The Peak Sports Centre in Stirling played host to the 2019 RGK Wheelchair Basketball Regional Junior Festival, welcoming young people from across the county and providing them with an opportunity to proudly represent their regions.
Young players from five regions travelled to Stirling on Saturday 6th July to compete in both the under 13 and under 18 competitions, displaying a high level of enthusiasm and skills throughout the day. The event provides young aspiring players an opportunity to pit their skills against opponents from other areas of the country while also introducing players to the sport in a friendly and welcoming setting.
Tayside and Fife proved to hot to handle in both the under 18 and under 13 sections, claiming the top spot in each. The under 18 side, including GB Under 23 long list player Ben Leitch, defeated the experienced West side 32-17 in the final while a combined Grampian / East side ended the day in 3rd place after claiming victory 22-10 versus their Central counterparts. The under 13 squad from Tayside and finished top of the table with 3 wins from 3 and scoring over 30 points in each match.
The event was delivered by basketballscotland and supported by a number of key partners including RGK, CliniMed and the Lords Taverners with former GB Paralympians Lee Fawcett, Sinclair Thomas and Matt Byrne all present on the day to pass on their experience and knowledge of the sport.
With regular wheelchair basketball sessions in many regions of the country, the development of the game is looking bright and this was reinforced by the quality of play over the weekend. A summary of opportunities is listed below –
- East of Scotland – Lothian Phoenix
- Grampian – Grampian Flyers
- Tayside – Dundee Dragons
- West of Scotland – Glasgow Rocks
basketballscotland’s Disability Talent & Pathways Manager and event organiser Tina Gordon recognised the quality throughout the day stating, ‘It was great to see so many young wheelchair basketballers enjoying our sport, the future of wheelchair basketball throughout Scotland definitely looks bright’.
Scottish Disability Sport are also working in partnership with basketballscotland and several other partners to develop wheelchair sport opportunities in the country. A current example of this can be found in the East of Scotland with a week of activity being delivered in Edinburgh for school aged young people with a physical disability. More information can be found by clicking here.