Open evening to launch sports scheme

(Date of issue: Monday, 18 May 2009)

Those wanting to get involved in Carlisle’s first every wheelchair basketball scheme are being invited to come along to an open evening at The Sands Centre tonight (Monday, 18 May), between 6.30pm and 8pm.

Carlisle Panthers Basketball Club, working with Carlisle City Council’s Sport and Recreation team and in partnership with Cumbria Sport Partnership have organised the Wheelchair Basketball Development Evening, with the aim of setting up a local team.

The development team have enlisted the talents of the local Wheelchair Basketball Paralympian, Paula Johnson, to draw together the new wheelchair basketball scheme. Paula, from Barrow-in-Furness, travelled to the Beijing Paralympics in 2008 as part of the Great Britain’s women’s wheelchair basketball team and is thrilled to be supporting this project.

Paula will be taking time out of her busy training schedule to attend the development evening and says she is "thrilled to be able to contribute" to the promotion of the sports she loves. She said:

“I’m very pleased to have the opportunity to give something back to this sport. Wheelchair Basketball is a fast paced, exciting and dynamic sport which anyone can enjoy.”

The taster session is open to adults and young people interested in helping with, coaching or playing wheelchair basketball and will also provide the opportunity to get specialist coaching.

There will be a range of sports wheelchairs available for use and any visitor to the event will have a chance to use them (as you do not have to be a wheelchair user to play wheelchair basketball). All activities will be provided by qualified and experienced wheelchair basketball coaches. Guests at the event will include Adam Parry (Sports Development Officer at Percy Hedley Disability Sports Academy), and Paula Johnson (GB Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Player).

For further details about the evening or to find out more about the wheelchair basketball scheme, contact Paul Frampton on 01228 817581 or Tracy Gannon on 01228 817371.