In June, Barcelona hosted the 1st Wheelchair Rugby Rookie's Tournament, the first international quadrugby tournament in Spain. The participating teams were Rugby Quad Grenoble (France), Montpellier Handy-Rugby (France), Fighting Snakes (Switzerland) and the host BUC Wheelchair Rugby (Spain). These four teams helped make this first edition a resounding success.

The tournament was organized by the FCEDF (Federació Catalana d'Esports de Persones amb Discapacitat Física), BUC (Barcelona University Club) and FC Rugby (Federación Catalana de Rugby) in order to raise awareness of quadrugby in Spain, lobby to have it included on the international scene and consolidate its presence on a national level.

«1st Wheelchair Rugby Rookie's Tournament: the first international quadrugby tournament in Spain.»

The Swiss team the Fighting Snakes won the tournament after a close final against the French team Montpellier Handy-Rugby, which took second. Third went to the Spanish team BUC Wheelchair Rugby, followed by Rugby Quad Grenoble of France in fourth.

On Friday, the members of the teams got to know each other before kicking off the two intense days of matches played over the weekend. The tournament culminated with the awards ceremony and a third half where players got to share their ideas and feelings.

«The Swiss team the Fighting Snakes won the tournament after a close final against the French team Montpellier Handy-Rugby.»

"It was a very positive experience for our team," said Axel, who plays on BUC Wheelchair Rugby. "Right now there are only three teams in Spain and we can hardly play any matches because it is still very difficult. And that makes it hard to improve. This tournament has given us the chance to see how international teams with a similar or better level of experience play, and to learn new tactics from them to apply in our training alongside our own. Plus, Oriol Lluis Franco, from our team, was named most valuable player, which is really important for us."

BUC Wheelchair Rugby thanks all of the foreign teams invited for participating and trusting them despite their "inexperience". They also said, "It was a great weekend and we learned a lot. Next season we'll be back with more energy and drive than ever. We promise it will be even better, with more teams from more countries."

 «The tournament gives you the chance to discover new tactics and apply them to keep improving in BUC Wheelchair Rugby.»

Batec Mobility was at the tournament to support the teams and gave them each a BATEC BOSSA rucksack with everything they need to improve their performance on game day: from water to energy bars. We're committed to this great sport for quadriplegics, which is played by some users of our handbikes.

Congratulations BUC Wheelchair Rugby for all your hard work to bring Spanish wheelchair rugby into the spotlight.