These championships saw the number one ranked New Zealand Wheelblacks aiming to defend their ranking won at the Athens Paralympics against strong competition from Australia, Japan and South Africa.

In the lead up to this event New Zealand and Australia have recently met in the Chris Handy Cup in Christchurch.  This provided a chance for the two teams to trial some new combinations and strategies resulting in a very close and hard fought event.  While New Zealand were victorious there it has also shown them that they can't take their ranking for granted and others will be snapping at their heels.