USA Wheelchair Rugby traveled to Tokyo this week for the 2016 Japan Para Wheelchair Rugby Championships May 18-21st. The U.S. will face Australia, Great Britain and Japan during the four day tournament. The action kicks off for the Americans on Wednesday, May 18th when they face Australia at 12 midnight EDT. The event in Tokyo is the first international tournament for the newly named training squad for the U.S.
All of the games will be live streamed at http://www.ustream.tv/search?q=jpc99 and all matches will be recapped on the usawr.org website.
About USA Wheelchair Rugby
Wheelchair Rugby was invented in Canada in 1977. Originally known as “murderball” because of its intense physical nature, the sport’s name was changed to wheelchair rugby. By 1993 wheelchair rugby was officially recognized as a sport for athletes with disability and the International Wheelchair Rugby Federation was founded. In 1994 Wheelchair Rugby was recognized by the International Paralympic Committee as a Paralympic sport and made its Paralympic debut as a demonstration event in Atlanta in 1996. It became a medal sport in Sydney in 2000, where the United States won the gold medal. In 2013, USA Wheelchair Rugby partnered with USA Rugby in order to collaborate in the growth of Rugby in America.
Lakeshore Foundation, a U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Site in Birmingham, Alabama, serves as the High Performance Management Organization for USA Wheelchair Rugby under contract with the United States Olympic Committee. With a unique combination of activity, research and advocacy Lakeshore is a leader in their field. Learn more about USA Wheelchair Rugby and Lakeshore Foundation at www.lakeshore.org.
USA Wheelchair Rugby is proudly supported by Liberty Mutual Insurance. Liberty Mutual Insurance is the official property and casualty and life insurance partner of the U.S. Olympic Committee for the 2016 Olympic Games and 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The company also is the proud sponsor and partner of several national governing bodies, including ASA/USA Softball, U.S. Rowing, U.S. Soccer Federation, US Youth Soccer, USA Hockey, USA Volleyball, USA Water Polo and USA Wrestling.
For more information contact Jen Remick at jenr@lakeshore.org or 205.999.4944