Rebel Wheelers invite people to take part in fast-paced wheelchair basketball

Are you tough enough to roll with them?

One of the country's leading disability sports club has issued an open invitation for people to try out a fast-paced wheelchair sport.

Photo: Rose Gowan

Rebel Wheelers in Cork plan to stage an inclusive wheelchair basketball challenge series, for wheelchair users and able-bodied people, early next month to mark World Disability Day and raise awareness of the range of disability sports while at the same time raising much-needed funds for their club.

The club has invited teams of 10 able-bodied players each to sign up and try out wheelchair basketball and to play a series of games throughout the day on December 9 against other able-bodied teams.

“This disability awareness day is a new venture for Rebel Wheelers in a bid to publicise this fast-paced and exciting game while raising funds for the club,” said Con Coughlan, whose son, Conor, plays with the club's thriving junior basketball team.

Rebel Wheelers was established in 2008 to encourage children, from the age of five up, with a physical disability, to experience all types of physical activity but with a particular emphasis on sport.

The club started with five members but today works with children from around 70 families.

Members meet every Saturday morning in the Cope Foundation in Montenotte where parents and club volunteers introduce children from the age of five up to the range of activities they can enjoy.

These introductory games like ‘Duck, Duck, Goose’ and ‘What time is it Mr Wolf’ help build confidence before introducing more competitive sports such as wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, athletics, GAA, tennis, soccer, karate and yoga.

Rebel Wheelers basketball is one of the more successful sports, and has grown over the last decade from a handful of players on a junior team to now boasting a junior academy, an 18-strong junior team and an 11-strong senior team, with five of the senior team making up a third of the Irish national wheelchair basketball team.

The basketball teams train every Tuesday evening at Ballyphehane community centre.

Rebel Wheelers is totally dependent on fundraising and grants with all of the money it raises being used to run club programmes, cover the cost of hall hire and transport, and buy equipment - the cost of a specially adapted basketball wheelchair starts at €2,500.

Another parent in the club, Eileen Simpson, promised people a day full of exciting action and edge-of-your-seat viewing at the wheelchair basketball event in Ursulines Secondary School, Blackrock on December 9.

You can get more details about how to get involved in the Roll with Rebel Wheelers event on the Rebel Wheelers Facebook page or by calling 087-294 9808.