CHARLOTTE (Steve Goldberg’s Wheel World) – The spectacle and drama that is March Madness started in earnest yesterday with five of the 16 games played decided by a single point and nine by 5 points or less. There were upsets and unexpected cliffhangers.

All-encompassing as that may be, it’s not the only game in town. Basketball is everywhere. Like in Toronto where the Americas Wheelchair Basketball Challenge begins on Sunday and runs through Thursday.

The defending Paralympic gold medal winning Canadian Men’s National Team will try to defend the home court against Americas zone rivals Argentina, Brazil and the United States.

In an email bulletin about the event, the About Team Canada section reads: "The Senior Men’s National Team went undefeated at the London 2012 Paralympics to capture their third gold medal in four Paralympic Games. It is the latest accomplishment in a sport dynasty that has placed them on the podium at four consecutive Paralympics and at five of the last six world championships."

The problem is that the world championship they missed was the most recent one, last summer in Korea, and the only one that the much accomplished Canadians have ever missed.

The Americas Wheelchair Basketball Challenge is only a measuring point for the national teams on the way to this summer’s Parapan American Games. That event will have much greater consequence as a top-two finish will be required by the Canadians to guarantee a spot in the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. But there should have been one more.

In the frenzy of the NCAA tournament there is a well-known phrase that describes fate more than strategy. Survive and advance. It’s not about how you win in the month of single elimination basketball, just that you do. Win and move on. In the broader world though, that has meaning off the court. Sometimes the greater struggle is not the game but getting to the game. Colombia, a country which has been on the rise in wheelchair basketball, took a hit this past week by having to withdraw their men’s team from the Americas Wheelchair Basketball Challenge for financial reasons.

Simply put, they could not afford to go. And that is an obstacle that faces even the most well-funded programs.

Unless you can make money for nothing like a Kardashian, budgets and the ability to meet them will always be a critical issue for teams and players to leagues and events.
Three years removed from their first Paralympic competition, Colombia cannot afford to lose ground.

It’s a different story in Great Britain where the sport continues to grow in the wake of London 2012.   

There is much a stir in the county of Worcestershire, which was ostensibly named after the popular fermented sauce. Like Toronto, the West Midlands locale will be at the center of the Wheel World this summer as host of the 2015 European Wheelchair Basketball Championships.

The University of Worcester – hold the shire – just recently hosted the second University Wheelchair Basketball Championships. They had won the inaugural event last season. The trophy was taken this year by Nottingham Trent University whose Jack Waring was named the Most Valuable Player.

Perhaps the bigger news is that the tournament more than doubled in size, growing to 12 teams in 2015. Participating schools came from across England and Scotland including:
•    University of Bath
•    University of Birmingham
•    Brighton University
•    Durham University
•    University of East Anglia
•    University of East London
•    University of Loughborough
•    University of Northampton
•    Nottingham Trent University
•    Scotland Universities
•    Sheffield Hallam University
•    University of Worcester

British Wheelchair Basketball’s Education Development Officer Oli Mitchell extolled the growth, saying, "The 2015 University Championships saw an incredible development in wheelchair basketball within higher education – from five teams last year to a full schedule of twelve, and some incredibly close matches which created a fantastic atmosphere within the Arena all day. Not only have the number of entries increased, but also the quality of the teams on display - I am sure that as more Universities engage with wheelchair basketball, this championship shall keep on going from strength to strength in years to come!"

Steve Goldberg

FIBA

FIBA's columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA.

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