Wheelchair rugby: Spanish trainers sow seeds of hope

Navarro showing the trainees how to pick and pass the ball. PHOTOS/ISAAC KASAMANI
What you need to know:
Baches was involved in a fatal car accident that killed two of his teenage colleagues—one of whom was a BM Granollers teammate. Baches sustained serious injuries which damaged his spinal cord, paralysing his lower body, and confining his 6’2 frame to a wheelchair.
Pau Navarro Baches had just knocked on the door of adulthood, with lots of dreams as a handball player. Then tragedy struck in September 2018.
Baches was involved in a fatal car accident that killed two of his teenage colleagues—one of whom was a BM Granollers teammate.
Baches sustained serious injuries which damaged his spinal cord, paralysing his lower body, and confining his 6’2 frame to a wheelchair.
His handball career was shattered. But in 2019, Baches found a place in wheelchair rugby.
He joined his home side CR Spartans Granollers, helping it to second place in the Spanish League last season.
Now Baches and his namesake Oriol Monras Navarro feel the urge to help others with similar predicament to repurpose themselves through sport.
The duo spent last week in Kampala sharing their wheelchair rugby knowledge at the Lugogo Indoor Arena.
“We started from zero because the players didn’t know the rules or basics,” said Navarro, who has trained in South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanzània, Mauricius and Morocco.
“But we had a good time and the players now know the basic rules of rugby, some tactics and the types of wheelchairs suitable for defenders and attackers.”
Meanwhile, Baches acknowledged the constraints of the sport in Uganda.
“The obvious difference between wheelchair rugby in Catalonia and Uganda is the lack of equipment and knowledge of the game,” he said on the closure of the five-day training for which the duo funded themselves.
“When I joined the sport in Barcelona, there were many qualified coaches that taught me the game. That’s not the case in Uganda. Maybe it will change after this training.”

UWRF president Wanyera (C) hopes Navarro (L) and Baches's selfless support will bear fruit.
Don’t give up
Baches also advised that the Uganda Wheelchair Rugby Foundation (UWRF) will need to attract more such trainings to maintain the growth of the game.
A good wheelchair costs at least €6000 (about Shs23m) meaning UWRF will mostly wait for donations. Abubaker Nsubuga, one of the trainees, asked the government for tax exemptions on wheelchairs, a call echoed by UWRF president Jairus Wanyera, who also sounded the need for access to an indoor training facility.
Meanwhile, “Don’t give up,” Navarro advised players. “Make sure you train at least once a week. So you’ll improve and attract others to join.”
Baches, who also plays for the Spanish national team, emphasised: “A good wheelchair rugby player must be a full player, good at both attack and defense. If you can’t balance both, your team is in trouble.
“Positioning and timing are equally important aspects. And you must be able to predict where the ball is going to be able to steal it.”
Safety
Myleen Kyomuhendo, who also injured her spinal cord in a motor accident like Beaches and Sarah Nazziwa were more familiar with wheelchair basketball. But both found rugby simpler because of fewer movements. And safer because of fewer falls. They also lauded the trainers as "very knowledgeable and flexible."
Baches said many people fear joining wheelchair rugby calling it dangerous. “Maybe because of the aggressiveness and the butting of the wheelchairs. But it’s very safe. I have never been injured.”
COST OF WHEELCHAIRS
Lowest: €6000(about Shs23m)
Highest: €10,000