Women's Premier League

British Wheelchair Basketball’s Women’s League will be streamed live on the BBC for the second successive year as the sport’s National Governing Body commits to live streaming more domestic games in 2020.

The announcement today confirms two games from British Wheelchair Basketball’s Women’s League Division 1 will be broadcast live via the BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and App on Sunday, 26 January; marking the start of a huge year for the sport with the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo only eight months away.

Featuring GB internationals, including silver medallists from both the 2018 World Championships and last year’s European Championships, the broadcast games will give fans across the UK the chance to watch the very best in Great Britain go head-to-head.

The broadcast fixtures from Round 2 will see Angels of the North take on CWBA as the top-two teams after the opening round face-off in the first of back-to-back live games. Blackhawks and Vixens will then take to the Nottingham Wildcats Arena court at the end of what promises to be another brilliant weekend of Women’s League action.

The latest announcement follows the success of last year’s broadcast games which saw fixtures from British Wheelchair Basketball’s domestic competitions streamed live on the BBC, including Women’s League and National League for the first time.

Commenting on the announcement, British Wheelchair Basketball’s Chief Executive Lisa Pearce said:

“British Wheelchair Basketball’s Women’s League is the largest of its kind in the world, so we are delighted fans of the sport will once again be able to see Great Britain’s elite take to the Women’s League court live on BBC Sport.

“2019 was another incredible year for women’s sport, including for our very own GB Women’s team at the European Championships. With interest in women’s sport continuing to build at pace, it’s fantastic to see broadcasters like BBC Sport continuing their commitment to broadcast events like this.

“Last year’s broadcast games showed that the fast-paced and dynamic game of wheelchair basketball really is a must watch event; so we hope that as many people as possible will take-up the opportunity to watch the best in Great Britain either in the venue itself or from their comfort of their own homes on BBC Sport.”

The following Women’s League fixtures will be available via BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and App (please note the below is tip-off – all games will be live 15 minutes prior to tip):   

Sunday 26^th January 2020: 

15:30    Angels of the North v CWBA

18:00    Blackhawks v Vixens

British Wheelchair Basketball’s Women’s League 2019/20 season runs from December to April, with three centralised rounds held at Nottingham Wildcats Arena.

The League see’s 19 teams competing across three divisions with the Division 1 final taking place during British Wheelchair Basketball’s National Championships in Sheffield on Saturday, 23 May 2020.

For media enquiries, please contact British Wheelchair Basketball:

Email: a.bailey@britishwheelchairbasketball.co.uk

Tel: 01509 279900

CWBA began their search for a fourth consecutive Women’s League title with two wins as six teams ended Round 1 unbeaten during the opening weekend of the 2019/20 Women’s League.

Featuring players of all abilities – from GB internationals to players playing in their first Women’s League – 22 fixtures were played across two days of non-stop action at Nottingham Wildcats Arena.

Division 1

In Division 1, CWBA began their season against Vixens and, after only seven points separated the two teams at the halfway stage, last year’s champions pulled away in the final two quarters to start their title defence with a 66-35 win.

Saturday’s victory was followed by another on Sunday with CWBA beating newly-promoted Blackhawks 45-59 to ensure they ended the weekend with a 100 per cent record.

Jude Hamer top-scored in both games for CWBA as she ended Round 1 with 39 points; the joint-highest in Division 1 along with fellow GB player Robyn Love (Angels of the North 1).

Angels of the North are also looking strong this season after back-to-back wins to begin their campaign. Last year’s bronze medallists started with a 62-33 victory over Blackhawks, with Amy Conroy top-scoring with 16 points.

Despite Conroy scoring three three-pointers in Sunday’s match against the Vixens, it was Robyn Love who top-scored against her old team, scoring 25 points to help Angels of the North 1 to a 75-25 win.

Division 2

North Wales Knights and London Titans 1 are the only undefeated teams after Round 1 in what looks set to be a very competitive division.

Knights ended the weekend with three wins from three during a busy schedule for the Welsh-based team. Anastasia Blease starred in their three games, scoring 92 points in total, in their wins over The Bears, Glasgow Rollin’ Rocks and Wakefield Whirlwinds.

Wakefield’s defeat to North Wales Knights on Sunday afternoon was their only loss of the weekend as they won back-to-back games on Saturday against Leicester Cobras and The Bears.

London Titans 1 ended the weekend with a 100 per cent winning record in Division 2, thanks to wins over Leicester Cobras and Angels of the North 2.

Glasgow Rollin’ Rocks were victorious against Angels of the North 2, with Manja Wolfram scoring 35 points in their 26-38 win.

One of the most entertaining games of the weekend came in one of the final games on Sunday with Leicester Cobras edging a thriller against The Bears – with the Cobras winning 42-40.

Division 3

Eastern Blue Stars ended the weekend with two wins – plus a walkover against Plymouth Raiders – as they began their 2019/20 campaign with an opening victory against Scottish Women Warriors.

Their second game was a close encounter with Eastern Blue Stars and London Titans 1 level on 22 points heading into the final quarter. Blue Stars added eight points to their total in the final 10 minutes to ensure they finished Round 1 top of the table in Division 3.

There were two close games involving South West Wales Dragons as they beat South East Sparks 23-29 and Jaguars 36-28; a result which saw Bethany Francis score her first ever competition basket.

London Titans 2 claimed two wins after victories over Scottish Women Warriors and Jaguars, who beat Wakefield Whirlwinds 2 39-30 in the final game on Sunday.

Wakefield Whirlwinds 2 were victorious against South East Sparks and were awarded a walkover against Plymouth Raiders, while South East Sparks beat Scottish Women Warriors at the start of day 2.

Recap the action from Round 1 with our live blog: https://britishwheelchairbasketball.co.uk/live-blog/

Updated results & league tables can be found on the competition page: https://britishwheelchairbasketball.co.uk/competition/womens-league-18-19/

One of the highlights of British Wheelchair Basketball’s domestic calendar will get underway this weekend with over 100 players heading to Nottingham for Round 1 of the 2019/20 Women’s League.

Featuring 19 teams across three divisions, 22 games will be played over two days of back-to-back action at the Wildcats Arena, Nottingham (NG3 7EB), during the first of three rounds of competition.

CWBA Allstars Women will be targeting their fourth consecutive Division 1 title after victory over Sheffield Steelers in last season’s final saw the Coventry-based team secure their third title in three years.

CWBA will be joined in Division 1 this season by Vixens, Angels of the North and newly-promoted Blackhawks, who finished top of Division 2 last year with a 100 per cent record.

Last season, Angels overcame Vixens to claim the bronze medal, and this year the battle for the Division 1 crown is likely to be fiercer than ever before.

Each Division 1 team will play each other twice over the course of the three rounds, with the semi-finals taking place in Round 3 in April. The two semi-final winners will advance through to the Division 1 final which will be held at the National Championships in May.

Whilst no team will be relegated from Division 1 this season, the top team in Division 2 will automatically be promoted to the top division, where each team will play each other once.

The top-two teams in Division 3 will be automatically promoted to Division 2; and again, each team will play each other once.

As well as featuring GB internationals – including nine of the 12 players who claimed an historic silver medal at this year’s European Championships – the opening round will see players of all ages taking to the court, including players making their first appearance in Women’s League.

Which teams are in each division?

Division	Teams
Division 1	Angels of the North 1 Blackhawks CWBA Vixens
Division 2	Angels of the North 2 Glasgow Rollin’ Rocks GLL & Aspire London Titans 1 Leicester Cobras North Wales Knights The Bears Wakefield Whirlwinds
Division 3	Eastern Blue Stars GLL & Aspire London Titans 2 Jaguars Plymouth Raiders Scottish Women Warriors South East Sparks South West Wales Dragons Wakefield Whirlwinds 2

How can you follow the 2019/20 Women’s League?

Follow the action on our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram profiles – make sure you tag @BritWheelBBall in any posts.

Use #BWBWomensLeague to join the conversation on social media and check out our live blog for live updates, results, images and interviews: https://britishwheelchairbasketball.co.uk/live-blog/

Results and league tables will be updated throughout the weekend on the Women’s League competition page: https://britishwheelchairbasketball.co.uk/competition/womens-league-18-19/

GB women’s team are travelling to Texas, USA, for a 10-day training camp and collegiate tournament, as their preparations for Tokyo 2020 continue. 

Hosted at The University of Texas, in Arlington, TX, GB will play against five different teams across four days of competition from Thursday, 7 November to Sunday, 10 November. 

Commenting ahead of the trip, Interim Lead Coach Dan Price said: 

“This is the start of our season and the start of the year leading into Tokyo. We obviously want to win as many games as we can, but wins or losses, the importance of this trip is about gaining experience for all the players that are going out there. 

“We want to gain where we are offensively right now as we have spent a lot of time working on the offensive side of the floor, whilst still making sure our defensive centres are there on a day-to-day, game-to-game basis. 

“One of the things we don’t want to do is just get on an airplane, go to a hotel, and then go play on a court. We want to go out there enjoy the experience and create that true family atmosphere we are trying to create within the team.” 

Amy Conroy, who is one of the GB players travelling to Texas, said: 

“We are all really excited to go, I haven’t played a game since the Euros so I can’t wait to get back playing. That’s why we train because we love playing. We’ve got five games against some pretty good competition – it will be good to see some of the US players. 

“We’ve been working really hard in training so I can’t wait to see it hopefully pay off on the court in Texas.” 

Game schedule (updated 06/10/2019)

Thursday 7 November	v UT Arlington (Midnight 8 Nov, UK Time)
Friday 8 November	v University of Dallas (11pm, UK Time) v Zona (1am 9 Nov, UK Time)
Saturday 9 November	v All Stars (4pm, UK Time)
Sunday 10 November	v University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (3pm, UK Time)

It has been a dramatic eight days of world-class competition in Rotterdam at the 2019 European Championships as the GB Women’s Team claimed a historic silver medal and secured their place at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.

The GB side completed the tournament’s pool stage qualifying for the semi-finals having accrued three wins and two losses, one to Germany and a second to hosts The Netherlands.

The GB squad proved their grit, when they faced Germany in the semi-finals two days after suffering a tough pool game loss to the team (48-61). In what was undoubtedly one of the most contested games of the Championships, the relentless GB side dug deep and delivered an exceptional game of wheelchair basketball against a determined German team. Never once giving up, or allowing the German team to take a clear lead, the GB women claimed the game and their place in the final after slamming down an exceptional fourth quarter of wheelchair basketball completing the game 49-48.

Ahead of the tournament the GB Women were united and very clear in their ambition to qualify for a European Championship final, a feat never before achieved by a British female team. Building on their history making success of a 2018 World Championships silver medal, the team were certain that the European final was not just possible but inevitable. Their unyielding fight during the semi-final is without doubt testament to this.

The Final saw GB once again face long-time foe The Netherlands. The GB team will have taken confidence from their strong pool game performance against the side, which saw the British side often lead the game. However, it was not to be with a strong Netherlands side claiming the win (65-52) despite a strong fourth quarter by the British side.

The GB women have once again made the British Wheelchair Basketball family proud as well as drawing new fans who tuned in for the dramatic semi-final and final on the BBC.

Celebrating the silver medal and the Paralympics qualification, British Wheelchair Basketball’s CEO Lisa Pearce commented:

“This team is simply exceptional. Every time I watch them play I see them leave their heart and soul on the court. This team has made history at every major since 2016, building upon success after success after success. They are changing the face of the game of women’s wheelchair basketball and they are a team to be feared as we head into Tokyo.”

GB’s #15 Robyn Love summed up the feeling amongst the squad and added:

“Incredibly proud – it’s hard to put into words at this moment about how I feel. When you do something you’ve never done before you can’t quite describe how that feels.”

Announced today, British women’s team sport continues to dominate broadcast as the GB Women’s Wheelchair Basketball team head into the semi-finals of the 2019 European Championships.

Tomorrow the fierce GB squad face a dramatic rematch against Germany. The two teams have a long history; most recently with GB denying the German side a place in the World Championships final in Hamburg last year. Undoubtedly a formidable foe for GB but one which the GB women have proven that they can bring down when it counts.  

With a place in the 2019 European Championships Final at stake the British side are focused in their ambition to realise a medal in Rotterdam. The squad is united in its belief that success is within their reach in Rotterdam.

Tune in to the action as GB Women’s Wheelchair Basketball continue to change the game, and drive to bring home medal success to Britain.

Live Stream Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/basketball/48813792

The final twelve are announced as GB heads to the 2019 European Championships

Today’s announcement names the twelve athletes who will head to Rotterdam in the Netherlands to represent Great Britain Women at the 2019 European Championships.

The squad aim to realise two ambitions in Rotterdam; achieve a podium finish and secure qualification to the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.

The European Championships, taking place from 30^th June to 7^th July 2019, will welcome six competing nations, including World Champions the Netherlands and Rio Paralympic Silver Medallists, Germany.

The GB Women’s squad selection stays almost intact from the Hamburg 2018 World Championships team which secured a historic silver medal, with the exception of Leah Evan’s inclusion in the line-up.

The team are hungry to improve on their long-standing European Championship bronze medal run of six consecutive championships, and as current World Championship silver medallists the squad has never been in better shape to take on Europe. The team will be looking to repeat Hamburg’s success and will be focused on earning a spot in the coveted gold medal game.

Presenting today’s squad announcement, British Wheelchair Basketball’s Performance Director Jayne Ellis outlined the squad’s ambitions for the forthcoming European Championships:

“We are under no illusions – Europe is an incredibly strong zone with some of the titans of women’s wheelchair basketball heading to the 2019 European Championships.

“Undeniably the competition will be fierce, but we are prepared and ready for the fight. Our GB Women’s Squad is a tight unit both on and off the court; this makes them incredibly effective communicators and they draw strength from one another when it matters most.

“Our approach to the Championships will be simple – one game at a time, laying down our best performance every time, whether it is a pool game or medal game.”

This sentiment is echoed by British Wheelchair Basketball’s Chief Executive, Lisa Pearce, who added:

“The European Championships plays out during an incredible summer of women’s team sport and promises to deliver an outstanding spectator experience for all sports fans.

“The UK fan support for women’s wheelchair basketball has been exceptional this season, with a record number of viewers tuning in to watch our domestic Women’s League live broadcast games.

“It is clear that there is an appetite for high quality women’s team sport and wheelchair basketball is no exception. We are looking forward to welcoming new fans to our journey during the 2019 Europeans and onto the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. Fans will be able to keep up-to-date with our GB Women’s Progress throughout the tournament via the British Wheelchair Basketball website.”

TEAM LIST:

Vest	Name	Classification
4	Charlotte Moore	1.0
5	Sophie Carrigill	1.0
6	Kayla Bell	1.5
7	Helen Freeman	4.0
8	Laurie Williams	2.5
9	Jude Hamer	4.0
10	Amy Conroy	4.0
11	Maddie Thompson	4.0
12	Leah Evans	2.0
13	Siobhan Fitzpatrick	3.0
14	Joy Haizelden	2.5
15	Robyn Love	3.5

SCHEDULE:

Date	Time (BST)	Fixture
30 June	17:15	GBR v FRA
1 July	19:30	GBR v ESP
2 July	19:30	NED v GBR
3 July	15:00	TUR v GBR
4 July	15:00	GBR v GER