# Elite 1 (wheelchair rugby league)

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

Wheelchair rugby league was developed by French rugby league players and coaches, Robert Fassolette and Wally Salvan, in 2000. The first competition was played by three teams, Vichy, Roanne and Beauvais, as part of a French Téléthon. Meetings establishing the official rules of the sport took place in 2002 and in the same year a Trophy of France tournament took place in Vichy with six teams taking part. The sport spread to the south of France with the establishment of teams from Perpignan, Cahors, and Montauban in 2004, and the inclusion of wheelchair rugby league in a national development program that provided equipment to numerous regional sports centres. 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. In the 2011–12 season, six teams competed in the Championship and six more took part in development tournaments. The following season there were four teams in the Elite 1 competition and six in Elite 2. In the 2013–14 season this was restructured as a single Championship of ten teams, 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. 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. 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.

## Format

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.

### Teams

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

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