Wheelchair Basketball in Fitchburg

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Title

Wheelchair Basketball in Fitchburg

Catalog Entry

This artifact contains two photographs of people participating in wheelchair basketball on February 29, 1980. Wheelchair basketball was originally referred to as wheelchair netball and was first introduced in 1946 by World War II veterans. Originally, wheelchair basketball was founded by Dr. Tim Nugent as a recreational activity for veterans going through rehabilitation. According to the National Wheelchair Basketball Tournament website, “​In 1948, the NWBA and the first official National Wheelchair Basketball Tournament (NWBT) were organized by the NWBA pioneer and Hall-of-Fame inductee Tim Nugent of the University of Illinois." It began when his own brother came back from the war in a wheelchair. They started to play basketball together and soon enough other war veterans noticed and wanted to get involved as well. Veterans played in Veteran Administration hospitals in Birmingham, CA and Framingham, MA.  At first wheelchair basketball was a game  only played by war veterans, however, it is now becoming one of the most popular adaptive sports. According to the company Smart Chair, wheelchair basketball is considered to be in the fifteen most popular wheelchair sports. According to the website it is currently ranked at number 4 on the list, behind tennis, motocross, and speed sailing. The artifact depicts what was not just a step forward for people with disabilities in Fitchburg, but for people with disabilities globally.​ 

Over the years, wheelchair basketball has been played more and more. By 1960, wheelchair basketball was played at the paralympic games in Rome, Italy (as one of the eight sports that were first part of the paralympic games) and now in almost 100 countries. Now in 2020 Tokyo (or whenever it will be rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic), Japan will hold the 16th Summer Paralympic Games.  In 1968 women also began to play alongside the men starting in the paralympic games in Tel Aviv, Israel. This was because at this time there was no women's division for wheelchair basketball,  therefore the only way they could participate was alongside the men's division. It wasn’t until 1977 that a women’s division was added to the NWBA, and six new women’s division teams were formed. According to NWBA.org, now there is a total of 181 active teams, more than the NBA and WNBA combined! 

Playing wheelchair basketball has very little differences when compared to playing basketball in regards to the rules, scoring, and violations. According to the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation, "Wheelchair basketball is played in accordance with the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) rules which have been modified from Federation Internationale de Basketball (FIBA).” ​For starters, the distance from the free throw line to the hoop or the height of the basketball are all the same measurements as you see at basketball courts at schools, gyms, and arenas. When it comes to scoring, a basket from the free throw line is worth one point, a basket from the two-point field area is worth two, and a basket from the three-point field area is worth three. Additionally, players have twenty-four seconds to make or attempt to make a basket, otherwise the ball is turned over on a shot clock violation. When it comes to dribbling the ball, a player can dribble the ball and wheel the chair at the same time or pick it up; however, if the ball is picked up and placed on the player’s lap then they can only push twice before they have to dribble again. If  a player does not dribble after two pushes, it is considered traveling and the other team takes over possession of the ball. During wheelchair basketball, the wheelchair is considered to be part of the player’s body (in reference to charging, blocking, and going out of bounds - common fouls and rule violations found in a game of basketball). Also, a player must remain in their chair and are not allowed to lift themselves out of the chair to gain an advantage, nor can they lift their lower limbs for an advantage or even to steer.

While many play for pure pleasure, it is also more than just a recreational game for others. Malat Wei, now 25, contracted polio at the age of three and eventually lost the ability to use his legs. Before even being introduced to wheelchair basketball, Malat did not even have a wheelchair to use in his everyday life, and was forced to crawl to get from place to place. For him wheelchair basketball changed his life for the better. At the age of three he was forced to leave South Sudan due to poverty, fighting, and disease. His family resettled in Houston, Texas, where Malat lived most of his childhood. In ​the article "No Limits: Wheelchair Basketball in South Sudan," Malat starts by explaining that his family had no clean water and no food back in South Sudan. He then talks about how one morning he woke up having to crawl because he just couldn't walk. After a few years of living in Houston, Malat was introduced to wheelchair basketball. Eventually he became one of the top competitors in the U.S. and  returned to South Sudan  where he could meet the players from where he was born, and coach them in wheelchair basketball. Malat met Jess Markt, a player who was left paralyzed from the chest down after a car accident at the age of 19. Markt  explained that playing wheelchair basketball filled a void that had been missing for him from the time he was in the accident. Jess coached in South Sudan and for Malat this was an opportunity to connect with someone who understands his passion, as well as a way to connect with players from back home. For him it was a dream to be able to rediscover his home after many years. In ​the article, ​it portrays how wheelchair basketball was in his case, and in many other players transformative. For many in South Sudan it was very inspiring to see someone who knows what it is like to be in a similar  situation, and came from their home country, who is playing wheelchair basketball as one of the top competitors. As well as coming back home to coach others in the same situation: Not only people with disabilities themselves, but also the societies in which they live.

Bibliography

“History.” National Wheelchair Basketball Association, www.nwba.org/history.
“No Limits: Wheelchair Basketball in South Sudan.”
International Committee of the Red Cross, 15 Oct. 2019, www.icrc.org/en/document/no-limits-wheelchair-basketball-south-sudan.
“Rules of Wheelchair Basketball.” IWBF,11 Mar. 2019, iwbf.org/rules-of-wheelchair-basketball/.
“Sport Week: History of Wheelchair Basketball.”
International Paralympic Committee, 17 Mar. 2016, www.paralympic.org/news/sport-week-history-wheelchair-basketball.

Artifact Owner

Fitchburg Historical Society

Artifact Condition

This artifact is kept in a photo album and so it is in good condition.

Artifact Material

Two photographs from 1980

Catalog Entry Author(s)

Neriliz Wilkins, Student, Fitchburg State University

Editor(s)

Matt Rowland, Student, Fitchburg State University

Collection

Citation

“Wheelchair Basketball in Fitchburg,” Cultural Heritage through Image, accessed March 28, 2024, https://culturalheritagethroughimage.omeka.net/items/show/80.

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