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Big Wheelchair Rugby Clash in Wash This Weekend

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Big Wheelchair Rugby Clash in Wash This Weekend

The road to the Wheelchair National Championships goes through Bellevue, Wash. this weekend as the Seattle Slam take on the Portland Pounders.

The Slam were national runners-up in 2016, and are looking to make a title run once more. They will host the Pounds at 12:30-5pm at the Highland Community Center in Bellevue, just east of Seattle. The core of the Slam team will be there, including player-coach Jeremy Hannaford, last year's National Championships MVP, Paul Walston, Columbian national team player Jhon Nunez, and Canadian national team player Fabien Lavoie. Also playing on th weekend will be Daisuki Ikezaki, Japan's #1-ranked wheelchair rugby player.

This promises to be a fast, hard-hitting, uncompromising clash. Both teams are preparing for a big tournament in Vancouver BC March 10-12 and the Pacific Sectionals in San Diego March 17-19 to qualify for the National Championships in Phoenix in April.

Wheelchair rugby teams do have some former able-bodied rugby players on their rosters, and the Slam was no exception - they had a former able-bodied rugby player, Simon Calcavecchia, on their team last season but he has been injured. Most of the athletes, however, come from other sports.

"A lot of us played some kind of sport before our injuries," said Hanaford. "I raced motocross. We had a wrestler, snowboarders, bike riders. A variety of things. But there are a few that this is their first team sport and they love it. We get so many different walks of life, it's pretty awesome. We want to let other disabled people in the area know about our program and get others involved. We also believe in building a relationship with the able-bodied rugby community to help bring interest to both sports."

The game starts at 12:30pm Saturday at the Highland Community Center, 14224 Bel-Red Road, Bellevue, WA 98009.

See a video about the Seattle Slam here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZW3Olx70bk