Competitors from Team Canada and Team Poland will define what it means to be ‘unconquered’ when they come together as one team for this year’s wheelchair rugby tournament in the Invictus Games Sydney 2018 presented by Jaguar Land Rover.
Having only met and trained together upon arrival in Sydney, Team Unconquered embodies the spirit that is the Invictus Games in both name and action.
And the 13 competitors – 10 Canadian and 3 Polish – who have trained together for all of two days are tough as nails and are now ready to hit the court for what is set to be a big two days of competition.
Canadian competitor Casey Wall is one of the few competitors who will compete for his country and has the unique opportunity to compete in a multi-national team.
“Initially when they told us we (Canada) weren’t going to have a team in, it kind of hit all of us, but they told us we were going to come together with Poland and become ‘Unconquered’ and it was even better,” Wall said.
“The name says it itself – ‘unconquered’ – and that is what Invictus is all about. It’s getting together, it doesn’t matter what your nationality is, or where you’re from but whatever it is, it’s getting us all back onto the same playing field.”
Polish competitor Janusz Raczy, who was injured during a motor vehicle accident while on deployment in Iraq says it’s given him the motivation to try something new and meet new people.
“This is something rare, something awesome. And this is a new sport for me too. I’ve never tried it, never played rugby on the wheelchairs and now I’m learning,” he said.
“The Canadian people, they’re very fun, honest people and (when I play with them) I feel like I’m Canadian,” he says, speaking of their integration.
While Team Unconquered also have the added challenge a language barrier to overcome, all the competitors believe they’ll be able to get the job done; to them that means having a go at something new, and most importantly, having fun.
“We’re still getting used to each other, it’s two different languages and we’ve only really had two days, and it takes a bit of time,” said Canadian competitor Dean Irvine.
“But, an international team coming up against other teams that are international, that’s pretty cool.
“I’ve had a number of leg injuries over the years, it really impeded my running, which I love. And honestly, being in a chair, wheeling is like I have a new set of legs, it’s like I’m running and I’m getting the same cardio from it so it’s outstanding.”
And for Wall, playing a new sport with a brand-new team gives him a nostalgic sense of joy.
“I think for me, playing a new sport with this team, you can see it on our faces. It’s like you’re a kid again, learning a new sport and all.
“Our goal is to put up a fight and have a lot of fun with the Polish guys. We’re out there to have fun, and if we can stop a few teams, well that’s our goal.
The fast and powerful wheelchair rugby competition begins tomorrow, Wednesday 24 October at the Quaycentre at Sydney Olympic Park, with the United States of America playing New Zealand in the first match of the day.
The pool phase will see the teams play in a round robin format with the top four ranked teams going through to the semi-finals. The preliminary games consist of two 10-minute running clock halves while the semi-finals and finals are played in two running-clock halves of 15 minutes each.
The six nations joining Team Unconquered in the mixed team format are Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the USA.
To find out more and to purchase tickets, click here.
Sascha Ryner
Invictus Games Sydney 2018