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2008 News and Information
Richmond Oval to Host 2010 World Wheelchair Rugby Championships
18 January 2008The City of Richmond congratulated the BC Wheelchair Sports Association and the Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association on winning the rights to host the 2010 World Wheelchair Rugby Championships. The Richmond Oval will be the site of those championships from September 16-25, 2010.
“This will be a significant and memorable event for our community. Wheelchair rugby is a fast and exciting sport and Canada is one of the top ranked nations,” said Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie. “These championships will be an important milestone in fulfilling our vision for the Richmond Oval to be an ongoing international centre of excellence for sports and wellness. It is also a great way to reinforce our commitment to support the development of wheelchair and other Paralympic sports and to ensure the Oval is accessible to every member of our community.”
Wheelchair rugby is a sport created in Canada, by Canadians, for athletes who are quadriplegic. With mechanics and rules borrowed from team handball, ice hockey and basketball, wheelchair rugby is the only full contact sport played in sports for athletes with a disability.
Wheelchair rugby was the fan favourite at the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, Australia and in Athens in 2004. Canada placed third at the past world championships.
The championships will host 12 countries and 144 athletes over six days of competition.
“Canada faced some tough competition in winning the rights to the 2010 championships and the BC and Canadian wheelchair associations are to be congratulated on putting together a winning bid. We looked forward to working with together with them to make the 2010 championships the best ever,” said Brodie.
