Wheelchair Basketball Demo at Final Four’s Hoop City
United Spinal Association, a national disability rights organization, is proud to announce that members of the Association are playing for two of the top five wheelchair basketball teams in the country and will be demonstrating the popular adaptive sport at the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Final Four “Hoop City” event at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis on Sunday, April 2, 2006 from 2:00pm-4:00pm.
The Edinboro University Fighting Scouts and the University of Illinois Fighting Illini wheelchair basketball teams will be demonstrating the sport during the Hoop City event, the ultimate NCAA college hoops experience where fans of all ages and abilities can participate, and play until the final buzzer. There’s fun competitions, basketball clinics, prizes, autograph sessions with NCAA coaches and great players of the past, surprise appearances, and more.
The Edinboro team plays all over the country and at the end of the 2004/2005 season they finished 3rd in the nation and the most wins in school history for any basketball team with 25 wins. Currently, Edinboro is the only team in Pennsylvania participating in the Intercollegiate Division.
The University of Illinois adaptive sports programs help their athletes compete against the best in the country, and at the same time, offer them a quality education in a variety of majors. Illinois’ program has also been instrumental in helping other national universities establish Adapted Athletic programs of their own.
Wheelchair basketball follows the same rules as the NCAA but with several exceptions. There is a four-second lane violation for offensive players, instead of the standard three-seconds and players are classified according to the level of their disability. Players with the greatest amount of mobility are rated “Class III”; players with the least mobility are rated “Class I.” Teams are not allowed to have more than 12 classification points on the court at any one time.
For more information about the NCAA Hoop City, please visit www.hoop-city.com.
United Spinal Association is a national membership organization for people with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D). Guided by the belief that the benefits of athletic competition are no different for athletes with disabilities than for the able-bodied, the Association sponsors a wide variety of wheelchair recreational and adaptive sports programs. Membership in United Spinal is free and open to all individuals with spinal cord injuries and disorders. For more information call our toll free number, 800-404-2898.