Seattle, WA

Adaptive athletes get physical with Seattle Slam wheelchair rugby

Published

12 months ago

January 24, 2025

Adaptive athletes get physical with Seattle Slam wheelchair rugby

On a recent Wednesday in West Seattle, eight athletes in wheelchairs spun across the Southwest Teen Life Center’s basketball court. A volleyball flew from player to player; chairs collided and disengaged, filling the gym with metallic booming sounds.

For those familiar with wheelchair rugby—a fast-paced, full-contact sport played by athletes with both upper- and lower-limb impairments—the scene was unremarkable.

“It’s an hour and a half of sprinting back and forth, and people trying to kill you the whole time,” said Jeremy Hannaford, a Port Orchard native who has been playing wheelchair rugby for 20 years.

Hannaford is the coach of the Seattle Slam, Washington’s only wheelchair rugby club. Every Wednesday from 5 to 9 p.m., people of all abilities and from all walks of life gather in West Seattle for the Slam’s weekly open practice.

Players joke around as they transfer into rugby chairs and don rubber-coated gloves and athletic tape to protect their hands from injury. Support staff—physical and occupational therapists—are on hand to right chairs, rip tape, and reinflate tire tubes.

Wheelchair rugby, also known as “quad rugby” or “murderball,” was invented in 1977, but has struggled to gain mainstream attention. This past summer, two factors drove increased media coverage: Team USA took home the silver medal at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, while Sarah Adam became the first woman to compete for Team USA.

According to Hannaford, the attention trickled down to the Seattle Slam. As Washingtonians realized there was a local outlet for the game, the Slam saw an influx of sponsorships and fans.

Brian Moore, who used to regularly drive three hours each way to play with the Slam, noted that new, able-bodied viewers are realizing something people with disabilities have known all along.

“For able-bodied people who see the sport for the first time, they’re kind of blown away by it,” Moore said. “For anyone that’s living with a disability of any type, it’s not nearly as impressive, because they’re used to just doing whatever they want to do anyways. They’re just people doing people things.”

“Yeah, we’re disabled, we’re in wheelchairs, whatever, but we’re elite athletes,” Hannaford added. “We bust our ass to be as good as we are, and we have ambitions and goals.”

For Hannaford, one of those goals is to grow the Slam into a competitive force. In 2005, when he first started playing with the Slam, the team didn’t prioritize attending travel tournaments, the way they do now.

“We didn’t make nationals for the first six, seven years I played,” he said. “It was more just, we go and have fun.”

Things have changed gradually: the Slam established a nonprofit, brought in coaches to run clinics, sought out sponsors, and appointed a team manager. Brent Rotter, a seven-year Slam veteran, has witnessed the Slam’s evolution firsthand.

“There is an underlying current on our team now that we want to go out and, if not win a national championship, at least get to nationals,” he said, referencing the United States Wheelchair Rugby Association’s national championship tournament, which takes place in early May.

Although Hannaford, Rotter, and the other members of the “Slam Fam” play to win, they’re also intentional about cultivating community, according to Cecilia Black, the only woman on the Slam’s ten-person roster. “Our team is such a family,” she said.

Members of Seattle Slam practice wheelchair rugby in West Seattle.

Chase Tasca, who joined the Slam three years after a devastating motorcycle accident, echoed Black’s assessment. “You learn a lot about how to live with a disability,” he said. “Even more, I’d say, than what you learn in the hospital. I mean, there’s guys here that have been disabled just about as long as I’ve been alive.”

Multiple Slam players expressed regret for not involving themselves in the wheelchair rugby community earlier in their recovery. To that end, Hannaford wants the Slam to continue to connect with potential recruits, as often and as early as possible.

“We’re trying to reach out to hospitals and occupational therapists and physical therapists and people that deal with disabilities and trying to get the word out that we’re here,” he said, adding that he encourages everyone to come to an open practice and “at least try it and see what happens.”

After all, someone might get lucky enough to experience the same thing Hannaford did the first time he transferred to a rugby chair.

“Freedom,” he said.

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Seattle, WA

Valter Walker vs. Marcin Tybura booked for UFC Seattle

Published

11 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Valter Walker vs. Marcin Tybura booked for UFC Seattle

Heavyweights will collide in “Rain City.”

MMAmania.com confirmed with multiple sources today (Thurs., Jan. 8, 2026) that No. 10-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight Marcin Tybura will take on surging Brazilian prospect Valter Walker at UFC Seattle on Sat., March 28, 2026, inside Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington.

Walker (15-1) stumbled out of the gate in his UFC debut, suffering a loss to Lukasz Brzeski in 2024. Since then, however, “Clean Monster” has completely rewritten the narrative — and the UFC record books.

Walker opened 2025 by submitting Don’Tale Mayes with a heel hook (watch highlights), his second straight victory via the technique. Five months later, he followed it up with another first-round heel hook against Kennedy Nzechukwu (watch highlights), setting a new UFC record for most consecutive heel hook submission wins with three.

But he wasn’t finished.

At UFC 321 in Oct. 2025, Walker once again locked in a first-round heel hook — this time against Louie Sutherland — tying Rousimar Palhares for the most heel hook submissions (four) in UFC history while extending his own record for consecutive heel hook finishes (watch it).

A win in Seattle would almost certainly vault Walker into the Top 10 of the Heavyweight rankings.

Tybura (27-10), meanwhile, will be defending his No. 10 spot when he steps into the cage. The Polish veteran went 1-1 in 2025, handing highly touted U.K. prospect Mick Parkin his first professional loss at UFC London before suffering a quick knockout loss to debuting Ante Delija at UFC Paris (watch highlights), snapping a two-fight win streak.

Now 40 years old, Tybura is 5-3 over his last eight appearances.

Here are some other bouts currently scheduled for UFC Seattle:

Casey O’Neill vs. Gabriella Fernandes

Alexa Grasso vs. Maycee Barber

Nicolle Caliari vs. Carol Fiori

To checkout UFC’s upcoming schedule of events click here.

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Seattle, WA

Around 200 protest fatal ICE shooting in front of Seattle’s federal building

Published

23 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Around 200 protest fatal ICE shooting in front of Seattle’s federal building

SEATTLE, Wash. – There were at least 200 protesters that showed up in Seattle Wednesday night in what speakers called an “emergency protest” in response to the fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis Wednesday.

“We want justice, we want peace, we want justice, we want peace, we want ICE off our streets, we want ice off our streets…” they chanted.

Seattle protest on fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis

Seattle protesters outside the Federal Building following a fatal shooting by ICE agents in Minneapolis. (FOX 13 Seattle)

After listening to speakers, protesters went on the march and circled the blocks near the Federal Building in Seattle.

Though the protest was organized on short notice, some protesters say they were compelled to come out Wednesday with urgency because they felt what happened in Minneapolis was a bridge too far.

What they’re saying:

“ICE has gone too far. We’ve felt this, we’ve known this for a long time. There have been people protesting,” said Raleigh Watts, protesting the ICE shooting. “We’ve been hearing the news. Today I came out because when I heard, it was my sign that a line has been crossed that I can’t stand anymore. So, I’ve come to say, ‘No ICE, you’ve gone too far’.”

“A lot of people out here are really, really angry, confused and sad, but I think we have what it takes to fight back,” said Sophia Van Beek, protesting the MN ICE shooting. “I’m certain there are going to be actions.”

Sophia says in order to make a difference, protesters need to create an actionable political program.

Seattle protest on fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis

Members of law enforcement were in the area and helped to block off the streets during the protest and march. There were no clashes during this protest and it wrapped up at around 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

“I am proud of all the hundreds of people who have turned out tonight at the federal building in Seattle. I’m proud of the people who are in Tacoma that are protesting at the ice detention center and in Minneapolis and in cities across the country. This is not okay for ICE to kill somebody,” said Watts.

What’s next:

Some people at Wednesday’s demonstration said they were planning to organize more protests in the coming weeks.

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The Source: Information in this story came from original FOX 13 Seattle reporting and interviews.

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Seattle, WA

Seattle groups join national protest against ICE raids following Minneapolis shooting

Published

1 day ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

Seattle groups join national protest against ICE raids following Minneapolis shooting

SEATTLE — Seattle activists are rallying to demand justice on Wednesday following the fatal shooting of a woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Minneapolis.

The Seattle Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (SAARPR) and Seattle Against War (SAW) have organized an emergency press conference to protest the incident.

The event is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building in Seattle.

Woman killed by ICE officers in Minneapolis; Mayor tells ICE to ‘get the f***’ out

The shooting occurred on Wednesday morning at the corner of 34th and Portland Avenue in Minneapolis. According to preliminary information, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said, the woman was sitting in her vehicle blocking the roadway when a federal law enforcement officer approached on foot. When the vehicle began to drive away, at least two shots were fired, and the vehicle crashed on the side of the road.

In response, emergency protests have erupted in Minneapolis and are expected to continue through Jan. 11.

The Seattle groups are joining the Legalization 4 All Network in calling for an immediate end to ICE raids and mass deportations.

They are also demanding justice and accountability for the woman who was killed, including the release of the name of the ICE agent involved and the names of all agents participating in such operations.

This is a developing story; check back for updates.

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