The Scottish Junior Wheelchair Basketball side achieved a podium finish for the second year running at the 2018 School Games, held over the weekend Thursday 30th August to Sunday 1st September at Loughborough. The Scotland under 19 side bettered last season’s result and claimed a second place finish.
The Young Scots came up against a strong England North side who were littered with experienced players which proved a reach too far and they ultimately lost 64 – 41 after leading going into the 2nd quarter. James Beattie (CWSC Panthers) top scored in the final, claiming more than half of Scotland’s overall points. There were also notable performances from Josh Manson (Tees Valley Titans), who captained the junior side at his last School Games, and Rhys Colliar (Dundee Dragons) who was pivotal in ensuring a close run match.
The Scotland youngsters had made it through the tournament without defeat until the final and were part of, arguably, the game of the Championships – claiming a 2 point victory over Wales (48 – 46). The young Scots also had previously defeated Northern Ireland (67 – 46) on day 1 and England Central (55 – 45) on day 2.
This year’s results created history as three Celtic Nations qualified for the semi-final stage of the competition. This builds on the result achieved by Scotland last year who were the first Celtic Nation to achieve a podium finish at the School Games – this is testament to the development work being undertaken in the countries.
The School Games National Finals, supported by National Lottery Funding from Sport England and delivered by the Youth Sport Trust, is a major multi-sport event for the most talented young athletes across the UK. More than 1400 young competed across 11 sports, five of which include disability competition, at venues across Loughborough University Campus.
Now in its 13th year, the School Games provides a fun, competitive and safe environment for our sports stars of the future to gain experience at a large, multi-sport event.
The full squad list can be found below –
| Name | Classification | Club | SDS Region |
| James Beattie | 5 (able-bodied) | Carlisle Panthers | West |
| Ben Leitch | 4.5 | Glasgow Rocks | Tayside |
| Cameron Watson | 4.5 | Lothian Phoenix | West |
| Josh Manson | 3.5 | Tees Valley Titans | East |
| Adan Donnachie | 3.5 | Lothian Phoenix | West |
| Ronnie Cassels | 2.5 | Glasgow Rocks | West |
| Tom McCaffrey | 2.0 | Glasgow Rocks | West |
| David Beattie | 2.0 | Carlisle Panthers | West |
| David Hird | 1.0 | Glasgow Rocks | West |
| Rhys Colliar | 1.0 | Dundee Dragons | Tayside |
If you are interested in accessing wheelchair basketball opportunities in Scotland, please contact basketballscotland’s Disability Talent and Pathways Manager, Tina Gordon on 0131 317 7260 or tina.gordon@basketball-scotland.com