Wheelchair rugby: Bristol plan elite-level development team
Last updated on .From the section Disability Sport
Bristol Rugby aim to run an elite-level development wheelchair rugby squad in the future, reports BBC Radio Bristol.
The Premiership club already organise inclusive sessions for disabled juniors and adults together with Bristol Sport.
"We've got young people who are desperate to play, compete and win, not just to take part and have fun," Kris Tavender, Spectrum Project programme manager, told BBC Radio Bristol.
"Where can they go out and have a good game? Where can they win and lose?"
Tavender added: "The taster sessions alone have shown us there's a real drive and passion at grassroots level, not just for participation but for meaningful competition."
Bristol's Spectrum project has been running for 18 months in local special schools and at community centres, and was shortlisted for a Premiership rugby community award in June.
"What we're really looking to develop is a genuinely open-access, meaningful club for young people aged seven to 19, with all range of additional needs and physical disabilities," Tavender added.
"We will have everything from simply tag games, all the way through to our elite level development wheelchair rugby club in the future."
Reporting by BBC Radio Bristol's Chloe Ball-Hopkins.
Hear more on BBC Radio Bristol's The Scrum from 18:00-19:00 BST on Tuesday, 11 October.
