Wheelchair Basketball Comes To Nelson

Wheelchair Basketball Comes To Nelson

The pace and excitement of wheelchair basketball with some of the country’s top players comes to Nelson in May, when the South Island Tournament Round One is being held here for the second time.   
 
Organiser Carol Daley says six regions, including three from the North Island, have indicated they will be there. Ms Daley says many of the participating players have been in New Zealand teams in the past.
 
“To see these players in action is a great opportunity for both players and spectators,” she said. “The players may not be able to ‘slam dunk’, but they manoeuvre their chairs as if they are an extension of themselves, balancing on one wheel to shoot a basket away from the opposition.”
 
Ms Daley said although basketball is a ‘non-contact’ sport and the players don’t crash chairs as they do in wheelchair rugby, the game is just as furious and the  ‘bash bars’ at the front of chairs are often padded so the referees don’t hear any contact.
 
The teams coming to the Nelson tournament are Waikato, Kapiti - Horowhenua, Wellington and Canterbury, with the home side fielding two teams.
 
Last year the Nelson Rebels won their first tournament in Wellington and will have Orion Daley-Coers (forward) and Shane Blows (guard) back after a year off, to join mainstay players Paddy O’Donnell, Jeremy Carston, Chris Mackenzie and Trent Roberts.  The Nelson Falcons is a ‘development team’ with strong play expected from ‘father & son’ partnership of Ben and Russell Buschl.
 
For the first time since startup in 2003, the Nelson club has professional coaches, Lydia Walterfang as a Fitness Coach and Chris Varcoe, Chief Executive Basketball Nelson, as Basketball Coach.
 
On the Friday prior to the tournament (May 15) Nelson Bays Wheelchair Basketball Club Inc is co-hosting an Introductory Wheelchair Basketball Referee Training Clinic with Nelson Basketball, BBNZ and WBNZ. It will be led by Gavin Zimmerman from Canterbury, New Zealand’s only active International Wheelchair Basketball Federation referee.
 
Round one of the tournament is to be held on the weekend of May 16 at the Nelson College For Girls Alison McAlpine gym in Bronte Street with the proud support of The Haven Sports Trust, which has have helped the club develop from three players with three vintage wheelchairs in 2003 to a thriving club with two teams in 2009. Sponsor support has also come from the RG & EF Macdonald Trust.
 
Times:
Saturday May 16 Games from 9AM – 5PM
Sunday May 17 Game Finals from 9AM – 2PM
Times to be confirmed when entries are in.
 
Ends

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