Liberty Mutual to Serve as Official Insurance Partner for USA Wheelchair Rugby and its U.S. Paralympics National Team
May 6, 2015 - Just days after the excitement of selecting its 2015 Parapan American Games training team, USA Wheelchair Rugby today officially announced Liberty Mutual Insurance as a multi-year sponsor of the organization. The sponsorship, which extends through the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, names Liberty Mutual as the Official Insurance Partner of the USA Wheelchair Rugby and its U.S. Paralympics National team.
Liberty Mutual’ s new agreement with the three-time Paralympic gold medal-winning national team will feature USA Wheelchair Rugby athletes in a series of Liberty Mutual speaking engagement and promotional appearances, as well as well as branding within all USA Wheelchair Rugby-controlled national team matches and on the squad’s uniforms.
Liberty Mutual’s sponsorship of USA Wheelchair Rugby builds upon the company’s current support of Paralympic athletes through its role as official sponsor of the U.S. Olympic Committee for the 2016 Paralympic Games and 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, as well as its sponsorship of several Paralympic athletes during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.
“We are thrilled to extend our commitment to the Paralympic Movement through our new partnership with USA Wheelchair Rugby,” said John Coombe, vice president of Brand Management and Sponsorships for Liberty Mutual Insurance. “This new relationship allows us to connect with more athletes and fans of a fast-growing sport as the National team ramps up for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio.”
The sponsorship will first support the 15 athletes named to the 2015 Parapan American Games Training Squad from the selection camp, which took place April 29-May 3 at Lakeshore Foundation in Birmingham, Ala. Members of the training squad will now train and vie for one of 12 spots on the team that will compete in the August 2015 Parapan American Games in Toronto. Following the Games, the squad will come back together to train for the World Wheelchair Rugby Challenge, taking place in London, England in October.
“We are incredibly proud to announce this support from Liberty Mutual Insurance,” said Lakeshore Foundation President Jeff Underwood. “Liberty Mutual has demonstrated a strong commitment to the growth of Paralympic sport. They will be a wonderful partner in our efforts to regain and retain our standing as the number one wheelchair rugby team in the world.”
The sponsorship of USA Wheelchair Rugby complements Liberty Mutual’s status as official partner of several national governing bodies, including U.S. Soccer, ASA/USA Softball, U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, USA Hockey, US Youth Soccer, USA Volleyball, USA Water Polo, USA Wrestling, and USRowing.
About USA Wheelchair Rugby
Wheelchair Rugby was invented in Canada in 1977. Originally known as “murderball” because of its intense physical nature, the sport’s name was changed to wheelchair rugby. By 1993 wheelchair rugby was officially recognized as a sport for athletes with disability and the International Wheelchair Rugby Federation was founded. In 1994 Wheelchair Rugby was recognized by the International Paralympic Committee as a Paralympic sport and made its Paralympic debut as a demonstration event in Atlanta in 1996. It became a medal sport in Sydney in 2000, where the United States won the gold medal. In 2013, USA Wheelchair Rugby partnered with USA Rugby in order to collaborate in the growth of Rugby in America.
Lakeshore Foundation, a U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Site in Birmingham, Alabama, serves as the High Performance Management Organization for USA Wheelchair Rugby under contract with the United States Olympic Committee. With a unique combination of activity, research and advocacy Lakeshore is a leader in their field. Learn more about USA Wheelchair Rugby and Lakeshore Foundation at www.lakeshore.org.
About Liberty Mutual Insurance
Liberty Mutual Insurance helps people preserve and protect what they earn, build, own and cherish. Keeping this promise means we are there when our policyholders throughout the world need us most.
In business since 1912 and headquartered in Boston, Mass., today Liberty Mutual Insurance is a diversified insurer with operations in 30 countries and economies around the world. The company is the third largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on 2013 direct premiums written as reported by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Liberty Mutual Insurance also ranks 76th on the Fortune 100 list of largest corporations in the U.S. based on 2013 revenue.
Liberty employs more than 50,000 people in approximately 900 offices throughout the world, and offers a wide range of insurance products and services, including personal automobile, homeowners, accident & health, commercial automobile, general liability, property, surety, workers compensation, group disability, group life, specialty lines, reinsurance, and individual life and annuity products.
Liberty Mutual Insurance is the official property and casualty and life insurance partner of the U.S. Olympic Committee for the 2016 Olympic Games and 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The company also is the proud sponsor and partner of several national governing bodies, including ASA/USA Softball, USRowing, U.S. Soccer Federation, US Youth Soccer, USA Hockey, U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, USA Volleyball, USA Water Polo and USA Wrestling.
Press Contacts:
Glenn Greenberg
Liberty Mutual Insurance
617-574-5874
glenn.greenberg@libertymutual.com
Jen Remick
Lakeshore Foundation
205-313-7417
jenr@lakeshore.org
