Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby (GBWR)
GBWR were instrumental in helping us set up a wheelchair rugby club in the north east.
It all begins with an idea.
Who are the GBWR?
Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby Limited (GBWR) is the National Governing Body (NGB) for the game of wheelchair rugby in England, Scotland and Wales, is a registered charity[1] and company limited by guarantee[2], and is a full member of the International Wheelchair Rugby Federation (IWRF) and of the British Paralympic Association (BPA). GBWR is funded through public, commercial and individual investment and its mission is to build wheelchair rugby communities where athletes, officials and volunteers all enjoy being part of a team. It is a values based organization which aims to be inclusive, accessible and supportive of all who wish to be part of the sport.
Wheelchair rugby is a London 2012 legacy success story and GBWR has grown the sport from a domestic league with a single division comprised of 7 teams, to one which now has 3 divisions providing competition opportunities for 20 teams. The domestic league is internationally recognised for its high level of competition, where it regularly sees international players from Europe joining domestic teams and strengthening the level of competition. The domestic league culminates with the RMA Sport sponsored National Championships.
GBWR offers the sport for young people and our junior programme provides an opportunity for those aged 8-17 years to experience wheelchair rugby in a junior-only environment which currently has over 90 youngsters playing the game regularly.
In addition, GBWR delivers programmes in all national Spinal Injury Units and in military rehabilitation centres, in conjunction with the charity ‘Help for Heroes’. GBWR provides the coaching and support for the Invictus wheelchair rugby team, where Great Britain took the gold medal in 2015.
In recent years GBWR has developed a new discipline of the game aimed at attracting those with greater functionality than the Paralympic discipline permits. Wheelchair Rugby 5s allows us to reach more people with wheelchair rugby. Although in its infancy, the discipline has proved popular with new teams developing across the country.
The GB national team are the current European Champions, having taken the gold medal a record total of 6 times since 1995, and are currently ranked 4th in the world. GB achieved 4th position at the 2018 IWRF World Championships in Sydney, Australia.
GBWR activities are funded through a mix of government, National Lottery and commercial funding through sponsorship agreements. Sport England recognised the success of GBWR’s grassroots delivery with a 4 year award totalling £1.4M. Having lost UK Sport funding for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games cycle, the GB team initiated the #saveGBWR fundraising campaign which garnered publicity through media and public support, helping us to provide a competitive programme for the GB team. In addition to the aforementioned partners, GBWR has secured a number of commercial partnerships, including King Power, ISPS Handa, BT and LMAX Exchange, and support from the Lloyd’s of London insurance market. GBWR also has a long-standing partnership with the Rugby Football Union, which provides a generous donation and value-in-kind office services; links with the rugby community are further strengthened through club partnerships including Leicester Tigers, Gloucester, Canterbury and others.
Mission
“To lead, promote, grow and support wheelchair rugby for the enjoyment for all in England, Scotland and Wales, inspiring and achieving excellence in everything we do.”
Values
Everyone involved with GBWR is expected to follow the core values of our sport:
Enjoyment: We want everyone who includes wheelchair rugby in their lives, whether as a player, a member of staff, an official or a volunteer, to love everything about the sport: the excitement, its contact and the feeling of belonging to a community.
Excellence: Everyone involved will strive to be the best at everything they do.
Trust: The wheelchair rugby family believes in honesty, integrity and fair play.
Respect: People involved with the game and all who come into contact with the sport have respect for one another.
Inclusiveness: Wheelchair rugby is open to anyone who shares our values of the sport. People will help each other to reach their goals: treating them fairly and equally.
Teamwork: All those in wheelchair rugby are part of a team and part of the wheelchair rugby family.
Our values are reflected in our Codes of Conduct – standards of behaviour all involved with the sport in Great Britain are expected to display: Board Members, employees, Members and volunteers. We will only work with partners who respect our values and demonstrate a commitment to them.