Wheelchair Basketball

～ about history, championship, situation ～

Wheelchair basketball is basketball played by people in wheelchairs. It’s considered one of the major disabled sports practiced. The International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) is the governing body for this sport.

It is recognized by the International Paralympics Committee as the sole competent authority in wheelchair basketball world wide. FIBA (French name: Fédération Internationale de Basketball) has recognized IWBF under Article 53 of its General Statutes.

IWBF has 82 National Organizations for Wheelchair Basketball actively participating in wheelchair basketball throughout the world with this number increasing each year. It’s estimated that more than 100000 people play wheelchair basketball from recreation to club play and as elite national team numbers. Wheelchair basketball is played by boys and girls, men and women.

Wheelchair basketball sees tremendous competition and interest on the international level.

Wheelchair basketball is included in the Paralympics Games that are held every four years for athletes with physical disabilities immediately following the Olympics in the same city that hosts the Summer Olympics just two weeks after the closing of the Summer Games.

A Gold Cup (the wheelchair Basketball World Championship), is organized two years after every Paralympics Games Major competition in wheelchair basketball comes from Canada, Australia, USA, Great Britain, the Netherland and Japan.

History of wheelchair basketball in world

1940s to 1960s The 1940s saw the beginning of wheelchair basketball. In 1944, Luduing Guttmann through the rehabilitation program at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital, in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England, adapted existing sports to use wheelchairs. It was known as Wheelchair Netball.

At around the same times, staring from 1946, wheelchair basketball games were played primarily between American World War II disabled veterans. Since then, the sport has spread throughout the world.

The Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Games, held in 1947 were the first games to be held and included only a handful of participants (26) and few events (shot put, javelin, club throw and archery).

Growth in both the number of wheelchair events and participants came quickly. Wheelchair netball was introduced in the 1948 Games. In 1952 a team from the Netherlands was invited to compete with the Stoke-Mandeville Games (ISMG) an event that has been held annually ever since.

Wheelchair basketball as we know it now was first played at the 1956 International Stoke-Mandeville Games. The US “Pan Am Jets” team won the tournament.

1970s to the present In 1973 the International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation (ISMGF) established the first sub-section for wheelchair basketball. At that time ISMGF was the world governing body for all wheelchair sports.

In 1989 ISMGF accepted for its former wheelchair basketball sub-section to be named International Wheelchair Basketball Federation also known by the acronym IWBF.

Full independence came in 1993 with the IWBF becoming the world body for wheelchair basketball with full responsibility for development of the sport. Over the following years IWBF membership grew in size and based on the number of National Organization for Wheelchair Basketball (NOWB’S) with active programs, the international federation configured itself into four geographical zones: Africa, American, Asian/Oceania and Europe.

Wheelchair Basketball World Championship

World championships for the sport have been held since 193 with Bruges, Belgium being the first host city. The first ever world championship for men was won by the United States (1979, 1983, 1986, 1994, 1998, 2002), Great Britain once (the first ever championship in 1973), Israel(1975), France(1990), Canada(2006) and Australia(2010). Canada had won four of the women’s world championship titles(1994, 1998, 2002, 2006), and the United States two(1990,2010).

U25 Women’s World Championships 2011 The inaugural championships were held at Brock University, Canada in Jul 2011.

Results 1. USA 2. Australia 3. Great Britain 4. Canada 5. Japan 6. Germany 7. Mexico 8. South Africa

Tournament Leaders Top Scorer -Mari Amimoto(Japan) Top Rebounder -Cindy Ouellet(Canada) Top Assists -Helen Freeman(Great Britain)

About real

Real is a comic by Takeshi Inoue. It deals with wheelchair basketball. It has been serialized in Shu-eisha’s Young Jump and to date, 10 volumes have been published in Japan. The first 7 volumes have sold over 9 million copies in Japan alone. Although not as popular overseas as Slam Dunk has been, Real is a more serious take on basketball with much character development in a realistic sitting. It’s also aimed at more mature audiences being a seinen-series serialized in Young Jump.

Plot summary

The story revolves around three teenagers: Nomiya Tomomi, a high school dropout, Togawa Kiyoharu, an ex-sprinter who now plays wheelchair basketball and Takahashi Hisanobu, a popular leader of the high school’s basketball team who now finds himself a paraplegic after an accident.

Real features a cast of characters who find themselves being marginalized by society. But are all united be one common future : a desire to play basketball, with no pace to play it in. Nomiya, being a high school dropout, has no future in his life. Togawa, being a difficult personality, finds himself constantly feeding with his own tesmmsters. Takahashi, once a popular team leader, now finds himself being unable to move from the chest down.

Real also deals with the reality of physical disabilities, and the psychological infericrity that the characters struggle against. The characters break through their own psychological barriers bit by bit.

While basketball is a large part of Real, a large emphasis is placed on character development, Takehiko Inoue is just as interested in exploring the past of the characters, their inner world, and their attempts to achieve something in life as he is in looking at the sport of wheelchair basketball.

Japanese situation

From 1960 downward, the demonstrations of Wheelchair basketball were performed in the national Beppu-hospital and the national Hakone-sanatorium etc.

Japan Wheelchair Basketball Federation was established in 1975 and about 1,000 players of about 100 teams have registered.

There are the clinic for player development and college student league by ordinary person.

There are two major championships in Japan. One for male and the other is for female. As the male national championship in Japan, Japanese wheelchair basketball player championship is held in Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium in May ever year and for women, Japanese women wheelchair basketball championship is held in Green Arena Kobe in November every year.

Beside domestic championships, there are international championships held in Japan. As international championship, for men, Kitakyushu Champion’s Cup the International Wheelchair Basketball Championship and for women, International Goodwell Women Wheelchair Basketball Osaka Championship is held every year.

Since the big hit comic “Real”, featuring the wheelchair basketball, is serialized in the weekly Young Jump. Wheelchair Basketball became popular among many people .

The nickname “Isu-basu”, Isu=wheelchair, basu=basketball, is created by Yasu Naoki who is a professional “Isu-basu” player. The left is his picture.

Japanese Wheelchair Basketball Championship

Japanese Wheelchair Basketball was introduced across Japan for Tokyo Paralympics in 1964. After 1964, several teams were formed by players and staff who participated in the Paralympics. In 1970, 7 teams of the outskirts of Kanto held the first Wheelchair Basketball Championship (dai-1kai kurumaisu basukettobo-ru kyougi taikai) in Japan.

In the next year, the National Wheelchair Basketball Championship (zennkoku kurumaisu basukettobo-ru kyougi taikai) was held and 17 teams were participated from all over Japan.

“Wheelchair basketball game” was held as an official-recognition item of the wish in the disabled person National Athletic Meet Kagoshima convention held in 1973. In those days, there were many teams in Japan. All teams wished to play at the national level. But only 8 teams get the chance to play in the championship. So, the independent championship (1974nenn zennkoku kurumaisu basukettobo-ru kyougi taikai) was held in April 1974 so that as many teams as possible can participate.

Now, the championship is considered to be the most important one in the Japanese Wheelchair Basketball.

His Majesty the Emperor, Her Majesty the Empress, the crown prince and the crown princess have made appearance to watch the championship.

Today, this championship is recognized as the leader of disabled person’s sports.

Japanese Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Championship

Female wheelchair basketball players often had to play with male players until 1987, because, there were not enough female players. But, “88’ Kobe Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Championship” held at Kobe city in November 1988 was the first women only championship.

This championship was held by complete backup of Kobe City. This championship gave all female players hopes and targets. It contributed greatly improving player’s techniques as well as finding new stars players. Those wonderful activities by players advanced independence and social participation of all disabled people.

Powerful teams and main players

This team has the track record of 3 successive victories (2005-2007) at the Japanese championship. ・Kouzai Hiroaki ・Kyouya Kazuyuki ・Suzuki Akimasa ・Jinbo Yasuhiro

This is the present champion team. ・Fujimoto Reo ・Fujii Shingo ・Takubo Ikumi

This is the up-and-coming team of Tokyo. ・Sugasawa Takao ・Sato Satoshi

This team has the track record of 4 successive victories at the Japanese championship. ・Oshima Tomohiko ・Sugiura Hisanobu ・Tatsumi Koiti

This is the team representing in Kinki. ・Koretomo Keisuke ・Kawanoshi Keizo

Cocktail(カクテル) This is a women’s wheelchair basketball team. ・Sugawara Naoko ・Yoshida Erika ・Amimoto Mari