WNY Wreckers

The WNY Wreckers are the only wheelchair rugby team in upstate NY. Each year, we host a tournament to highlight this exciting, full contact sport for everyone in the Greater Rochester area to see!

This year’s tournament will be at the Pinnacle Athletic Campus in Victor, NY on October 4th and 5th. We'll have a total of 6 teams from the Northeast US and Canada. The event will include approximately 50 athletes with disabilities, over 50 volunteers, and over 100 spectators.

Wheelchair rugby, originally called "Murderball," is the only full contact wheelchair sport and one of very few adapted sports to focus on athletes with quadriplegia. This means our athletes have disabilities affecting all four limbs. Many of our athletes began playing the sport shortly after their injury and the sport has been a big part of their rehabilitation. In addition to getting better at the sport, players get stronger and are able to apply that strength to doing more for themselves in daily life.

Most of our players are local to Rochester, but we also draw players from Western and Central NY. The sport integrates many different disability types and integrates all ages, races, and genders. The Wreckers have no paid staff and all logistics are organized by players, family, and volunteers.

As you can imagine, we have many expenses to cover for the tournament and general operations of the team. Expenses for the tournament include referees, venue fees, and food for players and volunteers. We also have year-long costs, such as specialized rugby wheelchairs, gym space for practice, insurance, and the cost of travel to other competitions. We cannot cover these costs on our own and are actively fundraising and writing grants. Our annual tournament serves as the principle fundraising event to make our team possible throughout the rest of the year.

The WNY Wreckers were founded in 2013 and are a 501c3 tax-exempt non-profit organization. If you want to learn more about the Wreckers and wheelchair rugby, you can find us on the web at www.wnywreckers.org and on Facebook and Instagram.

For a little more info about our team and the importance it can have in the lives of players, check out this video highlighting the story of Jamie Guglielmo.

Thank you for your consideration. We appreciate your support!

The WNY Wreckers are proud to announce the Return of the Wrecking Ball! After several years’ hiatus due to the Covid pandemic and related difficulty finding hosting space, our wheelchair rugby tournament returns to Rochester!

This year’s tournament will be at the Pinnacle Athletic Campus in Victor, NY on October 12th and 13th. We'll have a total of 8 teams from the Northeast US and Canada. The event will include approximately 60 athletes with disabilities, over 50 volunteers, and potentially 100 or more spectators. The Wreckers have no paid staff and all logistics are organized by players, family, and volunteers.

The WNY Wreckers were founded in 2013 and are a 501c3 tax-exempt non-profit organization. We are the only wheelchair rugby team in all of upstate NY. Most of our players are local to Rochester, but we also draw players from Western and Central NY. The sport integrates many different disability types and integrates all ages, races, and genders.

The sport is one of very few adapted sports that focuses on players with quadriplegia. Players have limitations in all four limbs, generally due to spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy, MS, MD, and multilateral amputations. For the players, the health and social benefits are tremendous.

As you can imagine, we have many expenses to cover for the tournament and general operations of the team. Expenses for the tournament include referees, venue fees, and food for players and volunteers. We also have year-long costs, such as specialized rugby wheelchairs, gym space for practice, insurance, and the cost of travel to other competitions. We cannot cover these costs on our own and are actively fundraising and writing grants. Our annual tournament serves as the principle fundraising event to make our team possible throughout the rest of the year.

If you want to learn more about the Wreckers and wheelchair rugby, you can find us on the web at www.wnywreckers.org and on Facebook and Instagram.

Thank you for your consideration. We appreciate your support!