Update (21 June 2021): Further to the delay to Stage 4 (Competition) Return to Play – please note the 3×3 Ball Out competition will now take place on Saturday 7 August at Leeds Carnegie Sports Centre, Headingley Campus, Leeds LS6 3QQ, UK.
British Wheelchair Basketball has teamed-up with Ball Out 3×3 to bring the exciting new format of 3×3 Wheelchair Basketball to London this summer as excitement continues to build ahead of next year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
The Ball Out 3×3 National Tour is the UK’s premier 3×3 tournament and for the first time the 2021 tour will include a BWB sanctioned Wheelchair Basketball competition.
Open to Wheelchair Basketball teams from across the UK, both the Adult and Junior wheelchair basketball competitions will be played at August’s Leeds event of the Ball Out 3×3 National Tour on Saturday 7 August.
Teams can now register to compete in the event which will be held less than 12 months before the 3×3 format takes centre stage during Wheelchair Basketball’s Commonwealth Games debut at Birmingham 2022.
To register, teams need to email membership@britishwheelchairbasketball.co.uk with their team name and the name of their team administrator. Entry fees are £15 per junior and £30 per adult team.
All team members need to have one of the 2020/21 BWB Memberships (adult/ junior/pre-season adult or pre-season junior) and a player licence. A maximum squad of four is permitted along with one team staff member, who must also be registered for 2020/21 and appropriately licenced.
Ball Out is also looking for volunteers and two licensed British Wheelchair Basketball referees to assist in the administration of the event which is a great opportunity to get event experience for anyone looking to get involved in next year’s Commonwealth Games.
Commenting on todays’ exciting news, British Wheelchair Basketball’s Participation Director, Jo Richards said:
“Ball Out 3×3 has a fantastic reputation of delivering brilliant 3×3 events so we’re really excited to be able to partner with Ball Out 3×3 as Wheelchair Basketball competition is added to this fantastic showcase of 3×3 for the first time.
“3×3 Wheelchair Basketball is a new but really exciting format which will no doubt make it one of the sports to watch at next year’s Commonwealth Games. The Ball Out 3×3 event will be a fantastic way to continue the countdown to Birmingham 2022 and our development of a 3×3 pathway moving forward.”
Ball Out 3×3 is part of the global network of open tournaments, from grassroots to the FIBA 3×3 World Tour, and are at the forefront of the development of 3×3 basketball and now 3×3 Wheelchair Basketball.
Ball Out 3×3 founder, Julius Joseph added:
“This year’s National Tour is going to be bigger than ever, and we’re delighted to be working with British Wheelchair Basketball to bring our first ever 3×3 Wheelchair Basketball competition to London this summer.
“The Wheelchair Basketball exhibition game in 2018 was an amazing success – the fast-pace, impressive skills and frenetic action making it a must-watch event, so we can’t wait to see teams going head-to-head in Finsbury Park during what promises to be two days of enthralling competition.
“Ball Out 3×3 is incredibly passionate about introducing 3×3 to a wider audience and, with just over a year to go until the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, we can’t wait to show how inclusive and exciting the sport is during our biggest year of events yet.”
The Ball Out 3X3 Wheelchair Basketball competition is subject to British Wheelchair Basketball moving to Stage 4 of its Return to Play Matrix when competitions will be permitted to return in line with the NGB’s guidance.