In the evening, the conference continued with the opening ceremony of the World Cup and the opening match between France and Belgium.  The conference attendees were well entertained!

The next day, all participants were welcome to watch more matches and had the opportunity to ask questions of all players, coaches, organizers, and parents.  Many questions were asked and much good information was received.  The conference participants sought information about the game, the guards, the strategies needed to win matches, and many other specifics that they will need as they start the sport in their countries.  The day was capped off by a dinner cruise on the Seine.  Many lively discussions were heard, all about the great sport of powerchair football.

Our guests felt that this was a very productive conference.  They all left with a better understanding of powerchair football and are eager to get it up and running in their countries.

The Premiership saw some big games and some big results. Aspire PFC picked up tight victories against rivals Northern Thunder and Aspire 2 to pull away at the top of the league and remain undefeated. Sporting Albion leapfrogged local rivals Villa into 3rd and will now try and push on to break the top 2. Celtic Storm look to have weathered their poor start to the season and unleashed some of their best football this weekend, picking up their first 5 points of the season and closing the gap to 3 points at the bottom.

The Championship saw Thunder Blues and Notts PFC continue their good form at the top with an undefeated weekend for both. The Blues have the advantage at the moment but with matches still left to play the title chase looks to be the most competitive in years. Invicta will be hoping to gain some much needed luck in the New Year and aim to gain their first points of the season.

The League One title race is really picking up pace with 3 teams making a mid season charge to assert their title intentions. Bolton are still clinging to top spot but only on goal difference to a wave of Celtic 2 pressure. Percy Panthers are lurking in the background ready to pounce on the top 2 and are ready to cash in on their game in hand. Just 2 points separate the top 3 in this very competitive league.

All the WFA management committee would like to wish all its players, coaches and parents a very happy Christmas and see you in the New Year for even more high quality fast pace Powerchair action!

with WFA website news

The opening weekend saw 4 new league teams take to the court in League One to battle it out and experience elite powerchair play. Bolton Bullets made a brilliant start to life in the league and currently sit atop of the league standings on goal difference to Celtic Storm 2.

In the Championship, after the first 2 games 3 teams proudly look over the rest with Evergreen, Northern Thunder Blues and Sporting Club 2 tied on 4 points each. With all the teams in the Championship equally matched this will be an entertaining and fiercely contested league in which every team will be confident of gaining promotion to the premiership.

The Premiership itself saw last year’s winners, Aspire PFC and runners up, Northern Thunder, resume there dominance of the league by taking maximum points from their opening fixtures but with the standard of play ever increasing the other teams will have a big say on where the title ends up this season.

The weekend also saw the opening rounds of the cup and plate competitions get under way with Villa Rockets blasting their way to the cup semi-finals where they will meet either Celtic Storm or Sporting 2.On the other side of the draw Aspire meet Sporting Club in a mouth-watering all Premiership clash.

In the plate new boys Norwich City and Evergreen 2 made big impressions by fighting their way through to the 3^rd round.

Next Fixtures: 23^rd -24^th October.

So this is the end of an unbearable suspense in France! Bernard Berthouloux, the French coach, announced plans to unveil the final selection for the World Cup earlier this season, a year before the big day. He has kept his promise by announcing this morning the composition of the French Team, awaited by thousands of players, coaches, fans and families who are already preparing for an exceptional World Cup. The international competition has already given rise to enormous excitement, to the surprise of the organisers!

They will therefore be eight to defend the French colours, eight invested with a fantastic mission, supported by the Commission of the French Federation Handisport which has agreed to make significant resources available to Team France for the single purpose of becoming World Champions in 2011!

Here are the names of players selected by Bernard Berthouloux and Ricardo Riso, his assistant:

- Sylvain MALARD (Montauban)

- Jerome DURAND (Atlanta)
- Tristan DELMAS (Atlanta)
- Morgan LIFANTE (Montauban)
- Vincent LE QUENELLEC (Lorient)
- Ludovic PAULOT (Montauban)
- Gregory NERON (Vaucresson)
- Youcef AYAD ZEDDAM (Villeneuve d’Ascq)

Half of the selection is new compared to the 2007 World Cup in Japan, a group undoubtedly strong and geared up for the challenge ahead. Brahim SEBIANE and Gabriel DESCHILDRE who were present at the last training event in Vichy, are notably absent from this list, among others.

The next camps of Team France preparation are:
- 27 to 31 October 2010 in Nantes
- 13 to 17 February 2011 in Paris
- 23 to 28 April 2011 in Bourges
- 10 to 17 July 2011 in Bourges
- 24 to 29 October 2011 in Bourges
- World Cup from 30 October to 7 November 2011 in Paris

The WFA Cup & Plate competition will be fought out again this season as all teams across the division looking to be crowned WFA Cup or Plate Winners.

League dates are:

18 / 19 Sept 2010

23 / 24 Oct 2010

20 / 21 Nov 2010

26 /27 March 2011

14 / 15  May 2011

25 June 2011

All games will be played at the Kettering Leisure Village, Northamptonshire.

All fixtures and results can be found here.

Vevey Eagles gained the honours of the first ever title of Swiss Champions.

As in Vevey, the event was marked by a high turnout of supporters, because already Powerchair Football is attracting a lot of attention in Switzerland. We are expecting reports of a grand celebration of the victory in Plan-les-Ouates … The players are certain to be very proud of this first title.

Click here to watch the Swiss League report on LEMAN BLEU TV (starting on minute 13 )

Swiss Event Poster

Youcef Ayad Zeddam Kick off video

Aspire Powerchair Football Club (England)

Club Montauban Handisport (France)

Northern Thunder (England)

MECS Charleroi (Belgium)

Arhus (Denmark)

Kerpape (France)

Sporting Club Albion (England)

Villeneuve d’Ascq (England)

POWERCHAMPION’S LEAGUE: Montauban Leading Club in Europe

Stoke Mandeville, England. 11 April 2010 Montauban (France) won the FIPFA European Zone club championships in a final match against Charleroi (Belgium), played at historic Stoke Mandeville Stadium, first home of the Paralympic Movement. A final match result of  1-0 crowned a weekend of intense play for the leading clubs of Europe from the four nations participating. A large crowd of supporters, partners and sponsors were spellbound by top class performance from eight squads, including top player Ludovic Paulot From Montauban. Newcastle Northern Thunder was honoured with the fairplay award.

Clubs of Villeneuve d’Ascq (France) and Kerpape (France) took third and fourth place after two days of intense pools and playoffs also featuring London Aspire (England), Newcastle Norther Thunder (England), Sporting Club Albion (England) and Aarhus (Denmark) in a total of 18 breathtaking matches.

“This is the second championship organised by the European Powerchair Football Association”, said Ricky Stevenson, European Zone President and member of the Executive Council of FIPFA, “and our first to take place under the flying flag of the International Paralympic Committee which in March 2010 gave FIPFA the status of an IPC recognised international federation.”.

“For the over 50 players and coaches, the choice of Stoke Mandeville as the venue hosted by London ASPIRE Powerchair Football Club was an emotional one, linking them directly into the history of the Paralympic Movement, as the first Paralympic Games were held here in 1948”, added Nicky Baker, ASPIRE Chairperson, “also we would like to say Thank You to the Sponsors* for their support and to the Officials, coming from as far as North America to assist in the smooth running of the event”.

In parallel with the championships, FIPFA Classification Commission organised another first; a four-day training (including a theory workshop, observation off- and on-field and a player-feedback session) for future classifiers, the officals who will be responsible in Europe for implementing the new FIPFA Classification Code currently under evaluation.

The equivalent Americas Cup will take place in Vancouver, Canada 9-10 October 2010 while the next major global powerchair football event is the World Cup at the end of October 2011 in Paris, France.

* Sponsors

Apollo Housing

Davies Sports

Cotswold Communications

Criterion Publishing

EDF

Evergreen Football Club

Invacare

MW Kellog

MyNews

Russel Athletic

Mrs Dorothy Washer

For more information:

Nicolas Dubes (French, English) Communications@fifpa.org +33663433505 or Ricky Stevenson (English) ricky@thewfa.co.uk

Download video

EPFA PCL 2010 Draw

The venue, Galeries du Rivage is a central and popular facility well-known for hosting sports and exhibitions. The event will run all day from 11.00 and a steady flow of supporters and casual spectators. The new hi-tech surface of the playing court promises to add to the action of the competition.

Some background very strong interest to start Powerchair Football was expressed by athletes and coaches involved in Geneva Handisport and FIPFA officials made a technical visit to Geneva in 2008, to help start Powerchair Football. The game was viewed as a possible leisure activity to add to the range available in the country (where hockey is very popular). The potential for competition was clear, and a large initial public demonstration match (with players from Switzerland sizing up to players from France and the USA) and workshops for athletes, coaches, referees was held in November 2008 (it became a FIPFA Development Commission prototype for other countries).  Interested disabled sports organizations in Switzerland attended, and thereafter encouraged teams to make the best use they could of the FIPFA technical training. Growing positive feedback about the game and good success with the universal foot guard – giving all Powerchair users the chance to play – resulted in a public demonstration in Vevey and local media coverage in 2009. Swiss Powerchair Football also made its first international friendly tour, also reported on in the FIPFA newsletter.

More information: Xavier.Lefebvre@eglantines.ch

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