Wheelchair Rugby League Team needs your help

A Wheelchair Rugby league team is on the look out for players and sponsors to ensure their continued growth. Wheelchair Rugby League is an inclusive sport that offers both disabled and non-disabled players the opportunity to compete both with and against each other on a level playing field.

The Torfaen Tigers Wheelchair Rugby League Team, launched in 2020, is appealing for help in recruiting new players and sponsors to fund specially-adapted wheelchairs. The team, which is made up of both disabled and non-disabled male and female players, is based in Torfaen, Wales, and is currently in the Championship West League. It became the first community club in Wales to launch a Wheelchair Rugby League Team.

Wheelchair Rugby League is an inclusive sport that offers both disabled and non-disabled players the opportunity to compete both with and against each other on a level playing field. The rules are nearly identical to the running game of rugby league with slight adaptations. It’s played on an indoor court with a slightly smaller ball and a player must remove a tag from the shoulder of an opponent to tackle them. Anyone from the age of 14 can play, and all you need to be able to do is to push a manual wheelchair and take instruction from the coach.

The team trains every Friday night at Pontypool Leisure Centre, with 15 registered players from a range of backgrounds, including a Pastor, veterans, and students from across South Wales. The team’s head coach, Lyndon Price, who is a veteran himself and competed in the Invictus Games with his son in 2014, said they ideally need another five players. With matches being five-a-side, 80-minutes long, and fast-paced, having enough substitutes and more players will make training more realistic.

According to Mr. Price, the team desperately needs sponsorship to support funding for lighter and specially-fitted wheelchairs, kit, training, and away game costs. The players currently cover the cost of the indoor court hire and travel to away games themselves. He added that sponsorship would be a great opportunity for businesses to get their name on Torfaen Tiger’s wheelchairs, kit, and banners at an exciting time for wheelchair rugby league.

The cost of a competition-standard, specially manufactured rugby wheelchair frame costs around £3,000 without wheels, which cost an additional £200 to £700. The wheelchairs are made-to-measure for the player, weighing seven kilos, compared to the team’s current 15 kilo chairs. Being able to upgrade their equipment would mean that they are on a level playing field with their competitors.

The team has been invited to Wrexham in May to take part in the Peacock Cup 2023, an annual tournament which will see them play against the North Wales Crusaders, Sheffield Eagles, and Rochdale Hornets. Additionally, the team has been approached to become founding members of a new Welsh League, with plans to launch it in the summer.

If you’re interested in learning more about sponsorship opportunities or want to come along to a training session (held on a Friday night between 7pm and 9pm), contact Lyndon Price at Lyndon@tigerswrl.co.uk.