't a clue to this answer so it got me thinking further. Read more >>
Division 1 Super Series 3 – LondonWRC Storm Write Up
The third super series weekend was a repeat schedule for LondonWRC with Storm first up against Solent Sharks, who were, this time short of their German guest player. London got off to a storming start and broke into a strong lead early in the first quarter. By the half, with some slick play, they had consolidated the lead further and by the second half the the lead was a considerable twenty two goals ending with a 58-36 score.
Next up were the newcomers to division one Yorkshire Lions, who put in some spirited play, however, London with its experienced and GB players, was too much for them and the match was won again convincingly by the Storm boys at 55-30.
Division 1 Super Series 2 – Write Up
The past weekend (26th/27th January) was the second instalment for the GBWR Division 1 Super Series, held at the familiar Stoke Mandeville Stadium. Both our London teams, Crusaders and Storm, would be pushing hard to improve our table positions and first weekend results of second and fourth.
The Saturday has three pool games for each team. Crusaders were confident with their first match up was against newly promoted Yorkshire Lions. After taking an early lead Cru had the opportunity to run lines we wouldn't usually and it made for some extra fun interesting wheelchair rugby. The end result was a Crusaders win 62 – 37. At the same time on court two Storm faced Solent Sharks and pulled ahead to win by a twenty point lead 60-40. Read more >>
Division 1 Super Series 1 – Write Up
The GBWR Division One season has officially started as this past weekend (Oct 20th/21st) was the first of three Super Series. Both LondonWRC teams Storm and Crusaders travelled up to Fenton Manor Sports Complex in Stoke-on-Trent to compete with the other six D1 teams. Well sort of, the first surprise of the season was Gaelic Warriors being unable to attend due to insufficient personnel. So to ensure no game time was lost GB constructed a Scrimmage team consisting of athletes from within the talent programme and some additional Division 2 players. I imagine disappointing for the Warriors as they won't score any points but a decent solution. An opportunity for the Scrimmage athletes to get experience and the remaining D1 teams get a no pressure match of wheelchair rugby as they would already win by default. Read more >>