Wheelchair basketball coming to the university THE University of Worcester has been chosen as the West Midlands Regional Centre for Wheelchair Basketball.

The Great Britain Wheelchair Basketball Association (GBWBA) has selected the university following its good practice in promoting and developing disabled sport.

The university will now take the lead in the region in hosting training and coaching sessions, running regional tournaments, raising awareness and disseminating good practice, and developing young players.

Craig Williams, Sport and Recreation Facilities manager at the university, said: “This builds on all the good work that we have been doing at the University of Worcester in this area.

“The award is recognition for the hard work put in by a number of key partners who have come together to promote and develop the sport.

“The university receives excellent support from GBWBA, Worcester Wolves, Bromsgrove District Council Sports Development team, the Herefordshire & Worcestershire County Sports Partnership, Hereford United Football Club and the English Federation of Disability Sport.

“Together we currently have three satellite centres across Herefordshire and Worcestershire delivering coaching in wheelchair basketball.

“We will now be looking to widen that out across the region to introduce the sport to a host of new players.”

Jay Popat, British Wheelchair Basketball club development manager, said: “We are delighted that the University of Worcester will be playing a key role in the development of wheelchair basketball in the region.

“Their commitment and passion for the development of the game has been most impressive and we look forward to continuing our work with them.”

The university is currently running a campaign to build a state-of-the-art sports arena for the City, which will be designed with disability sport at its heart and will hopefully open next year.

“The development of the new arena will really help to establish the wheelchair basketball centre and to develop the game further,” added Williams.

Worcester Wolves, the universitybased professional British Basketball League team, is looking to develop a wheelchair side, which will take in players from across the region.

As part of the university’s role as the regional centre, it will also take a lead in developing Inclusive Zone Basketball, a new concept where able bodied and disabled players can play alongside each other.

For further information on wheelchair basketball contact Williams via email at c.williams@worc.ac.uk