London Wheelchair Rugby Win

London Wheelchair Rugby Club Storm has won the BT Wheelchair Rugby National Championships at the Copper Box Arena in London’s Queen Elizabeth Park. 

The event was the first in a three year partnership between Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby (GBWR) and BT, a long-term supporter of disability sport in the UK, and saw over a thousand spectators turning up to watch the action.
Most Valued Player award went to Ayaz Bhuta from Southport’s West Coast Crash, but it was Storm that grabbed the top spot ahead of the Kent Crusaders, with West Coast Crash in third place and new squad Canterbury winning the second division BT Challenge Shield.

David Pond, chief executive of Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby (GBWR) said: “The fact that we had 16 teams playing in our national championships this year is testament to the success of the London 2012 legacy.”

The Championships also gave spectators the chance to try out the sport, with over 200 taking up the opportunity.  Community Partners Harlequins were on hand to lead skills sessions and Motivate East introduced over 100 young people to other recreational sports.

Later this year international Wheelchair Rugby teams from Australia (London 2012 Gold medallists); Canada (Silver); USA (Bronze); New Zealand; South Africa; Japan and France, will return to the Copper Box Arena to join Great Britain for the highly anticipated BT World Wheelchair Rugby Challenge that will run alongside the Rugby World Cup from 12 to 16 October 2015.