Thur 3 Nov: Wheelchair RLWC: England v Australia 19:30

[Harry Stottle]

15 minutes ago, Jughead said:

Surely any club wanting to be an A grade and those that are likely to be B’s that want to be A’s need to be offering more than just a men’s first team. Womens, PDRL, LDRL and wheelchair teams will need to be part of a club, I think. Pathways are no longer just “can we have an Academy?” to the RFL. 

Agree, but how would you facilitate it, all the other forms of Rugby League can be played on the same surface.

[sweaty craiq]

Watching these guys always brings a tear to my eyes, their courage and commitment is unbelievable.

[Jughead]

3 minutes ago, Harry Stottle said:

Agree, but how would you facilitate it, all the other forms of Rugby League can be played on the same surface.

I don’t believe there isn’t a town in the country without a sports hall of some kind. 

[Harry Stottle]

1 minute ago, Jughead said:

I don’t believe there isn’t a town in the country without a sports hall of some kind. 

But with enough room for spectators, surely that must come into the equation.

[JonM]

3 minutes ago, Harry Stottle said:

Agree, but how would you facilitate it, all the other forms of Rugby League can be played on the same surface.

Running an amateur team - you need a large sports hall to rent a couple of times per week, some wheelchairs, players, coaches, referees, money for travel and you're done. Most clubs are not going to be able to run a professional team due to lack of suitable spectator facilities.

[Harry Stottle]

2 minutes ago, Jughead said:

I don’t believe there isn’t a town in the country without a sports hall of some kind. 

I did offer an alternative, but some rejected that outright.

[JonM]

2 minutes ago, Jughead said:

I don’t believe there isn’t a town in the country without a sports hall of some kind. 

The full size international rules pitch for wheelchair RL is actually pretty big in comparison with your standard local council sports hall. 

[Harry Stottle]

Just now, JonM said:

Running an amateur team - you need a large sports hall to rent a couple of times per week, some wheelchairs, players, coaches, referees, money for travel and you're done. Most clubs are not going to be able to run a professional team due to lack of suitable spectator facilities.

Could do with what I suggested earlier Jon.

[gingerjon]

2 minutes ago, JonM said:

The full size international rules pitch for wheelchair RL is actually pretty big in comparison with your standard local council sports hall. 

Yes - it looked like there was less room around the edges than for when it's used for basketball and netball - which is the 'standard' when it comes to municipal sports halls a lot of the time.

[Jughead]

3 minutes ago, JonM said:

The full size international rules pitch for wheelchair RL is actually pretty big in comparison with your standard local council sports hall. 

Are the domestic rules the same? All clubs in the wheelchair super league appear to play in council/privately owned sports halls, from what I can see. 

[JonM]

1 minute ago, Harry Stottle said:

Could do with what I suggested earlier Jon.

Not having played, I don't know how practical it would be to play outdoors with rain & wind etc. Presumably different chairs would be needed for a game on grass rather than a hard surface, and it would be rather slower.

[JonM]

Just now, Jughead said:

Are the domestic rules the same? All clubs in the wheelchair super league appear to play in council/privately owned sports halls, from what I can see. 

Presumably teams simply play on less than full-size pitches, exactly like we do in the running version of the game. 

I guess you could imagine a situation where say Warrington and/or Widnes take big games to Ellesmere Port (1400 seater arena) and so on elsewhere in the country.

[Dave T]

I don't think providing all forms should necessarily be a requirement, but it should be looked on very positively. 

[Dave T]

13 minutes ago, Harry Stottle said:

I did offer an alternative, but some rejected that outright.

An alternative? What's the details of this hard surface that is easily installed then removed from an outdoor stadium? 

[Jughead]

14 minutes ago, Dave T said:

I don't think providing all forms should necessarily be a requirement, but it should be looked on very positively. 

No, maybe I should have been clearer. A requirement, certainly not, but it should be looked upon favourably if clubs have multiple teams and certainly if I were Halifax, for example, if/when pathways are discussed for the IMG grading I would be making the point of trim having a wheelchair team and womens team despite not having an academy. 

Edited November 4, 2022 by Jughead

[Dave T]

12 minutes ago, Jughead said:

No, maybe I should have been clearer. A requirement, certainly not, but it should be looked upon favourably if clubs have multiple teams and certainly if I were Halifax, for example, if/when pathways are discussed for the IMG grading I would be making the point of trim having a wheelchair team and womens team despite not having an academy. 

Agreed. 

 

[Harry Stottle]

1 hour ago, JonM said:

Not having played, I don't know how practical it would be to play outdoors with rain & wind etc. Presumably different chairs would be needed for a game on grass rather than a hard surface, and it would be rather slower.

I didn't say play it on grass Jon, I said that in this day and age surely an interlocking flat surface could be devised that was quickly and easily constructed and dismantled, you must not have read that. 

[Harry Stottle]

1 hour ago, Dave T said:

An alternative? What's the details of this hard surface that is easily installed then removed from an outdoor stadium? 

You don't think that could be acheived? What field do you work in Dave?

[Dave T]

8 minutes ago, Harry Stottle said:

You don't think that could be acheived? What field do you work in Dave?

I'm interested in something that is there at the moment. Because logistically it doesn't sound like a little 20 minute job to setup and remove. It's a big job for them to even set up a stage for a singer. 

If your solution is that we need somebody to invent something, then I'd suggest it ain't a great solution. 

I work in finance, although not sure of the relevance. 

[Harry Stottle]

16 minutes ago, Dave T said:

I'm interested in something that is there at the moment. Because logistically it doesn't sound like a little 20 minute job to setup and remove. It's a big job for them to even set up a stage for a singer. 

If your solution is that we need somebody to invent something, then I'd suggest it ain't a great solution. 

I work in finance, although not sure of the relevance. 

I have been in engineering all my life Dave, and been privvy to  many projects and innovations that you would think impossible, just off the top of my head for an example if some 80 years ago it was possible to put a sectional pre fabricated construction on water in little time, then it should not be beyond even the imagination of a number cruncher to believe this could be easily acheived on a flat hard surface. 

Edited November 4, 2022 by Harry Stottle

[whatmichaelsays]

23 minutes ago, Harry Stottle said:

I didn't say play it on grass Jon, I said that in this day and age surely an interlocking flat surface could be devised that was quickly and easily constructed and dismantled, you must not have read that. 

The only thing that I think could come close to being suitable is the sort of plastic covering you see at music events, but these are less "quick and easy" and more "team of people with forklift trucks taking a day or more" type of logistics. 

[Dave T]

Just now, Harry Stottle said:

I have been in engineering all my life Dave, and been privvy many projects and innovations that you would think impossible, just off the top of my head for an example if some 80 years ago it was possible to put a sectional pre fabricated construction on water in little time, then it should not be beyond even the imagination of a number cruncher to believe this could be easily acheived on a flat hard surface. 

Oh I don't think it's impossible at all Harry. I understand everything can be done with enough effort and money. But I don't think we should be looking to invent something just so we can stage wheelchair RL outdoors before running RL games. 

[Harry Stottle]

4 minutes ago, Dave T said:

Oh I don't think it's impossible at all Harry. I understand everything can be done with enough effort and money. But I don't think we should be looking to invent something just so we can stage wheelchair RL outdoors before running RL games. 

OK

[jacksy]

Please don't try and change it. It could be something incredible. Lets not ruin it.

[MatthewWoody]

Reading all this thread's pages is refreshing. 

I had followed the previous WRLWC and covered it for Italian RL with social media stuff and articles and I had found it absolutely entertaining and fun. 

Happy to see it's growing and more people are appreciating. 

Here is my interview to Robert Fassolette, then head coach of Italy WRL and creator of the game:

https://www.mondosportivo.it/2017/07/10/con-robert-fassolette-alla-scoperta-del-wheelchair-rugby-league/

(After the article in Italian scroll down for to English version).

+

The final was epic. 

Edited November 7, 2022 by MatthewWoody