Lockdown Helps Wheelchair Sport In The North East.

New Corporate Sponsors Help Promote Wheelchair Sport In the North East

Newcastle Wheelchair Rugby Club Goes Online

The club is looking to attract more corporate sponsors in the North East.

Wheelchair Rugby Club secures the purchase of 6 new chairs through fundraising in lockdown and a new website. Stelrad & SeaPigs partnered to create the club's new website to promote the club and raise awareness of wheelchair sport in the north east. The club is looking to expand and the website is a new tool allowing them to reach more people in the North East and beyond.

A huge thank you to Stelrad, who have also donated two new specially adapted wheelchairs to the newly renamed ‘North East Barbarians Wheelchair Rugby Team’. The club also purchased 4 second hand chairs from Yorkshire making up the 6 new chairs. The club also has a seventh wheelchair on order, this chair was paid for by charitable grants.

Running the club costs approximately £10,000 a year. While all the players pay monthly subscriptions, it is vital that they raise additional funds from local businesses and get grants from charitable sources to cover costs and keep the club in the black.

The team changed its name from ‘Newcastle Wheelchair Rugby Club’ to more accurately reflect the club which has players and supporters from Morpeth in the north of the area, and as far south as Hartlepool.

Ex-rugby player Mick Armstrong is now the man behind the club and he is delighted with the additional two wheelchairs from Stelrad. He said:

“The club is reliant on volunteers to run it, and corporate sponsorship can ensure we have the necessary equipment to keep functioning as a community team and we are always looking for new corporate sponsors?”

Adam Robson, Head Coach, says:

“It’s gifts like this one from Stelrad that keep the club growing and enable us to offer the sport to more athletes - who need to compete in wheelchairs in the first place.”

Stelrad’s Head of Marketing, Chris Harvey, added:

“It’s a great sport to watch and you quickly realise why the wheelchairs need to be adapted to cope with the robust nature of the game with regular full blooded collisions and no holds barred interceptions.”

Layth Abdulla the Club Founder: “We were delighted with these two additional wheelchairs for the club and the Newcastle Falcons helped us secure the new chairs. These are strange and challenging times for manufacturing businesses, but we’re pleased that Stelrad were able to help the club. We are so grateful for their continued support.”

Stelrad also provides support and sponsorship to the Newcastle Falcons in the Rugby Premiership.

The new club has a page dedicated to corporate sponsorship, with packages ranging from as little as £200 to sponsor a player. The club is delighted to have six players sponsored by the following brands: Hollister, Albany Contract Furniture and SeaPigs.

Check out the club's new website and there are a number of ways you can help.

Become a player or volunteer - Make a donation - Corporate sponsorship.

The club has the first of their four tournaments this year at Durham University on Saturday the 7th of August (The Big Rugby Return), which is set up by the GBWR (Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby) the governing body of the national ‘Rugby Fives’ competition. Due to COVID-19 the team have not competed since 2019, when they finished third in their first UK national ‘Rugby Fives’ tournament.

Lockdown has helped the club to grow by using the time to raise investment from both corporate sponsorship and grants, to secure the club financially. This additional investment is allowing us to attract more players and Promote Wheelchair Sport in The North East.

Many Thanks

Newcastle Wheelchair Rugby

North East Barbarians Wheelchair Rugby

#RugbyWheels

Newcastle Thunder Wheelchair Rugby League

#WheelsOfThunder