March 2021 - a note from me

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

I have been pleased to see the weather getting warmer in the UK over the last week. This has helped me get out and exercise a lot more easier. The past three months have been cold, wet and dark and this has certainly dampened my spirit. I have been thankful for those moments where I get to see friends and family albeit virtually. Having a focus on wheelchair rugby has also provided me with the much-needed mental challenge that the daily business of an International Federation provides.

I will also hopefully see the country opening up in the next few months although this will be very reliant on receiving positive data in terms of infection and hospitalisation rates continuing to decrease. This is of course very different for many other countries and I wish you all the best as you deal with your local situation.

In terms of competition, one of our long-standing events Canada Cup has had to be cancelled. Our European Championship Division B in Poland continues to work through the many challenges and I'd like to thank all involved for their huge efforts in trying to make this happen.

Tokyo 2020 continue their plans and I'm pleased to see that the playbooks that outline Covid-19 countermeasures are not dissimilar to the "Return to Competition" models that the IWRF have developed.

A large portion of the work that I have been looking at over the last few months relates to our governance review and our vision of being a world leader in Para sport. Of course, this has included many other people. In particular, expertise from an independent consultant as well as ensuring we have sound legal advice throughout the development of various documents. The outcomes of this will ultimately come to fruition at the General Assembly.

The IWRF Board were very aware that this was postponed from 2020 and I'm pleased to announce that we will be hosting a virtual GA on July 17th (18:00 UTC). Perhaps more importantly are the two membership conference calls that we have planned for 29th March and 23rd June (9am & 9pm UTC). The first one will be a full consultation and the opportunity to understand any proposed changes with the second providing final clarity and any last questions. The intention is to ensure that the membership can enter the GA with a full understanding and support of any proposed motions.

More detailed information will be sent directly to Member Nations.

Good luck with whatever your personal circumstances are and I hope you can continue to stay safe and healthy.

Kind Regards

Richard