Haslemere Wheelchair Rugby Club
Removing barriers and giving disabled people greater access to sport and recreation.
Rough and Tumble of the only wheelchair contact sport
Haslemere Barbarian player Bob O'Shea in action
Wheelchair rugby is now the fastest growing wheelchair sport in the world and is a fully recognised sport at the paralympics. Haslemere Wheelchair Rugby Club, run entirely by volunteers, provides the opportunity for people who have a spinal cord injury to play this fast, furious and exciting game.
The club applied for a grant to cover running costs for its first year of operation. It was awarded £5,000 to contribute towards sports hall hire, purchase of playing equipment and club strip, publicity materials and cost of registering a team in the national wheelchair rugby league.
A club organiser said, “This award has given disabled people a unique opportunity to play sport regularly. It has led to the establishment of a national wheelchair tournament and new annual fair to promote over 30 sport and recreation opportunities for disabled people in Surrey. Awards for All were involved right at the beginning and without this funding we could not have grown.”
