Great Britain Wins IWRF 2017 European Championship

July 1, 2017

Great Britain Wins IWRF 2017 European Championship

Photo: International Wheelchair Rugby Federation

Doug Coil

The IWRF 2017 European Championship was held on June 27 to July 1 at the Conlog Arean in Koblenz, Germany. This was the 11th European Championship that is held every two years, and the first time that Germany has hosted the event. Great Britain emerged as champions beating Sweden 49-41, while France beat Denmark 53-48 for third.

Eight teams competed in Koblenz, reigning European champions Great Britain #5, Sweden #6, France #7, Denmark #8, host Germany #10, Ireland #11, Poland #12 and Finland #13.

The top four teams, Great Britain, Sweden, France and Denmark, from this event will be invited to the IWRF 2018 World Championship to be held in Sydney, Australia. The teams finishing out of the top four, Poland, Germany, Ireland and Finland, will have a chance to qualify through a Qualification Tournament to be held in early 2018. Other European Zone nations include, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Russia and Switzerland. Countries targeted for future development include Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and the Ukraine.

All games at the IWRF 2017 European Division A Championship were webcast live at Sportdeutschland.TV.

Three of the other teams for GIO 2018 IWRF World Championship in Sydney, Australia will be determined from the 2017 Americas and Asia-Oceania Championships. The 2017 IWRF Asia-Oceania Championship will be held in Auckland, New Zealand, from August 24 to September 1, 2017 with five nations expected to compete for one spot in the GIO 2018 IWRF World Championship. Asia-Oceania nations include, Australia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand and South Africa.

The 2017 IWRF Americas Championship will be held in Asunción, Paraguay, from September 3 to 10, 2017. Ten nations are expected to compete, with the top two finishers earning spots at the World Championship. Zone members include Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Mexico, and the USA. Host Paraguay would join these teams. It is unclear about the other two teams, as Ecuador, Nicaragua, Peru and Uruguay were listed as nations targeted for future development, along with Paraguay.

Nations that do not qualify for the World Championship from these events, as well as teams that did not qualify during the European Championship, will have one more opportunity at the 2018 IWRF World Championship Qualifier, to be held in early 2018.

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