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Here’s your chance to witness a groundbreaking match between world-ranked No. 2 wheelchair basketball men’s team - The Rollers (Australia) and our Singapore home team (from Handicapped Welfare Association) at the United World College this Saturday. The match will be the highlight of a wheelchair basketball clinic.
This clinic kicks off a wheelchair basketball programme that is being launched by SDSC and ‘Wheel-Power’ this year. The wheelchair basketball programme aims to relight the basketball fever in Singapore.
During this clinic, The Rollers will share on how able-bodied people have started playing wheelchair basketball in Australia, its raging popularity and the intensity involved which includes fractures, dislocations and broken bones.
You are welcome to watch this exhilarating show between one of the world’s top teams and our home team. You can also look out for photo opportunities with The Rollers’ stars such as Tige Simmons and Shaun Groenewegen, as well as Team Manager Kelvin Brown and Coach Ben Ettridge.
Event: Wheelchair Basketball Clinic (Australia’s The Rollers VS Singapore team)
Date: Saturday, 12 May 2007
Time: 4.00 pm to 6.00 pm
Venue : United World College of Southeast Asia, 1207 Dover Road, Singapore 139654
Let your friends and colleagues know!
About The Rollers
The Rollers, national wheelchair basketball (men) team of Australia, is world-ranked No. 2. The team will arrive from Manchester, UK, where they had almost beaten World and Paralympic Champion Canada during the 2007 VISA Paralympic World Cup, but missed by 2 points.
Previously, The Rollers were gold medalists in Atlanta 1996 Paralympics, silver medalists in Sydney 2000 & Athens 2004 Paralympic Games, during which they lost to Canada.
The 2007 VISA Paralympic World Cup is a warm-up for The Rollers, before they return to Australia for the 2007 Arafura Games. The 2007 Arafura Games has been designated as the Asia-Oceania regional wheelchair basketball qualifier for Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games. The top three (gold, silver, bronze) teams will qualify for Beijing 2008.
Head Coach, Ben Ettridge, has just been appointed coach of the Australian national team in April 2007. He was previously the Head Coach of Italian club side Santo Stefano in the Italian Wheelchair Basketball League – Serie A1. He is also the coaching director of Western Australia Junior Wheelchair Basketball Association.
About Singapore Disability Sports Council (SDSC) – Wheelchair Basketball
In 2007, SDSC will be relaunching its wheelchair basketball development programme, with support from the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The programme, headed by a group of students from Ngee Ann Polytechnic called ‘Wheel-Power’, will see a new batch of youths taking over the wheelchair basketball scene in Singapore.
A new wheelchair basketball league will also be starting this year under the National Disability League, which will be held from August to November 2007.