GB Wheelchair Rugby announce line up for King Power Quad Nations
Following the huge success of the inaugural King Power Quad Nations tournament in 2018, Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby have announced their players for the 2019 tournament. The line up includes athletes who have previously represented their country in the Paralympic Games.
Described by spectators and sports commentators as brutal, the supercharged tournament will be held at Leicester’s Morningside Arena from Friday 1 to Sunday 3 March 2019. It brings together three incredible days of the world’s best ‘Murderball’ teams for this intense, elite-standard competition. Competing, Great Britain will be up against Japan, who won the Gold medal at the World Wheelchair Rugby Championships held in Sydney this summer; Canada who is currently ranked fourth in the world and France ranked seventh.
Representing Great Britain will be three Leicester Tigers players - Gavin Walker, Jamie Stead and Leicester University student, Nick Cummins. Along with surprise selection Kylie Grimes - Kylie last played international wheelchair rugby in 2012 and returns to the game following a three-year spell with British Athletics. As an experienced low point player Kylie provides the opportunities to use high pointers Aaron Phipps and Stuart Robinson.
The three-day tournament marks an important performance opportunity for Great Britain ahead of the 2019 European Championships in Denmark where the team will look to defend their title in preparation for the World Wheelchair Rugby Challenge. This event will be played alongside the Rugby World Cup in Tokyo in October 2019 and involve the top eight teams in the world.
Fast paced and violent, players compete in specially-designed, manual wheelchairs and must meet a minimum disability criteria, classifiable under the sport classification rules. All competing athletes have either a congenital or acquired physical impairment, or have had an illness/condition that affects their mobility.
Great Britain Head Coach, Paul Shaw said:
"As always it has been a difficult selection and we have had to leave out some strong and experienced athletes but it’s good to have competition for places and to be able to try some new lines. We have a really good competition programme this year which includes defending our European title in the summer, so we want to get off to a strong start."
David Pond, Chief Executive of Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby said:
"I’m really excited to be returning to Leicester for this tournament which again sees us play some of the top teams in the world, including Japan, recently crowned as World Champions. I like the selection and it’s good to see a female athlete earn a place in the squad. Kylie is proof that if you are good enough then being female is no barrier to making this team. As always I am humbled by the support we are getting from our sponsor King Power and from the many businesses and local people in the city."
2019 Great Britain King Power Quad Nations line up:
Kylie Grimes 0.5 (F)
Jonathan Coggan 0.5
Ryan Cowling 1.0
Nicholas Cummins 1.5
Gavin Walker - Vice Captain 2.0
Chris Ryan - Captain 2.0
Jamie Stead 2.5
James Roberts 3.0
Aaron Phipps 3.5
Stuart Robinson 3.5
