Nottwil to host wheelchair rugby Worlds qualifier

“International Wheelchair Rugby tournaments have a long tradition in Switzerland. It is a big honour to have been awarded the right to host this important Tournament."

The International Wheelchair Rugby Federation (IWRF) has announced that Nottwil, Switzerland, will host the IWRF 2018 World Championship Qualification Tournament. The event will be held at the Swiss Paraplegic Centre in Nottwil from 2-9 April.

The Qualification Tournament will bring together eight countries to determine which will qualify for the last four positions at the GIO 2018 IWRF World Championship, to be held in Sydney, Australia, from 5-10 August.

Nottwil was selected from several host applicants by a competitive bid process. Roger Suter, President of the Nottwil Organising Committee, said: “International Wheelchair Rugby tournaments have a long tradition in Switzerland. It is a big honour to have been awarded the right to host this important Tournament. The organising committee and Wheelchair Sport Switzerland are looking forward to welcoming the world’s best Wheelchair Rugby players to the well-known facilities in Nottwil.”

Kathy Newman, Chair of the IWRF Competitions Committee, said “We were lucky to receive a number of excellent bids to host this event. The countries that will compete in Nottwil can be confident they will have the best possible opportunity to show why they should qualify for the World Championship.”

In addition to the host country Switzerland, invitations to the Qualification Tournament will be sent to the top-ranked countries from each IWRF Zone that have not yet qualified for the World Championship, including Brazil, Colombia, Germany, Ireland, South Korea, New Zealand and Poland. The top four teams from the Qualification Tournament will join Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Japan, Sweden, and the USA at the World Championship in Sydney.