New Style of Wheelchair Rugby in Salt Lake City

Midvale, UTAH (October 12, 2009)
by Matt Bambrough

Wheel chair rugby athletes take a minute to pose in front of a painting depicting the sport at the newly renovated Copperview Rec Center

Utah Wheelchair Rugby is mixing it up a little bit with a new clinic format.  Wheelchair rugby athletes from Oregon, California, Southern Utah, Minnesota and the Wasatch Front came to participate in a clinic that had the best of both worlds.

Wheelchair rugby clinics have a lot of helpful instruction but sometimes lack the luster of something similar to a Summer Blast where there is a lot of action and court time. The 2nd annual “Utah Bash & Clinic” held September 18-20 at the nearly 4 million-dollar expansion and renovated Copperview Recreation Center in Midvale, Utah, was packed with instruction and action.

The co-clinicians were a perfect fit for the up-and-coming talent of Utah rugby players and visiting players alike. Paralympic gold-medalist Will Groulx and the very decorated rugby veteran Rick Draney, shared their amazing wealth of knowledge to the group who could not get enough. In addition to the instruction there was also a “Summer Blast” format introduced to the clinic for the first time this year. There was open court time for back-to-back games, enough playing time for athletes to know that they needed to be in better shape, and plenty of banging around to get some good bumps and bruises. Not only was it the best of both worlds with instruction and open court, but new and veteran players alike got the chance to play with world-class athletes like Will Groulx and Rick Draney, as well as members of Team USQRA Tim Ostler & Josh Wheeler.

The newly renovated 11,000-square-foot gym was a perfect venue for the event and is a possible host to future Utah tournaments. With this new expansion to the rec center, it will also be the new practice location for the local rugby teams, the Utah Haggis and Utah Scorpions. It will also serve as the headquarters for Salt Lake County adaptive wheelchair sports, including the Utah Wheelin’ Jazz and power soccer.

For more information about the adaptive sports at the Copperview Rec Center visit http://www.recreation.slco.org/adaptive/ or for information about the local Utah rugby teams visit
Utah Haggis web site for the Haggis and Utah Scorpions web site for the Utah Scorpions.