Ticket sales open for first World Wheelchair Rugby Challenge
Tickets have gone on sale for the inaugural World Wheelchair Rugby Challenge, due to take place at the Copper Box Arena on London's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park from October 12 to 16.
Some 50,000 tickets are available for the event, which will see London 2012 Paralympic gold medallists Australia lead an eight-team line-up, which also includes the hosts, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, United States, France and Japan.
Session tickets for the competition, which will run alongside the Rugby World Cup, are priced from £5 ($7.50/€7), with the most expensive costing £45 ($67/€61). Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby chief executive David Pond said:
"Our aim is to provide a world-class event for the public and the many Rugby World Cup visitors to England, it will also be a great opportunity for the GB team to play the best in the world a year out from Rio. Alongside the event we will be teaming up with London partners to host a community festival on Sunday October 11, which we hope will attract anyone interested in having fun in a chair."
The tournament schedule will see teams battle for group supremacy over the first three days of competition, before the play-off phase is due to commence on October 15 and the medals are awarded on October 16.
London 2012 silver medallists Canada will join New Zealand, South Africa and the US in Group A, while Group B features Australia, Great Britain, France and Japan. BT Group marketing and brand director, Suzi Williams, said:
"Disability sport doesn't just inspire us all to be the best we can be, it's also about world class athletes and competition at the highest level. The BT World Wheelchair Rugby Challenge is a fantastic opportunity for the GB squad to test themselves against some of the best teams in the world, and I urge people to buy tickets and get behind the GB team this October."
