KATHMANDU: The inaugural ceremony of the 1st edition of the Virtual Wheelchair Basketball Championship has been held Friday, marking a new chapter for the adaptive sports movement in Nepal.

One year after the completion of “Fit & Healthy No Matter What” – online adaptive sports, awareness making & psychosocial support for people with disabilities that energized adaptive athletes in Nepal, ENGAGE and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Nepal have collaborated again to organize the 1st edition of Virtual Wheelchair Basketball Championship.

The initiative constitutes another innovative way to elevate the game of wheelchair basketball while also promoting the fitness and psychological wellbeing of all athletes. The tournament is being held with a special focus on those with spinal injury over the lockdown imposed due to the first outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020.

The pandemic is causing considerable disruptions to the field of adaptive sports with athletes and teams unable to practice. For this reason and, in the light of the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Paralympics games going to be held from August 24 – September 5, 2021, ENGAGE and ICRC joined hands one more time to offer wheelchair basketball — one of the most popular adaptive sports in Nepal — players not only a hope for the future but also a way forward to hone their skills and technical knowledge.

Head of ICRC Mission Sandesh Shrestha addressing the inaugural session of the tournament.Addressing the virtual launching ceremony, the Head of ICRC Mission Sandesh Shrestha said, “ICRC has witnessed a progressive journey of wheelchair basketball over the years in Nepal where the players from various clubs have engaged in friendly and formal matches and learning sessions. This year as well, the ICRC has been providing online wheelchair basketball training by an international Paralympics level Coach, to all those who have shown interest”.

He further added: “ICRC believes that sport is an important part of social inclusion. And, this year we decided to do this virtually because life and safety matters in view of the pandemic. Worldwide as well, we can see that countries like the US and Canada conducted sport events virtually and the pandemic did not stop them from engaging in sport either. So, let’s adapt to this unprecedented crisis and continue to engage in sports.”

Laxmi Ghimire, coach of the Women Wheelchair Basketball Association, W.W.B.A., participating at the program, said: “We are excited, all our players are really eager to join this virtual championship for the first time and we look forward to this opportunity”.

To be conducted over two and half months, the Virtual Wheelchair Basketball Championship will consist of competitive contests under three categories/segments with each contest assigning scores assigned to the best performances.

Sabin Thapa, player and coach of the male team of Bodhisattvas in Action, B.I.A., thanked for organizing this new virtual championship and adding that his team members are working hard to compete at the best of their capacities.

“It’s a very innovative way to engage and involve all the wheelchair basketball athletes and we really need such championships,” said Himal Aryal, the coach of Tribhuwan Army Club’s wheelchair basketball team.

Under each category/segment, members of the teams will be online to undertake technical drills and exercises while they will also have to prove their expertise in the regulations and strategy of the game, in addition to expressing their creativity and personalities through special videos.

In his closing remarks, Mr. Deepak Koirala, chairperson of the Nepal Paralympic Committee, mentioned that the Nepal Paralympic Committee is always focused on developing adaptive sports in the country. “Because of the pandemic, as most of the classes shifted online, it is very positive that wheelchair basketball athletes are also benefiting of this virtual space to strengthen their skills and knowledge.”

The Virtual Wheelchair Basketball Championship is part of the continued commitment of ICRC in Nepal to promote opportunities for persons living with disabilities. Among the ongoing activities, ICRC in Nepal in cooperation with ICRC HQ is organizing a master-class coaching course on wheelchair basketball.

The final round of the Championship will be held by mid-October 2021.