In 1977 in Canada, a group of physically disabled friends invented "Murderball". When the Paralympic movement adopted the sport for the paralympic games, they were alleged to have said that they cannot give out medals for a sport called murderball (not sure why?), so they changed it to the name we recognise today, "wheelchair rugby", despite the fact that the sport has about as much in common with traditional rugby, as Ants do with Elephants, they simply share half a name.

 

However, this does not mean the sport is not exciting! Far from it, it is a mixed gender sport, that in our case, is welcoming and inclusive to everyone. The founder of The Vale of Glamorgan Wheelchair Rugby Club has witnessed first hand how prejudiced clubs in this sport can be, from the horrendous treatment for those who identify differently to some people's skewed idea of normality to being ejected from a club for speaking out. He has also been subject to a hate crime, been threatened with physical violence (despite being a wheelchair user) and deliberately physically hurt. (Just to clarify there is only a small number of bad eggs in the wheelchair rugby basket, vast majority of people are friendly and welcoming).

 

So, he decided to set up a club in the Vale of Glamorgan to do what many of the other clubs do, and that is things properly. We are not concerned by your gender or sexual identity, religion, fashion sense, what disability you have (we see ability, not disability), or any other aspect of your life, everyone is equal and gets treated as an individual and with respect and if you have an issue you want to discuss, then it is confidential and treated seriously.

 

The Vale of Glamorgan wheelchair rugby club (The Rams - I know this seems like a male nickname, but Dragons had already gone and we didn't want to be called the leeks or Daffodils! And our mascot is called Ramona, so you can read into that what you wish.) is here to provide fun by way of wheelchair rugby, in a safe and respectful environment, with a few social occasions thrown in for good measure, come and give us a try!