The host city, Vejle has appointed 2019 the Year of Para Sports and claims the title of Capital of Para Sport in Denmark. Denmark has hosted several major international para sporting events over the years. The time has now come for the 2019 IWRF European Championship Division A.

Defending champions and tournament favorites Great Britain look in ominous form for a third straight gold medal. If successful, they’ll automatically qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

Great Britain’s Nicholas Cummins said yesterday that the team has settled in well and is looking forward to the tournament.

– Obviously we want to go back-to-back-to-back European champions, Cummins said.

– We want to be European champions and we want to get to the Paralympics, that’s what we’ve been working for. We can then go into the next year or so working on what we want to do in Tokyo.

It’s Cummins’ second European Championship, but he’ll be facing some rival teams for the first time.

– We tend to play the European teams more than other international teams, so we know each other a little better and there’s some crossover in the leagues, he said.  

– Some Danish players come over to play in Britain, so there’s a bit more familiarity. Obviously they’re all really competitive teams and there’s a couple of new teams. It’s going to be a really exciting tournament. The team took the first win today over Switzerland.

In day one matches, host nation Denmark clashed with Poland and won. 2017 silver medallists Sweden took on the Netherlands with a win, while France won over Germany.  

In the coming week, the teams will play for the European titles as well as for Paralympic qualification.

European Championship Division A is the top tier of Wheelchair Rugby in Europe. The top two teams from this event will secure spots at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. The bottom two teams will be relegated to Division B in 2020.

Day 1 Results at IWRF 2019 European Championship.
G1 – Sweden vs. Netherlands – 54-48
G2 – Great Britain vs. Switzerland – 52-21
G3 – Denmark vs. Poland – 59-43
G4 – France vs. Germany – 51-44

Denmark has previously hosted the IWRF European Championship in 2005 and 2009 and the IWRF World Championships in 2014. Parasport Denmark, The City of Vejle and Sport Event Denmark partner the event.

See results and follow the event: https://2019wrec.com/