With the road to the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games well underway, Team GB are undergoing preparations ahead of a history making mission. Great Britain are aiming to become the first European nation to win back-to-back gold medals in wheelchair rugby, after claiming their maiden golds in Tokyo three years ago.
At the heart of the action is Team GB’s talisman Aaron Phipps, who was apart of the odds-defying side that took the top spot on the podium in Japan. Phipps is a decorated talent of the wheelchair rugby squad, and knows all to well the challenges it takes to reach the mountain top, both literally upon his unaided assent up Kilimanjaro, and figuratively, within the world of sport.
Phipps spoke exclusively to RUCK, about the emotions and experience of winning the gold medals in Tokyo. The heavily unfavored Great Britain achieved the ultimate underdog story, as Phipps led his team to defy the odds and overcome the USA for Paralympic glory. Speaking in a recent interview, Phipps expressed how few moments in his life have come close to being atop the winners podium, and Great Britain’s journey through the Tokyo Paralympics.
“Going into the games, it just felt like we had something, like everything was clicking at the right time than I thought it was. The performance was right, maybe a bit of luck as well. But going into it, beating Canada, we had to put that to bed, that was a tough game. Beating Canada in the first game, then we annihilated New Zealand, but they weren’t as strong as they had been in the past. Then losing to America in the last group game, that was tough, because it felt like history repeating itself all over again.
“But for me, I think the semi final was almost the final. Because, we had to come up against Japan and they were the current World Champions. We hadn’t beaten them in eight years, so this was the game for us. This was everything really. At half time we started to pull away, they’ve done a flagrant foul (common foul plus two technical foul – penalty goal awarded), then the points just kept coming on and on and on. Being in that game, and just being like, ‘we’re completely dominating. This is unbelievable’.
“But the relief when we’d won that semifinal as whatever happened (in the final), we were going home with a medal. That was unbelievable. That was amazing. So we gave our coaches quite a nice problem to have. We have processes when we’re away at tournaments, we have ways that we do things, we debrief games when we’ve played, etc. We kind of tried to have a process for everything. So when you’re in a stressful environment, it’s easier to cope. We didn’t have a process for what happens if we end up in the gold medal match!
“So for our coaches, it was like do they go ‘Yeah, we’re going to smash America today. let’s go for it.’ Or did they say, ‘Don’t worry, we’ve already got a silver medal to keep us calm.’ It was actually our video analysis guy James who said ‘let’s just play America.’ So we just went in with that mentality. We’d already completely overachieved, the outcome was obviously important and we’re always wanted to play to win, but we were already record breakers.
“No European team had ever meddled and we were in a gold medal match. So I think we went into that game without the pressure on our shoulders, ‘we’re just going to do our best and see what happened’. I think that made a difference. I think that was a nice position to be in because the USA had got the silver medal at the last two (Paralympic) Games and were gunning for the gold. And we did it again!”
Unfortunately for Team GB, their Gold medal triumph did not take place in front a packed out arena, as the Covid Pandemic restrictions were still in full effect at the end of August 2021. Instead, Great Britain were supported by an assortment of their national teammates from across a variety of different sports, who halted their training sessions to witness history being made. The lockdown was an especially difficult time for the GBWR squad members, as Phipps recalled the hardships of feeling isolated at a time when he should be with his colleagues.
“So the Tokyo cycle is obviously crazy because of Covid. I competed in 2012 (London Paralympics), took a break to compete in 2016 (Rio Paralympics). Went back to the team in 2017, with the idea that I wanted to get my daughters to the Paralympics. So that’s really why I went back, not knowing what was going to happen. Then Covid happened and that was just horrible.
“We were just at home stuck training, some of my teammates were really isolated as well. That was really difficult. Some of the most vulnerable people in society, to be honest. So we were just trying to do as much as possible, talking to each other as a team to get through that block of time.”
Away from the court, Phipps is a well sort-after motivational speaker. The 41-year-old’s journey to the microphone began through the most humble of settings, as he gave up his time in school assemblies for inspirational chats with the next generation. Phipps shared his story on crawling to the summit of Kilimanjaro in 2016, yet it was not until the 2021 Paralympic Gold, that his motivational speaking career began to skyrocket.
“It originally started off the back of London (2012 Paralympic bronze medal). I had friends who were teachers and they’d asked me to go in and do assemblies in primary schools. The teachers would say, ‘that’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever heard. You need to do this as a job.’ It built up from there. Then what really amplified it was winning the (2021 gold) medal.
“Yes, Kilimanjaro helped, but it was not until after won the medal that people wanted to hear about that and our success. On paper, we went from fifth in the world, in the middle of a pandemic, to gold medal which was unheard of.”
With the pinnacle tournament in wheelchair rugby creeping ever closer, nothing but gold will do for Phipps in the trip to Paris. The Paralympian believes that his side are steadily progressing to achieve this feat, which would solidify the side amongst the greatest wheelchair rugby teams that have ever graced the court.
However, with such a desirable goal on the horizon, Phipps explained how the competition for places is heating up in training. There are only 13 available slots upon Team GB’s plane to Paris, and Phipps is not holding back to ensure he is once again wearing the Union Jack upon his chest this Summer.
“This is the tough bit because we’re all going at each other. It’s really peculiar because in a training camp, we don’t have other people training against us, so we kick the crap out of each other. Then we go into a tournament and we’re this gelled elite unit and we just get on, and we get on with it and all support each other.
“But spots are up for grabs. It is tough, and this is the point where you can get a little bit aggie, and you don’t want anyone getting injured. If I’m flying down the court I’ve got a massive hit coming in, I think actually in the back of my mind, ‘is this worth it?’ So I might pull out of the biggest hits because I don’t want to hurt one of my teammates going into a major tournament, there’s just no point.”
Phipps often faces off with his Great Britain teammates, as he competes for London WRC at domestic level. Alongside the likes of Team GB capped David Ross, London WRC are amongst the leading club sides, with Phipps finding his league rivals in Leicester Tigers. Interestingly, the East Midlanders also boast an assortment of Team GB stars, and Phipps enjoys the spirit of competition when he comes up against Leicester’s Gavin Walker on opposite sides of the court.
“Absolutely. We’re going at each other, we all are, but it’s difficult, because you know everybody’s strengths and everybody’s weaknesses. On the international stage, you don’t know that as much. They’ll do their VA (video analysis) on you. But it’s all fun. It’s rugby, isn’t it at the end of the day, so yeah, we beat the crap out of each other. But, you know, we’re all friends after that, it’s that sort of mentality.”
Since the turn of the new year, the road to the 2024 Paralympics has heated up with a relentless fixture list. Team GB have recently competed out in Denmark in the Musholm Cup, in Cardiff for the Quad Nations, and are set to venture to British Colombia for the 2024 Canada Cup. With third place finishes in the two previous competitions, Phipps is not concerned with the recent rankings and instead has his focus on how the side is progressing.
“Without completely giving the game away, they’ll always be things that we’re working on. So, sometimes we’ll be running lines to give newer players experience, etc. The outcome isn’t as important in some of these games. It’s, difficult when you’re in it, do you go to a tournament and just try and smash everybody, so you go into the Paralympics really dominant? Or do you hold a little bit back? We’re always constantly working on things, and a lot of things are down to our coaches.
“But it’s just unusual in our sport that you know, you have this big cycle. These competitions are important, but they’re not important in the level of how the Paralympics is important. The Worlds (World Championships) and the Paras (Paralympics) are our two biggest ones. But the way our games have gone, you know, games are going into double over-time, games are getting won by one point.
“So, in Musholm, for example, we lost the game to America by a point, I don’t mind that, that’s fine. There’s things we can always go away and work on. Then next time, it’s such as such small, small margin. What’s tough is if you’re going into one event, and you’re struggling, and you’re thinking, ‘how on earth, are we ever going to beat these people, they’re putting 10 points on us’, that’s not the case at all.
“So the intricacies in the way that we break down the game now, and the things that we’re working on, to just be as good as we can in Paris. Structure, personnel lines, tactics, how we are in our team identity.”
Great Britain have recently experienced a litany of matches against the United States, as the two old enemies from across the pond clashed in Denmark and Cardiff respectively. The US have long been a powerhouse of the wheelchair rugby stage, and the recent encounters have been decided by the narrowest of margins. Phipps discussed his enjoyment in facing the Americans, who often bring the best out of him and his GB teammates.
“USA are always relentless, they’re always a team that’s always very loud, and very American! Which is fine, it’s fine. It’s the way they are. But I think we’re given a bit of it back these days. So that’s good. I think our confidence has grown as a squad. So we’ve given that bit back as well.
“But, you know, they’re just such a solid team, they’ve got such a good league structure out in the USA as well. You know, their patterns and things we can point to, you really need to pull it out of the bag when you’re playing against them.”
It is not just the US that pose a threat to Great Britain’s gold medal hopes, as the host nation France are building momentum for a home-soil triumph. The French have been unbeatable in recent European Championship campaigns, and Phipps is eager to take them down a peg or too upon amidst their home supporters.
“Now, I think the gaps got incredibly close with all these teams. So you really can’t rest on your laurels against anyone. France coming up through, beat us at the European Championships, we just beat them at the tournament in Cardiff (Quad Nations), but they’re just going to come back stronger.
“But at the top level now, it’s incredibly close. This is what I’m saying about games going into double, triple-overtime. So this is going to be a tough, tough tournament. We’re going to have to beat a couple of top teams to get into those big matches. But, if it all comes together at the right time, we’ve got the ability to do it again.”
Looking beyond the 2024 Paris Paralympics, and the mission for Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby is clear. Team GB want to ride the wave of momentum that comes with the quad-annual showcase, and continue to increase viewership and participation of wheelchair rugby across the country. GBWR launched the ’28 for 28′ campaign earlier this year, which has the goal of achieving 28 individual sponsors to help support the team through to the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics.
“That’s just continuing the great work that they’re already doing. They’re already pushing the sport, already driving recruitment and already running these amazing events. But at the moment, we’re at a point where we still almost having to push it to get it into the mainstream, which is a bit of a shame.
“To keep driving and doing what they do costs real money, it takes real infrastructure, doesn’t it? It’s not that simple. So, we have people supporting it, and again, ’28, or 28′, it’s not an awful lot of money for some of the big companies, it can really make a massive change, it’s almost like we are at the start of something that could blow up and be enormous.
“To support us now, you could have a huge, huge impact on something. And going back to my point about locked down, some of the people that play our sport, there’s not really another team sport they can play because they’re just too disabled. If being blunt about it, I’d struggle playing wheelchair basketball and other things because of my hands.
“Anyway, and I’m the least disabled in our team, so some of the guys and girls that are tetraplegic, they inspire me. They’re so incredibly disabled, but they don’t have another outlet. They don’t have another sport, there isn’t another option. So, you’d be helping that and helping some of the most vulnerable people in society.”
As Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby academy pathway talent Toby Church would say, wheelchair rugby is ‘violence with class’. The sport is an incredible spectacle and with the Paralympics getting ever closer, there has never been a better time to introduce the casual fan to the high-octane contest formerly known as ‘murder-ball’.
The sport prides itself on having the same ethos as rugby union or league, with a focus upon Teamwork, Respect, Enjoyment, Discipline and Sportsmanship. Phipps had some excellent advice to those eager to watch wheelchair rugby this August, when the sport takes over Paris from August 29th to September 2nd.
“Yeah, is the physicality, isn’t it? I mean, my strapline thing I’d say is look ‘where’d you get to watch people in wheelchairs, smashing other people and that in their wheelchairs?’ You know, it’s being honest. It’s like PC gone right. This world we live in, we’ve got risk assessments and ramps. And being careful, that (wheelchair rugby) throws that out the window.
“It’s also the tactical side of it as well, it’s good for people to know the very basic rules if they’re reading this. So the game’s all around 20 minutes, So you’ve got 10 seconds to get the ball in. Once the ball is in, you’ve got 12 seconds to break the half, and you’ve got 40 seconds overall to score. There’s no offside rule. So you can throw the ball all the length of the court, if you want to, so someone can catch it on the goal line and score.
“You can make contact with someone’s chair to swipe the ball off them. But if you make contact with a person, and that’s a foul. If they know those very basic rules, it makes complete sense, if they don’t know that you’ve got no idea what’s going on! But if you know that then you kind of get it. You’ve got to bounce the ball once every 10 seconds, and you’ve got four timeouts you can use as well. If they know that those points, then it’s fascinating to watch, you can see the tactics.”
“I really love that the rugby ethos and vibe has come through to our sport as well, it’s very, very similar. I’ve been to many rugby matches since becoming a Paralympian and it’s such a crossover, we’ve really taken on that mentality of rugby. I really like that about it. we really respect each other, we respect the refs. We have really, really tough games, but we support each other off. And I love that.”