Richmond, BC -- At some games during the 2010 World Wheelchair Rugby Championships, athletes have barely been able to hear each other due to the noise of the standing-room-only crowds. There is, however, a crowd watching the game that the athletes will never hear: those tuning in by webcast.
Viewership of the webcast has exceeded expectations and as well as drawing loyal followers is changing perceptions of disability and attracting new fans worldwide.
"It allows people at home who have supported the athletes for years to finally watch their favourite player live," said 2010 World Wheelchair Rugby Championships webcaster and long-time wheelchair-sports coach Tim Frick.
"Twenty years ago, people would have to wait days to get the results of a game and it was really frustrating. Now, it's just unbelievable. There are literally hundreds of friends and teammates and supporters that surround each athlete and it's fantastic for those people to be able to share the joys and sorrows that players experience live."
Day two of competition received 11,243 views from people in 39 countries.
While the bulk of the viewers were from Canada and the USA, the webcast also received traffic from places as far as Egypt, Bolivia and the United Arab Emirates.
"The numbers from Day Three of the 2010 World Wheelchair Rugby championships are the highest we have every seen," said Choyal Brown, Director of Sportscanada.tv, which is webcasting the event. "We have broadcast over 100 events, and we're predicting the popularity of this event will continue until the end of the tournament."
While webcasting is a useful tool for family and friends to watch their favourite player, it is perhaps more important as a way to increase the visibility of wheelchair sports.
"If you get the opportunity to watch wheelchair rugby, you become a fan,"
said Brown. "That's the goal of our service. Our site already has a large fan base in more mainstream sports and people are definitely taking the opportunity to check out other sports like wheelchair rugby."
Frick also points to webcasting as a way to change attitudes about people with disabilities in countries whose accessibility lags behind Canada's.
"We have many people tuning in who are curious about the sport, but unaware of the capabilities of the athletes on the court," he said. ³It's a great opportunity to educate people about how much these wheelchair athletes can accomplish. For countries that have accessibility issues or don't have exposure to wheelchair sports, the webcast shows them that they can do this at home, which will spur on the growth of wheelchair rugby and wheelchair sports in general."
In the evening session, Australia took a 10 point win over archrivals New Zealand 53-43 and Japan got a much needed win over Belgium 60-59. The final games of the night had Great Britain getting their first win of the tournament over Germany 48-46 and the USA having an easy time against Sweden, who upset Canada earlier in the day, 62-27.
Play continues Friday at the Richmond Olympic Oval at 9:30 a.m. Canada will take on the number-one-ranked American squad in a must-win game tomorrow at
7 pm. All games can be watched at
www.sportscanada.tv<http://www.sportscanada.tv> .Photographs of today's games are available at
http://www.2010wwrc.com/media/media-kit. Please credit BC Wheelchair Sports Association (BCWSA)/Kevin Bogetti-Smith.
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About wheelchair rugby
Wheelchair rugby is a team sport for male and female quadriplegics. The physically demanding full-contact team sport is played indoors on a hardwood basketball court between two teams of four players. It is a unique sport that combines some elements of basketball, handball, and ice hockey, and was created in Canada in1977 by a group of athletes with a disability in Manitoba.
About the 2010 World Wheelchair Rugby Championships
The 2010 World Wheelchair Rugby Championships are taking place at the Richmond Olympic Oval from September 21-26. The tournament will feature teams from 12 countries, including Canada (2002 World Champions), New Zealand (2004 Paralympic Champions), USA (2008 Paralympic Champions) and Australia (2010 Coupe Canada Cup holders). Also competing are Japan, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Great Britain, Poland, Finland and Argentina.
For the full competition schedule, visit
www.2010wwrc.com<http://www.2010wwrc.com> . Tickets will be available at the door. You can also follow the tournament on Twitter: @2010wwrc, Facebook "2010 World Wheelchair Rugby Championships," and at www.sportscanada.tv<http://www.sportscanada.tv> , where games and athlete interviews will be webcast live.Media Contacts
Anna Parisi
604-828-2875
Mital Shamji
778.919.5975
mital.shamji@gmail.com
