2010WWRC Press Release

Richmond, BC, CAN -- BC Wheelchair Sports Association, host of the 2010 World Wheelchair Rugby Championships (2010 WWRC), congratulates the City of Richmond on the Grand Opening of the Richmond Oval.

“It is an exciting day for everyone to see this magnificent structure completed,” said Kathy Newman, Executive Director of BC Wheelchair Sports and co-chair of the World Wheelchair Rugby Championships which will be held at the Oval September 17 – 26, 2010.

“Our compliments go out to everyone involved who not only brought this great facility to fruition for the Olympic Games, but who also had the foresight to provide a world class facility for events such as the WWRC. The availability of this facility was key to our being able to win the bid for the 2010 WWRC, which will be a big boost for the sport of wheelchair rugby in Canada.”

The top 12 ranked wheelchair rugby teams in the world will compete in the tournament which will attract over 400 athletes, coaches, officials, delegates and volunteers. Competition will take place on the hardwood courts in the centre of the Oval. Two major wheelchair rugby events at the Oval in the spring of 2009 – the Vancouver Invitational and the Canadian National Championships – will be test events for the 2010 WWRC.

“To see wheelchair rugby being played in such a facility, right in our own backyard, with the eyes of the world on us, is going to be very gratifying,” said Duncan Campbell, one of the founders of the sport that captured the imagination of the public with the film “Murderball”, the name originally given to the sport. Campbell is a member of the 2010 WWRC organizing committee.

Trevor Hirschfield, who was a member of Team Canada at the Beijing Paralympic Games, and one of the Team Canada’s hottest prospects, Travis Murao (both from Richmond) will be at the 2010 WWRC display at the Oval opening Friday evening, December 12. They will be meeting their fans and talking about the sport and the upcoming Championships. Wheelchair rugby is one of only six sports that has been designated a Canadian Heritage Sport.