USA - National Wheelchair Basketball Association to host world’s largest wheelchair basketball tournament
The National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA) will hold its 62nd annual National Championship Tournament in Denver April 6-11, 2010 in what will be one of the largest athletic events of the year in Colorado and the largest wheelchair basketball tournament in the world for 2010, thanks to tremendous support from ABC Medical, Best Buy, the Daniels Fund and the Gold Crown Foundation. More than 1,000 of the best male and female athletes with physical disabilities from all over North America will travel to Colorado to compete.
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The National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA) will hold its 62nd annual National Championship Tournament in Denver April 6-11, 2010 in what will be one of the largest athletic events of the year in Colorado and the largest wheelchair basketball tournament in the world for 2010, thanks to tremendous support from ABC Medical, Best Buy, the Daniels Fund and the Gold Crown Foundation. More than 1,000 of the best male and female athletes with physical disabilities from all over North America will travel to Colorado to compete.
The National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA) will hold its 62nd annual National Championship Tournament in Denver April 6-11, 2010 in what will be one of the largest athletic events of the year in Colorado and the largest wheelchair basketball tournament in the world for 2010, thanks to tremendous support from ABC Medical, Best Buy, the Daniels Fund and the Gold Crown Foundation. More than 1,000 of the best male and female athletes with physical disabilities from all over North America will travel to Colorado to compete.
Teams in six divisions will have qualified for the Nationals via NWBA-sanctioned regional tournaments – the teams traveling to Colorado to play in this tournament will be the best of the best. The six divisions featuring elite adult players all the way down to the NWBA’s youngest elite competitors ages 8-12 are: Championship, Division III, Women’s, Varsity, Junior Invitational and Prep.
This will be the second consecutive year that Denver has hosted the NWBA Championships. Hosting the 2010 NWBA Championships in a single site is made possible because of the support ABC Medical, Best Buy and the Daniels Fund have provided.
“We are so grateful to our corporate partners, they literally saved the day,” said NWBA Executive Director Todd Hatfield. “Without their support, we would be facing some hard decisions regarding the scale of this event, which would have meant a lot fewer opportunities for these great athletes.”
Former NBA great Bill Hanzlik, who spent 17 years playing and coaching in the NBA and is currently the full-time CEO of the Gold Crown Foundation, was critical in securing this event for Colorado. A majority of the games will take place at the Gold Crown Field House in Lakewood, 10 minutes west of downtown Denver. The Gold Crown Field House boasts Colorado’s largest hardwood floor (more than 42,000 square feet) and will host five NWBA basketball games simultaneously under one roof.
“It was a big risk to combine all the individual tournaments into one event last year, but it worked out so well, we knew had to try to keep it going,” said Hanzlik. “It takes a lot of resources and logistical expertise to pull an event this size together, and many other U.S. cities wanted to host it. Thankfully, ABC Medical, Best Buy and the Daniels Fund stepped up to help us keep it here in Denver.”
Over the course of the five days, teams in the six divisions will combine to play more than 170 games. Metro State College of Denver, Lakewood High School and Whitlock Recreation Center will also host a series of games. The tournament tips off on Tuesday, April 6, with a pep rally/assembly at Lakewood High School.