North Wales Crusaders Wheelchair Rugby League Club appeal for your support to help them ‘get over the line’

There are just a few days left to cast your vote to help a North Wales wheelchair rugby league and disability sports club win the coveted ‘Project of the Year’ trophy at this year’s National Lottery Awards.

The annual National Lottery Awards celebrate the people and projects across the UK who do extraordinary things with the help of National Lottery funding.

Since voting for The National Lottery Project of the Year category opened on 6 September, thousands of votes have been cast from across the UK for the 17 finalists to help decide this year’s winner.

But with the 4 October deadline for voting fast approaching, the  & Disability Sports Club is appealing for your support to help them get over the line.

North Wales Crusaders Wheelchair Rugby League & Disability Sports Club aims to make rugby league accessible to everyone in north Wales and the surrounding areas. The Flintshire and Wrexham based club for wheelchair (and non-wheelchair) users has produced 16 international players and continued to grow during the pandemic, providing a vital social outlet.

Several National Lottery grants from Sport Wales amounting to £23,526 has helped equip the teams with sports wheelchairs, making the club more accessible. The funding has also been used to help the club find new storage for its specialist wheelchairs and to purchase critical PPE to function safely.

The club is the only wheelchair rugby league club in the world to have three teams playing in the same league system and has seen the biggest growth in members out of all the established clubs in the UK. Crusaders will also be the first club in Wales to set up a Physical Disability Rugby League (PDRL) side, which allows non-wheelchair users with disabilities to play the game.

Head coach Stephen Jones, who started as a player and now coaches the Welsh team, says: “We are delighted to learn that our club has reached the finals of the National Lottery Awards.

National Lottery funding has helped make the club more accessible. Our version of the sport is all inclusive – we encourage people with a range of disabilities and people without disabilities to get involved. There’s a family value at the club and that gives people who have gone through tough times a belief they’re not alone.

The sport has such a positive impact on the lives of those who take part and it would be an amazing tribute to all the dedication and hard work of our coaches and team members to be crowned Project of the Year in the National Lottery Awards.”

At the end of the four-week voting window, the finalist with the most votes will be crowned the National Lottery’s 2021 Project of the Year.
The winning project will receive a £3,000 cash prize, along with an iconic National Lottery trophy to commemorate the achievement.

Jonathan Tuchner, from the National Lottery, said: “The past 18 months have been tough for all of us, so it’s truly inspiring to see so many projects and volunteers still putting in the time to make a positive difference in their communities.

“Thanks to National Lottery players, more than £30 million goes to good causes across the country every week, making vital projects like these possible.

“Don’t forget to make your voice heard by voting for your Project of the Year in the National Lottery Awards – with your help, the North Wales Crusaders Wheelchair Rugby League & Disability Sports Club could be a winner.”

To cast your vote for the North Wales Crusaders Wheelchair Rugby League & Disability Sports Club, please follow the link on the National Lottery Good Causes website here .  Or simply use their hashtag #NLACrusaders on twitter. Voting closes at 5pm on 4 October.