Wheelchair Rugby Australia Transitions Independent

After the national development of the sport, Disability Sports Australia (DSA) has announced that Wheelchair Rugby Australia (WRA) will become an independent organisation.

The announcement will see WRA general manager at DSA, Chris Nay, become the WRA CEO.

Commenting on the partnership, Nay, said: “I am honoured to have been appointed as the inaugural CEO of Australia’s newest sporting organisation.”

“The wheelchair rugby community is more aligned than I have seen it in my time in the sport, and to now have a platform to shape our own way forward is tremendously exciting.

“We have a wonderful group of dedicated athletes, officials, participating programs and key stakeholders in our sport and I have every confidence that together we will continue to build Wheelchair Rugby Australia into the organisation our sport needs and deserves,” he said.

WRA chairman, Steve Loader said: “Over the past three years, Chris has demonstrated his ability to grow the sport as General Manager of Wheelchair Rugby at DSA.

“He has been influential in establishing a pathway for competitions, negotiating positive sponsorship outcomes and improving the sport’s profile through broadcast deals and commercial initiatives,” Loader said.

On the Disability Sports Australia CEO, Murray Elbourn, added: “The transition of Wheelchair Rugby Australia through our sports incubator program is wonderful news for the entire disability sports community.”

“This transition provides a successful example that we hope other sports may follow in the future, and established a united, best practice landscape so that more Australians with disability will be able to participate in this great sport.”

“It has been a pleasure to support and witness the growth and development of Wheelchair Rugby Australia over the past few years and I want to highlight the significant work that Chris Nay has done to create the environment for this transition to occur.”

“We now look forward to seeing the sport continue to thrive on its own long into the future.”

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