Wheelchair basketball on display this weekend at Big Marble Go

By JAMES TUBB on April 8, 2022.

jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb

Hatters can get their fill of wheelchair basketball this weekend.

Medicine Hat Adaptive Sport and Recreation and the Medicine Hat Mustangs are hosting their first wheelchair basketball jamboree since 2019 on Saturday at Big Marble Go Centre.

Tara Chisholm, MHASR program co-ordinator, says they are excited to be showcasing skills back at home again.

“We haven’t been on our home court at the Big Marble Go Centre for awhile, before it was the Go Centre, so before the pandemic hosting games,” Chisholm said. “We’re really excited to be able to show our family and friends how hard we’ve been working over the last couple of years.”

The two Medicine Hat teams will face off against one another and a visiting team from Lethbridge.

The day of basketball gets started at 9:30 a.m., with MedHat 1 matching up against Med Hat 2.

In between games against Lethbridge at 11:30 a.m. and 3 p.m., Medicine Hat’s newly formed Mini Mustangs kids team will play an exhibition game against one another at 1:30 p.m.

Chisholm says they’ve never had a children’s only program before and she is excited they are now providing the opportunity.

“We had a couple of young kids who were playing with their adults the last couple of years, so we wanted to give kids more of an opportunity to play with same age peers,” Chisholm said. “We just started it in January of this year and we’ve been able to get around 10 kids who are participating with us trying a new sport or trying sport for the first time, or being a part of a team for the first time.”

Anyone is able to come watch and cheer on the Mustangs on Saturday during their more than six hours of basketball.

The Mustangs’ last tournament was February in Lethbridge, and Chisholm describes that city’s team as the perfect opponent for Medicine Hat.

“They’ve got some guys that have been playing a really long time who are amazing, so they’ll be helpful; they’re usually pretty good and they kind of actually help us as we play them,” Chisholm said.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better neighbouring community in Lethbridge to help us get going and learn more. They’re an amazing, amazing group of people to play against. That’s why we’re always so excited to have them down, or go up to see them to play a little bit.”

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