Wakefield become latest club to launch Wheelchair team

The Wakefield Trinity Community Foundation has announced that it will launch a Wheelchair Rugby League team in 2021.

The launch has been made possible by a grant awarded to the Foundation by the CreateBy Rugby League World Cup 2021 Capital Grants Programme which, in partnership with the RFL, Sport England and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, aims to support the legacy of the RLWC2021 by growing grassroots participation.

The team will be set up in the same year where the Wheelchair competition will open the World Cup, and will be built on the back of Trinity’s successful Physical and Learning Disability sides,

Lead of Disability at the Wakefield Trinity Community Foundation, Craig Fisher said: “We have been well-renowned over the past couple of years for our disability section, starting off with Physical Disability, running right through to the launch of our Learning Disability side.

“So, the natural progression for us as a club was to launch a Wheelchair team just in time for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup. As a Foundation, this sort of progression is fantastic. Due to Covid-19, our progress in terms of what we wanted to achieve has been hampered a lot this year.

“I think a lot of the work we do as a Foundation does go under the radar and all the staff involved work tirelessly to make us the best we can be and with the launch of Wheelchair Rugby League, it will hopefully help raise our profile that little bit more.”

RFL chief executive Ralph Rimmer added: “Hosting the Rugby League World Cup in 2021 offers so many opportunities for everyone involved in the game in this country and beyond, and the facilities that will be delivered by the CreatedBy RLWC2021 Capital Grants Programme will be a big part of that transformation.

“The RFL are proud to be involved in that process, and we congratulate all the successful applicants – and look forward to the impact of this unprecedented level of investment in the game for years to come.”

The announcement of the new side comes in tandem with a new documentary focused on the Wakefield Trinity Community Foundation, which is set to be premiered exclusively on YouTube on Saturday 12 December.

The film will follow three of the club’s PDRL players – Connor Lynes, Ben Nicholson and club captain, Darren Dean – who, last summer, travelled to Australia to team up with the Gold Coast legends to face off against the Australian side’s PDRL team at half-time of Titans’ game against Brisbane.