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Elite 1 (wheelchair rugby league)

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Elite 1 Wheelchair Championship
SportWheelchair rugby league
No. of teams6
Country France
Most recent
champion(s)		 Catalans Dragons
Most titles Catalans Dragons (9+ titles)
Level on pyramid1
Relegation toElite 2
Official website[1]

The Elite 1 Wheelchair Championship is the highest level of wheelchair rugby league in France.

Starting in 2023, the previous year's league champions play the previous year's British Super League champions in the European Club Challenge.

History

[edit]

Wheelchair rugby league was developed by French rugby league players and coaches, Robert Fassolette and Wally Salvan, in 2000.[1][2][3] The first competition was played by three teams, Vichy, Roanne and Beauvais, as part of a French Téléthon.[3] Meetings establishing the official rules of the sport took place in 2002[4] and in the same year a Trophy of France tournament took place in Vichy with six teams taking part.[5] The sport spread to the south of France with the establishment of teams from Perpignan, Cahors, and Montauban in 2004,[3] and the inclusion of wheelchair rugby league in a national development program that provided equipment to numerous regional sports centres.[5] The French competition was the world's first thought it is unknown at what point the league became the Elite One Championship, named after the highest tier of the French running game at the time. In the 2006–07 season, the three-team Championship was won by Vichy.[6] In the 2011–12 season, six teams competed in the Championship and six more took part in development tournaments.[7] The following season there were four teams in the Elite 1 competition and six in Elite 2.[8] In the 2013–14 season this was restructured as a single Championship of ten teams,[9] but the growth of the sport meant that the following season there were 15 teams divided between Elite 1 and 2 as well as several reserve teams.[10] In the 2023–24 season, the Elite 1 had six teams below which were the Elite 2 and National divisions. The season was also the first for which French Rugby League Federation used the name Para Rugby XIII rather than XIII Fauteuil (XIII Wheelchair) for the sport.[11][3] For the 2024–25 season, it was announced that the Elite championship would have 11 teams divided between two pools from which teams would qualify for the play-offs.[12]

Format

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For 2024–25 season, the teams are divided into two pools and play a double round robin competition. These are followed by play-offs and a grand final.[12]

Teams

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As of 2024–25 the eleven teams are:

  • Anglet
  • Avignon
  • Biganos
  • Catalans Dragons 1 & 2
  • Cavaillon
  • Montauban 1 & 2
  • Saint Jory
  • Toulon
  • Toulouse Olympique

Finals

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List of grand finals by season
Season Champions Score Runners-up Ref
2011–12 Cahors / Cadurciens Devils 47–38 Catalans Dragons [13]
2012–13 Catalans Dragons 61–26 Cahors / Cadurciens Devils [14]
2013–14 Catalans Dragons 44–40 Cahors / Cadurciens Devils [15]
2014–15 Catalans Dragons 68–26 Cahors / Cadurciens Devils [16]
2015–16 Catalans Dragons 29–26 Toulouse Olympique / Saint Jory [17][18]
2016–17 Toulouse Olympique / Saint Jory 52–34 Catalans Dragons [19]
2017–18 Catalans Dragons 43–29 SO Avignon [20]
2018–19 Catalans Dragons 58–42 SO Avignon [21]
2019–20 Did not occur due to the COVID-19 pandemic [22]
2020–21
2021–22 Catalans Dragons 56–28 Montauban Pandas [23]
2022–23 Catalans Dragons 56–33 Montauban Pandas [24]
2023–24 Catalans Dragons 26–22 Montauban Pandas [25]

References

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  1. ^ "The Fassolette-Kielty Trophy". RFL. 12 November 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  2. ^ "Rules of the Game". NRL Wheelchair. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d "Handisport : le Para Rugby XIII et le rugby fauteuil, deux disciplines distinctes au service d'une même cause" (in French). FFRXIII. 25 November 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  4. ^ "Coupe du Monde: Les places pour les demi-finales à Toulouse sont en vente!" (in French). FFRXIII. 6 July 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Major stages and big events". Rugby XIII Fauteuil. Archived from the original on 13 November 2008.
  6. ^ "Saison FFR XIII 2006–2007" (PDF). Rugby XIII Fauteuil (in French). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 November 2008.
  7. ^ "Les chiffres de la saison 2011-2013". FFRXIII (in French). 3 July 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  8. ^ "Calendrier XIII Fauteuil – Saison 2012/2013". FFRXIII (in French). 25 November 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  9. ^ "Retour au Championnat de France pour le XIII Fauteuil". FFRXIII (in French). 30 August 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  10. ^ "2 jours exclusivement consacrés au XIII Fauteuil". FFRXIII (in French). 16 December 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  11. ^ "Para Rugby XIII : une seconde équipe Dragons Handi intègre l'Elite 2". FFRXIII (in French). 12 August 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  12. ^ a b "Le calendrier pour le Para Rugby XIII Elite". FFRXIII (in French). 17 September 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  13. ^ "XIII fauteuil : Cahors champion". FFRXIII (in French). 12 June 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  14. ^ "Résultats XIII Fauteuil – Saison 2012/2013". FFRXIII (in French). 25 March 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  15. ^ "Les résultats du week-end". FFRXIII (in French). 10 June 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  16. ^ "Les Dragons Catalans handirugby encore sacrés". FFRXIII (in French). 1 June 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  17. ^ "XIII Fauteuil | Les Dragons sacrés Champions pour la 8ème fois de leur histoire !". FFRXIII (in French). 6 June 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  18. ^ "Dragons Wheelchair win the title". Catalans Dragons. 6 June 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  19. ^ "Le TO XIII/St Jory Champion de France". FFRXIII (in French). 3 May 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  20. ^ "Les Dragons champions presque dans un fauteuil". FFRXIII (in French). 17 June 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  21. ^ "Et de huit pour les Handi Dragons!". FFRXIII (in French). 27 May 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  22. ^ "Le XIII Fauteuil descend dans l'Arène". FFRXIII (in French). 26 May 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  23. ^ "Finale Elite 1 XIII Fauteuil : le "Saint-Graal" pour les Dragons Handi". FFRXIII (in French). 21 May 2022. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  24. ^ "Printemps du XIII : une première journée bien remplie". FFRXIII (in French). 28 May 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  25. ^ "Para Rugby XIII : double sacre pour les Dragons Handi". FFRXIII (in French). 17 June 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
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