Wheelchair basketball squad are top quality

Mar 26 2009 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

LOTHIAN PHOENIX Wheelchair Basketball are a club whose stock is rapidly on the rise — and the first club to be featured in a brand new monthly Courier sports feature.

The county club, who are also Scotland’s ONLY wheelchair basketball team, were formed barely three years ago and already homing in on their second promotion.

Team captain and club founder Stevie Duff admits the sport has set the West Lothian heather on fire where they boast a enviable home record suffering just a single defeat on county soil.

They are based in Bathgate because of the town’s convenient location as a middle ground between Glasgow and Edinburgh — although there are West Lothian players now in the squad.

Stevie said: “A group of keen players all got together and decided to try and form a team. Some of us were from Edinburgh and some from Glasgow so we settled on Bathgate as a base because it’s halfway along the M8.

“But it has been a great decision for us as Bathgate Academy and Linlithgow Academy, where we split our home games, have been unbelievably good for us.

“They give us access to the halls and storage for our wheelchairs while the Sports Development Unit at West Lothian Council have also been very supportive.

“They have assisted us with access to grants while also advising us of the potential for grants from other bodies.”

Phoenix laid the foundations for their current success in the Third Division in 2006. After a year of settling in they stormed to promotion in just their second season to the Great Britain Wheelchair Basketball Association (GBWBA) Division 2 North.

Their step up to the higher level was aided significantly by a cash boost from Awards For All which provided the club with top of the range equipment.

“Awards For all helped us with a start up grant initially but they also gave us money to buy top of the range titanium wheelchairs,” revealed Stevie.

“They have been brilliant and the titanium is light and strong and the chairs are custom built for each players.

“The chairs have been a massive help and have definitely helped us battle for promotion this season again.”

Phoenix are currently just one game — and one win — away from a place in the First Division.

They beat bottom club Liverpool Vikings 62 - 18 at Linlithgow Academy on Saturday to move within 60 minutes of a second successive promotion.

“We still have to beat Celtic Warriors away this weekend to be sure of promotion,” continued Stevie.

“They are below us in the league but we have to be careful not to be complacent. The First Division would be a significant step-up but one I’m sure we could cope with.”

The rules of wheelchair basketball are very similar to those of running basketball.

There are five players on court with twelve in a team and the same court and free throw lines are used.

The only real difference is the points classification system for the players.

Each player is given a points total that is measured by their disability and range from one point to the player who is most disabled to 4.5 points to a player with less.

The points added up for each of the five players who are on the court at one time but it is imperative that the total never exceeds 14.5 at any one time.

Phoenix have firmly established their roots in West Lothian and are a fully accredited community club by West Lothian Council.

That means they have demonstrated safe practices with regards to child protection and also strong organisational administration and democratic accountability.

And Stevie admits to being keen on strengthening the bond between the developing club and the local community.

He added: “The coaches at the club do awareness sessions, coaching and supply basketball wheelchairs for people, generally school children, teachers, college students, lecturers to have a ‘come and try’ session and at the same time raise awareness of disability issues.

“We also held a wheelchair basketball taster and disability awareness sessions with the pupils at Inveralmond Community High School yesterday (Wednesday).

“This day was part funded through a club development grant from West Lothian Council which has also allowed us to extend our community programme in the area.”

George Thomson, Sport and Outdoor Education Manager, has praised the impact of the club which is still in its relative infancy.

He said: “West Lothian Council is pleased to recognise the important role Lothian Phoenix Wheelchair Basketball Club plays in increasing participation and improving the quality of sporting opportunities in West Lothian.

“I am delighted to see the partnership work between the Sports Development Team and Lothian Phoenix has ensured that everyone in West Lothian has an equal chance to take part in sport and that any barriers, which stand in the way of under-represented groups, are being eliminated.

“Congratulations to Lothian Phoenix on achieving 'Club of the Month' and Access Level status within West Lothian Council's Community Club Accreditation Scheme.”

So if you have a sense of fun, and balance, then Lothian Phoenix Wheelchair Basketball could be the club for you.