The Lethbridge Steamers hosted a wheelchair basketball tournament this weekend. Visiting teams included the Calgary Grizzlies and Medicine Hat Mustangs.
The first day was heated with an opening game between the Steamers and Grizzlies. After a draw, the Grizzlies clung their way to the top and outscored the Steamers 44-40.
The two-day tournament ended with the triumphant Grizzles winning first place, the Steamers closing in second and the Mustangs in third.
The Steamers are a Southern Alberta wheelchair basketball team competing in the Prairie division with Edmonton, Calgary, Medicine Hat, Saskatoon and Winnipeg.
The Steamers were formerly known as the Strong Arms and began playing in national and international competitions in the early 1980s. The unisex team has players from Lethbridge, Fort McLeod, Taber and Raymond.
In the late 2000s, the team lost some momentum, and players began to leave. However, Mary Burke, a former professor at the University of Lethbridge, was hired to teach adaptive physical activity. Through her research, she found John Banman, a longtime local player for the Steamers. Together they reopened the team in 2012 and have been playing ever since.
“In 2004, I had a spinal cord injury, so I was paralyzed,” Banman said.
He was approached by wheelchair basketball in 2004 to play and started in 2007.
“It gets me out, active. I love the game. You can travel, meet different players, and (play in) tournaments, ”said Banman. “I am so glad they approached me.
“I’ve been playing for a long time, and I’ll be as long as I can.”
Wheelchair Basketball is a Paralympic sport, with Team Canada being one of the top teams in the world. The sport has its roots in World War II, where injured war veterans would play for rehabilitation.
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“It has definitely become motivating for soldiers to keep working,” said Burke, the Steamers’ manager. “It had social and psychological benefits.”
The game is organized with a points system based on ability, which allows people with or without a disability to play together.
Each team is allowed to have 15 points at a time. A player with low mobility and ability will get a 0.5, and a player with no mobility challenges will get a 4.5.
“So, so we could never have five 4.5s at the same time,” Burke said.
The rules of the game are the same as ordinary basketball, from the height of the hoop to how long a player can hold the ball. The only difference is to do it all on two wheels.
“Every chair is built for the athlete, and some will have weaker abdominal muscles, for example, due to paralysis or some other condition,” Burke said. “So each chair can have a higher back or a lower back, depending on what is needed. It can have sides if there are some side flexibility challenges.”
The Lethbridge Wheelchair Basketball Association is holding a pop-up program at the Fritz Sick Gymnasium on Thursday evenings.
Burke said the program is open to everyone, from 6:45 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.
“And we have the chairs. It’s free, ”she said. “We welcome anyone from the community, whether you have mobility challenges or not, to just come out and try.”
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