Wheelchair basketball rolls back into the region

The Nelson Rebels used to be a wheelchair basketball powerhouse, and now the sport has been revived at youth level.

An inaugural youth development tournament was staged at Saxton Stadium with teams from Nelson and Canterbury taking part.

Funding issues prevented Auckland and Waikato to attend, but the two-day event is being hailed as a great success by national wheelchair basketball coach Glenn McDonald, who travelled from Whangarei to officiate.

Roller Black Curtis Smith was in the thick of the action on court, coaching one of the two Canterbury teams.

“A bit of guidance, showing them where the holes are. The development here is brilliant. There were more people than I expected. It was great to see so many young people playing,” enthuses Curtis. There was a “distraction” though when several of the Nelson Giants came down for a look and got to play.

“They were fangirling,” quips Curtis about some of his young charges. Giants star Hayden Jones was impressed with the youngsters’ skill level.

“It is quick and definitely a lot harder than just running because you have to be able to dribble and roll. But we were very competitive out there. We always are in any aspect of life,” declares Hayden.

Probably the most excited person at the tournament was Marty “Irish” Price who used to play and coach the Rebels.

He assumed ownership of the wheelchairs after the team folded, and they were stored away until local disability advocate Neisha Kindley pushed for the sport to return.

“It was a great weekend. We need wheelchair basketball back in Nelson. I hopped in the chairs too, for old time’s sake,” says Marty, who is adamant Tasman has some potential New Zealand players coming through.

He rates 13-year-old Millie Oram as a natural talent, even though she has only been playing for five weeks.

“It was so cool. A great opportunity for people who hadn’t played before. It was a bit harder for the Giants in the chairs though, because of their height,” observes Millie, who has muscular dystrophy.

Basketball New Zealand disability and inclusion lead, Matt Vernick, thanked Neisha, Marty, former Nelson Rebel Ben Buschl, Nelson Basketball and Sport Tasman for their collaborative efforts.

“We want to create those connections and lifelong friendships kids make through being active in sport,” vows Matt.

Neisha says the next step is to secure sponsorship to store the chairs and get court space. Another goal is to integrate a wheelchair basketball competition alongside the regular basketball season.

Better keep an eye on those young Giants then. “Once you got them in the chairs, you couldn’t get the players out of them,” concludes Neisha.