USA Wheelchair Rugby Announces 2018 Training Squad

USA Wheelchair Rugby held their 2018 Training Camp January 3-7 at the Lakeshore Foundation U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Site in Birmingham, AL.

Sixteen athletes were selected to train and compete throughout 2018. They include eight Paralympians Butler, Cohn, Fredette, Scaturro, Delagrave, Melton, Wheeler, and Aoki. Previous national team athletes include Pabon, Jackson, Kennedy, Chun, Daily, and Deller. Milstead and Torres will make their national team debut.

Head Coach James Gumbert said “The athletes who were at camp this week had our selection committee working overtime. Their efforts, sacrifices, and drive displayed some of the best performances to date. What we saw this week was a glimpse into the future of USA Wheelchair Rugby. It is exciting to see the continued growth of our sport.”

2018 Training Squad

0.5 Matt Milstead – Grand Rapids, MI
0.5 Jeff Butler – Austin, TX
1.0 Chad Cohn – Tucson, AZ
1.0 Lee Fredette – Tucson, AZ
1.0 Joe Jackson – Phoenix, AZ
1.5 Adam Scaturro – Lakewood, CO
1.5 Talbot Kennedy – Atlanta, GA
2.0 Joe Delagrave – Prairie du Chien, WI
2.0 Ernie Chun – Phoenix, AZ
2.0 Chuck Melton – Richview, IL
2.5 Jake Daily – Lakewood, CO
2.5 Josh Wheeler – Tucson, AZ
2.5 Alejandro Pabon – Beaumont, TX
3.0 Rob Deller – Acworth, GA
3.0 Chuck Aoki – Minneapolis, MN
3.5 Paco Torres – Tucson, AZ

2017 USA Wheelchair Rugby Review

Tri-Nations Invitational: The Lakeshore Foundation hosted the Tri-Nations Invitational May 10-13 which featured the United States, Canada, and Japan. Japan won the inaugural title over the U.S. and Canada finished third.
Japan Para Wheelchair Rugby Championships: USAWR traveled to Japan for
the Japan Para Wheelchair Rugby Championship May 25-28. The tournament included number one ranked Australia, #2 USA and #3 Japan. USAWR finished on top with a win over Australia in the championship game.
2017 IWRF Americas Zonal Championship: The 2017 IWRF Americas Zonal Championship was held in Paraguay September 5-9. The U.S. went undefeated in the tournament and qualified for the 2018 World Championships in Australia.