Adam Bailey

It’s a full programme of fixtures for GB athletes in Spain and Germany with four games expected to feature GB internationals in Spain and two in Germany. Elsewhere, there will be GB athletes in action in the Premier Division fixture between The Owls and CWBA, while Joy Haizelden begins her season in USA.

In Spain, six GB athletes will go head-to-head on Sunday as Mideba Extremadura host Amivel. Lewis Edwards, Charlotte Moore and Phil Pratt all helped Mideba begin their 2021/22 campaign with victory last weekend, their 42-point win placing them top of the Division de Honor table heading into the second gameweek.

Tyler Baines, Peter Cusack and Abdi Jama will all be trying to stop the GB trio and their Mideba teammates securing back-to-back wins when their Amivel Reyes Gutierrez side make the journey from Malaga to Badajoz for Sunday’s game (12noon UK Time).

Before then, there’s three fixtures in Spain featuring British interest on Saturday. Terry Bywater and Gregg Warburton will face GBR Academy athletes Calum Doherty and Lee Fryer when CD Ilunion welcome Servigest Burgos to the Spanish capital at 17:30.

Warburton is the league’s leading points scorer following his 34-point haul during the opening weekend, while Fryer tops the assists standings after his 12 assists for Burgos last weekend.

There’s five GB athletes among BSR Amiab Albacete’s roster this season and Harry Brown, Gaz Choudhry, Ben Fox, Lee Manning and Kyle Marsh will all be eager to follow-up last weekend’s opening victory whey host Fundacion FDI Las Rozas (18:00).

James MacSorley will also be targeting back-to-back wins as his new club Bidaideak Bilbao BSR take on UCAM Murcia BSR (17:30).

In Germany, Simon Brown will return to action after no fixture for RSV Lahn-Dill last weekend. Lahn-Dill have won both of their opening two games so far and on Saturday they host Hannover United (18:30).

Jim Palmer’s Rhine River Rhinos Wiesbaden also have four points from their two games to date, but this weekend they face one of the toughest tests of the season as they take on last season’s RBBL1 champions, RSB Thuringia Bulls. Tip-off is at 4pm on Saturday.

In BWB National League, Robyn Love and Laurie Williams could make their first appearances of the season for The Owls as the Manchester-based club welcome CWBA to the National Basketball Performance Centre.

CWBA include GB athletes of their own, including Love and Williams’ Tokyo 2020 teammate Siobhan Fitzpatrick who is part of the CWBA Premier Division squad. Their roster also includes Tom Smith – who began his season with 18 points last weekend – as well as Jake Robinson and Sam Mack.

Joy Haizelden will begin her time in the USA where she will represent the University of Alabama on court, alongside studying for her Master’s degree. Alabama start their 2021/22 campaign with a double header against Memphis this weekend – tip-off times are 01:30 and 17:30 on Saturday (UK Time).

In France, Tom Barnes will continue his season for Gennevilliers as they play Toulouse, while Fin Tonner’s Red Dragon’s travel to league leaders Hornets Le Cannet.

Spain – http://bsr.feddf.es/index.php

CD Ilunion v Servigest Burgos (17:30 – Saturday 16 October)	Terry Bywater (Ilunion) Gregg Warburton (Ilunion) Callum Doherty (Burgos) Lee Fryer (Burgos)
Bidaideak Bilbao BSR vs UCAM Murcia BSR (17:30 – Saturday 16 October)	James MacSorley
BSR Amiab Albacete v Fundacion FDI Las Rozas (18:00 – Saturday 16 October)	Harry Brown Gaz Choudhry Ben Fox Lee Manning Kyle Marsh
Mideba Extremadura v Amivel Reyes Gutierrez (12:00 – Sunday 17 October)	Lewis Edwards (Mideba) Charlotte Moore (Mideba) Phil Pratt (Mideba) Tyler Baines (Amivel) Peter Cusack (Amivel) Abdi Jama (Amivel)

Germany

Rhine River Rhinos Wiesbaden v RSB Thuringia Bulls (16:00 – Saturday 16 October)	Jim Palmer
RSV Lahn-Dill v Hannover United (18:30 – Saturday 16 October)	Simon Brown

France

Toulouse Iron Club v CVHG Gennevilliers (Saturday 16 October)	Tom Barnes
Hornets Le Cannet v Red Dragon’s (Saturday 16 October)	Fin Tonner

USA

University of Alabama v Memphis (01:30 – Saturday 16 October) University of Alabama v Memphis (17:30 – Saturday 16 October)

Joy Haizelden

Gregg Warburton ended the opening weekend as the league’s top points scorer in Division de Honor as GB athletes returned to club action in Spain, while there were also GB senior and academy athletes in action in BWB National League, Germany and France. 

Warburton scored a league-high 34 points – including 17 of his 22 field goal attempts – as he topped the Division de Honor scoring charts at the end of gameweek one and helped CD Ilunion claim a 52:83 win against Iberconsa Amfiv. 

Terry Bywater was also part of Ilunion’s starting five, scoring 10 points and recording a joint game-high five assists in the opening game of the new season.

Lewis Edwards, Charlotte Moore and Phil Pratt all played their part as Mideba Extremadura beat Servigest Burgos 66:108 to end the weekend top of the table. Moore made her debut for Mideba, as did Edwards, who scored 14 points during his first appearance for the Badajoz-based club. Pratt again asserted his influence on the game, recording a double-double, finishing with 15 points and a team-high 11 assists. 

Lee Fryer and Callum Doherty were both part of the Burgos side playing against Mideba with Fryer also recording a double-double as he topped the league’s assists charts with 12. In addition to helping set-up his teammates, Fryer also scored 15 points of his own – the joint-highest for Burgos – while Doherty began his first season in Spain with 11 points. 

Kyle Marsh posted the only triple-double of the opening weekend in Spain, recording 13 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds as Marsh, Harry Brown and Ben Fox all helped BSR Amiab Albacete achieve a 56:75 victory over Fundacion Vital Zuzenak. Fox scored 14 points and Brown eight points as they returned to competitive action; five weeks after being part of the bronze medal winning ParalympicsGB team in Tokyo. 

Tyler Baines, Peter Cusack and Abdi Jama all started for Amivel Reyes Gutierrez in their 44:62 loss to BSR Ace Gran Canaria. Jama scored six points, while Cusack and Baines both scored two points each.

James MacSorley scored eight points on his debut for Bidaideak Bilbao BSR as they began their title defence with a 53:73 win at Fundacion FDI Las Rozas. 

In Germany, Jim Palmer helped Rhine River Rhinos Wiesbaden secure back-to-back wins as they beat BG Baskets Hamburg 57:79 in RBBL1, while in France Tom Barnes scored eight points in Gennevilliers’ 54:77 win at Hurricane 92. 

In BWB National League, Jack Perry scored 19 points for London Titans on his debut for the club, while Jude Hamer scored six points during her first appearance as Titans beat Sheffield Steelers 80:69. 

Maddie Thompson picked-up where she left off from the opening weekend, scoring 16 points for Sheffield Steelers. Lucy Robinson was in action for Sheffield Steelers 2 in Division 1 North, scoring four points in their 66:52 win against Wakefield Whirlwinds. 

Tom Smith scored 18 points on his return to CWBA, who also featured Jake Robinson (12 points) and Sam Mack in the starting five as they helped Coventry to a 55:36 victory against Mohawks. Siobhan Fitzpatrick also featured in the Premier Division fixture for CWBA, before scoring four points in CWBA’s Division 1 South game against The Bears.

It was celebrations all around at Thames Valley Kings as they won all three of their opening BWB National League fixtures including an historic victory for their first team who were victorious in their first ever Premier Division game. 

Premier Division 

It was the perfect start for the Kings as they beat The Owls 46:38 to begin their debut Premier Division season with a win. A dominant second quarter for Kings was the catalyst to victory after the game’s top points scorer Richard Pullen tied the game for The Owls at the start of the second quarter before Kings went on to build a 13-point lead by half-time. 

The Owls did outscore Kings in the second-half but the hosts held firm to secure an eight-point victory with Tom Tobin and Liam Barker both scoring 12 points for TVK. Three-time Paralympian and 1996 Paralympic silver medallist, Dan Johnson recorded a game-high eight assists, along with five points and seven rebounds. 

London Titans and CWBA also both began their Premier Division campaigns with victories. Titans won 80:69 in a high-scoring game against Sheffield Steelers with the game tied at 33:33 at the halfway stage. 

It was a complete team performance by Titans with all eight of their players adding points to the scoreboard, including 21 points for Bethany Wheeler and 19 points for Jack Perry. Ade Adepitan recorded a league-high 15 assists. 

George Bates ended the weekend as the Premier Division’s top-scorer for the second successive week, scoring 25 points for Sheffield Steelers, and a second double-double with 12 rebounds. 

CWBA started their Premier Division season with a 55:36 win over Mohawks; overturning a first quarter deficit to win by 19 points. Liam Hassell top-scored with 21 points, while Tom Smith scored 18 points on his return to CWBA. Liam Fawcett was the top-scorer for Mohawks with 11 points. 

Division 1 

CWBA’s game versus Mohawks was the first of three games at the Woodlands Academy with Darren Peasley scoring 28 points for The Bears as they beat CWBA 2 43:70 in Division 1 South. Jaguars WBC started their Division 1 South campaign with a 54:78 victory against London Titans 2. Richard Sargent and Marc Blackman scored 25 and 24 points, respectively, for Jaguars. 

In the North division, Sheffield Steelers 2 bounced back from their narrow opening weekend defeat with a win over Wakefield Whirlwinds. Joseph Williams scored 24 points for Steelers in their 66:52 win, while Aaron Hirst was Wakefield’s top-scorer with 22 points. 

Division 2 

Sussex Bears have begun their season with back-to-back wins in Division 2 South. Their latest victory coming in the capital thanks to a 42:61 win against London Titans 3. Pete Bull was the game’s top-scorer with 21 points. 

Staying in Division 2 South, Thames Valley Kings 2 were victorious in their meeting against Cardiff Met Archers. A string of scoring streaks by Thames Valley saw the hosts overturn a five-point deficit at the end of quarter three to win 48:37. Conal O’Donovan led the Kings’ final quarter comeback, scoring 10 of his game-high 18 points in the final 10 minutes.

Division 3 

The Kings’ third team started the day off with a 39:14 win against Aces WBC 2 in Division 3 South with Chris Nash ending the game as top-scorer with 18 points for Thames Valley. 

Brixton Ballers won 68:37 in their Division 3 game against Windsor Monarchs, while Hampshire Harriers began their season with a 58:22 win against Sussex Bears 2. Sam Hill and Tanya Surtees were the top-scorers in the meeting between Harriers and Bears, scoring 12 points each for Harriers. 

CWBA 3 followed their first team’s victory with a 44:23 win against Hereward Heat in Division 3 Central; Keith Batty’s 10 points was a game-high for CWBA. 

In Division 3 North, Cameron Watson scored 24 points as Lothian Phoenix recorded a 26:62 victory at North East Warriors. 

For the latest BWB National League results, fixtures and league tables, please visit https://britishwheelchairbasketball.co.uk/competition/national-league/  

Sixteen GB athletes will begin their club seasons in Spain this weekend, while senior and academy athletes will start or continue their seasons elsewhere in Europe including in BWB National League.

Nine of the 12 athletes who represented ParalympicsGB Men in Tokyo will play in Spain this season and they will return to competitive action for the first time since claiming Paralympic bronze when Spain’s Division de Honor gets underway on Saturday (9 October).

As in recent seasons, there will be a very British feel about the line-up at BSR Amiab Albacete when they begin their league campaign away at Fundacion Vital Zuzenak (18:00 BST). Harry Brown, Gaz Choudhry, Ben Fox, Lee Manning and Kyle Marsh are all back at Albacete this season, just a few months after helping the team to victory in the season-concluding Copa del Rey.

Despite 16 GB senior and academy athletes playing in Spain this season, the only GB head-to-head of the opening weekend will be in Burgos as Servigest Burgos host Mideba Extremadura. Charlotte Moore will play her first season abroad with Mideba, joining fellow Tokyo 2020 Paralympian Lewis Edwards – who has joined the Badajoz-based club from Iberconsa Amfiv – and Phil Pratt who returns for his fourth consecutive season at Mideba.

The GB trio for Mideba will come-up against Academy athletes Callum Doherty and Lee Fryer who are both playing for Servigest Burgos this season.

Abdi Jama is joined by Peter Cusack and Tyler Baines in Malaga with the GB trio representing Amivel Reyes Gutierrez this season. This will be Jama’s second season back playing alongside friend and former GB teammate Ade Orogbemi, who is an assistant coach at Amivel. They begin their season with a home game against BSR Ace Gran Canaria (17:00).

Terry Bywater and Gregg Warburton are continuing their stay in Spain’s capital with CD Ilunion. Their opening game against Iberconsa Amfiv (17:00) will mark the beginning of another season for Bywater at the Madrid club, while Warburton will begin his second season in the capital.

James MacSorley has switched the island of Gran Canaria for Bilbao where he will be playing for the reigning Division de Honor champions Bidaideak Bilbao BSR during the 2021/22 campaign. Last season’s winners begin their title defence against Fundacion FDI Las Rozas (15:00).

There’s no game for Simon Brown’s RSV Lahn-Dill in Germany this weekend, but Jim Palmer’s Rhine River Rhinos Wiesbaden travel to BG Baskets Hamburg on Sunday (14:00) looking to begin their season with back-to-back wins in RBBL1.

In BWB National League, there will be GB senior players across the Premier Division teams this season. Maddie Thompson impressed on her return to the Sheffield Steelers last weekend and the Steelers play London Titans on Saturday (12:30) with Jude Hamer representing the London club this season, along with Jack Perry. Lucy Robinson is also on the Steelers roster for the 2021/22 campaign, playing across both the Premier Division and Division 1 teams.

Robyn Love and Laurie Williams are both back playing for The Owls this season and they begin their season at newly-promoted Thames Valley Kings at 15:30 on Saturday.

Kayla Bell, Siobhan Fitzpatrick and Sarah Hope are all part of the CWBA squad this season, as are Sam Mack and Tom Smith, who return from spells abroad. CWBA host Mohawks on Sunday in the Premier Division and The Bears in Division 1 South.

In France, Academy athlete Tom Barnes is back in action in France this weekend as his Gennevilliers team play Cercle Sportif de Meaux Basket Fauteuil in Nationale A.

Joy Haizelden has moved to the USA to begin her studies at the University of Alabama with their wheelchair basketball season beginning next Friday (15 October).

Sophie Carrigill, Ian Sagar and Oliver Griffith-Salter have to wait a couple more weeks before they begin their club seasons in Italy on 23 October. Carrigill and Sagar will both play for Briantea 84 Cantù, while Santo Stefano is the destination for Griffith-Salter.

Great Britain’s Simon Brown and Jim Palmer both helped their teams to victories in Germany, while Maddie Thompson began her 2021/22 season for Sheffield Steelers in British Wheelchair Basketball’s National League.

Simon Brown scored three points as RSV Lahn-Dill followed-up their opening victory last weekend with a 68:53 win against RBC Köln 99ers in RBBL1. The two-time Paralympian also recorded four assists and two rebounds during his 27 minutes on court.

Jim Palmer returned to competitive action for the first time since the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, scoring five points – including a three-pointer – as Rhine River Rhinos began their RBBL1 season with a 68:58 victory over Hannover United.

In France, Academy athlete Tom Barnes scored five points on his debut for Gennevilliers as they lost 75:43 to Hyeres in Nationale A. Fin Tonner’s Red Dragon’s made the perfect start to their season with a 49:79 win over Lille.

In the UK, Tokyo 2020 Women’s co-captain Maddie Thompson returned to BWB National League action for the Sheffield Steelers, the club where she first started the sport. Thompson scored eight points and recorded four rebounds and four assists to help the Steelers beat Mohawks 74:67 in their opening Premier Division game.

Will Bonner (10 points) and Conn Nagle (8 points), who were both part of the GB U22 team which competed at the 2018 U22 European Championships, were also starters for Sheffield.

Tokyo 2020 Paralympian Lucy Robinson was also part of the Steelers matchday squad, scoring four points for Sheffield Steelers 2 in their Division 1 North match against Mohawks 2. Academy athlete Brooke Mottram represented Mohawks in Division 1.

17-year-old Academy athlete Thomas Harvey played in both fixtures for Mohawks, scoring 14 points for the second team in Division 1 North, before playing an influential role in the Premier Division fixture, contributing with 16 points and eight assists.

BWB National League returned in thrilling fashion with close games, high points scoring and plenty of drama, despite only four games taking place during the opening weekend (2-3 October) of the 2021/22 National League season. 

Three of the four opening weekend games were in Sheffield, and the teams and spectators gathered at the city’s Northern General Hospital were certainly treated to three entertaining games. 

In the Premier Division, 2018 World and 2019 European champion George Bates marked his Sheffield Steelers return in impressive fashion. Bates posted a game-high 36 points, 11 rebounds and five assists as he led the scoring in a thrilling opening Premier Division game which saw Steelers beat Mohawks 74:67. 

Liam Fawcett was the top-scorer for the away team, scoring 32 points, including a three-pointer with 45 seconds of the game remaining as Mohawks closed the gap to five points, having trailed by 12 points with just under eight minutes to go. But Steelers held firm with the final two points in Tokyo 2020 co-captain Maddie Thompson’s eight-point haul securing a seven-point win for the Sheffield Steelers. 

The Premier Division clash was part of a triple-header on the Sheffield court, including a Steelers-Mohawks double-header with the club’s second teams meeting in Division 1 North. 

The game came down to the final second of the match with Ciaran Carrigan scoring the match-winning point from the free-throw line with 2.4 seconds left on the clock when the game was tied at 54:54. 

The successful free-throw secured a one-point victory for the Mohawks (54:55) with Carrigan top-scoring with 21 points for the visitors. Jared Ryan and Joseph Williams scored 18 points each for Steelers. 

The final match in Sheffield on Sunday was another close game, with just one point separating Sheffield Steelers 3 and Leicester Cobras heading into the final quarter in Division 3 Central. Steelers extended their lead in the final quarter to win by six points, 49:43. 

Aidan Spilsbury was the game’s top-scorer with 17 points for Cobras, while Heather Andrews led the scoring for Steelers with 14 points. 

Elsewhere, the only other National League fixture of the weekend took place on the South Coast as Sussex Bears began their season with a 57:45 win against The Bears 2 in Division 2 South. Muhammad Aurangzaib Ayub topped the game’s points scoring with 21 points for the Bears. 

For BWB National League results, fixtures and league tables, please visit https://britishwheelchairbasketball.co.uk/competition/national-league/  

It’s not only BWB’s National League getting back underway this weekend with GB athletes Simon Brown and Jim Palmer in club action in Germany. 

Brown was the only GB athlete to be in action last weekend as he began his third season for RSV Lahn-Dill by helping the 2021 Champions Cup winners to a 49:80 victory over BBC Münsterland in RBBL1. 

Brown will be back on court for Lahn-Dill on Saturday (2 October) as his side host RBC Köln 99ers at 18:30 (BST). 

Jim Palmer will return to action for the first time since the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games when he gets his 2021/22 season underway against Hannover United on Saturday (16:00 BST). Palmer had to wait an extra week to return to a competitive game with Rhine River Rhinos not having a game last weekend. 

Elsewhere in Europe, Academy athletes Fin Tonner and Tom Barnes will play their first season abroad as they make the move to play for clubs in France. 

Tonner will play for Red Dragon’s, who are based in Saint-Avold near the France-Germany border, while Barnes will represent the Paris-based team CVHG Gennevilliers with France’s Nationale 1A starting this weekend.

More details of where GB athletes will be playing this season will be announced in the coming weeks with the league in Spain starting next weekend (9 October) and the Italian League on 23 October, as well as representation in both BWB National League and the inaugural BWB Women’s Premier League. 

Five hundred and sixty-six days after the last BWB National League game was played, the UK’s biggest wheelchair basketball competition returns this weekend (2 and 3 October), marking the start of the 2021/22 season. 

Over the next seven months, 55 teams will compete in eight Divisions as hundreds of players from across the UK return to playing the sport they love after an 18-month pause to competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Bringing together players of all ages and abilities, the mixed league, includes both disabled and non-disabled players, and will see over 300 fixtures played between the opening weekend and the final league games on Sunday 8 May 2022. 

The National League returns with British Wheelchair Basketball still operating in Stage 4 of their Return to Play Guidance – providing recommendations for clubs and individuals involved in the sport as the sport returns to play. 

Ahead of the season start, BWB has issued the following key reminders to clubs and participants: 

• Wash your hands regularly; 
• Lateral flow testing recommended; 
• Stay at home if you are displaying COVID-19 symptoms; 
• Follow home club guidelines when playing at away games. 

Four fixtures will take place during the opening weekend as clubs continue to return to play and work through the additional challenges the pandemic has added. 

Saturday 2 October 

Division 2 South – Sussex Bears v The Bears 2 (2pm) 

Sunday 3 October 

Division 1 North – Sheffield Steelers 2 v Mohawks (12noon) 

Premier Division – Sheffield Steelers v Mohawks (2pm) 

Division 3 Central – Sheffield Steelers 3 v Leicester Cobras (4pm) 

Keep up-to-date with all the National League fixtures, results, league tables and live Premier Divisions stats via https://britishwheelchairbasketball.co.uk/competition/national-league/