When I was growing up I was sports-mad. Give me an opportunity and I’d have a go; tennis, squash, rugby, soccer, hockey and especially cricket which I played into my 50’s. One sport that had never piqued my interest was basketball. Since becoming disabled in 2015 I tried wheelchair table tennis however a nerve condition soon put a frustrating stop to that venture. Sport was not on my agenda at all from then on but through a chance comment, I found wheelchair basketball or did it find me?

As with all wheelchairs, tyres wear out and here in regional Queensland, the local bike shop is the place to have them replaced. I enquired with the bike shop owner about the quality of a certain tyre to which he replied they’re pretty good, they use them for wheelchair basketball here in town. 

Well, that’s all I needed, I’d seen wheelchair basketball on TV at the Olympics and thought why not? I emailed the local basketball club asking if they had any contact information for the wheelchair club and within a day or two I received a call from the club coach and founder of Fraser Coasters Wheelchair Basketball Club.  

I quickly discovered that wheelchair basketball is one of the few Para sports that is reverse inclusive, meaning able-bodied people can play as well. The rules are similar to normal basketball – 5 players per side play 10-minute quarters (instead of 12-minute quarters in normal basketball). The court, backboard and hoop are the same and you have to dribble the ball which is not the easiest task while trying to propel your chair. A travel foul is called if you propel your wheelchair more than twice without dribbling.  

Fortunately, the club were running come-and-try sessions and I went along and loved it straight away. The club supplies basketball wheelchairs for all players if you don’t have your own. The chairs are a lot different to a standard day chair. Due to front and rear castor wheels, they’re very reactive to touch and movement (getting back into my day chair felt like driving a truck!) The coach and other participants are such a friendly, welcoming and supportive bunch and one thing that other wheelchair users will appreciate is no one bats an eyelid when you roll in, in your wheelchair!

The main focus of the club is on participation and fun while improving your skills. If you desire to play representative basketball, extra training is available and our club has one state player as well as a young lady who has been selected for the under-25 Australian women’s team. Marking players of this calibre in intra-club games is a huge challenge but one I enjoy immensely. These games are taken seriously by participants with lots of collisions and usually, one or two players have a fall in their chair. We also run courses in umpiring, coaching and scoring and players are expected to take on these duties when not playing. We invite (call it cajole, really) any spectators at our training sessions to participate in the fun and we have a number of carers who have joined in while their clients are playing, a father and daughter also play and my grandson plays making for a family feeling to the club. We have participants ranging in age from 10 years old up to me being the oldest in my mid 60’s. 

There is a great network of clubs in southeast and central Queensland and tournaments are held regularly throughout the year from the Gold Coast to central Queensland the focus is always the same – have fun and participate. So far I’ve been fortunate enough to be selected to play a couple of tournaments and we also travel to other basketball clubs locally to run demonstration games inviting spectators to have a go as well. 

So if the thought of playing wheelchair basketball interests you, make some enquiries to see if there is a club nearby and go along and give it a go. It’s a fun way of staying active, making a few new friends and I may even see you on the court one day!

About the author:

Bill is a husband, father and grandfather who lives in the central Queensland town of Maryborough. Bill is an ambulant wheelchair user following two failed surgeries. He is very passionate about disability rights and apart from wheelchair basketball enjoys photography, woodwork and spending time with his family. You can find Bill on Twitter @bilfulaAU