Paralympic Athlete Highlight

Simon Munn was introduced to Wheelchair Basketball shortly after a train accident which resulted in the loss of his leg. He immediately feel in love with the game and began competing in 1991.

To date, he has represented Great Britain in five Paralympics winning Bronze in Beijing, Bronze in Athens and Silver in Atlanta as well as numerous European and World Championship accolades.

Over more than two decades of playing Wheelchair Basketball Simon has played for a number of clubs including Super League Club MK Aces, Tameside Owls and London Club Capital City.

Simon has already announced that this will be his last Paralympics before retiring and his intention is to go out on a high – a Gold medal in his hand.

Paralympic Games 2012- Wheelchair Basketball

Where: North Greenwich Arena; Olympic Park - Basketball Arena
When: Thursday 30 August – Saturday 8 September 2012
Medal events: 2
Athletes: 264 (144 men, 120 women; 12 men’s teams and 10 women’s teams)

Wheelchair Basketball was developed by American World War II veterans as part of their rehabilitation programme, but its popularity soon spread around the world. Now played in more than 80 countries, it is one of the most dynamic on the Paralympic programme, and should draw large and enthusiastic crowds to the Basketball Arena and North Greenwich Arena during London 2012.

The Basics
The rules of Wheelchair Basketball are broadly similar to Basketball. The court is the same size, the basket is at the same height, and the scoring is identical: two points for a regular shot from open play, one point for each successful free throw and three points for a shot from distance (6.75m from the basket). Players move the ball around the court by passing or dribbling, and are required to throw or bounce the ball after every two pushes of the wheels on their chairs to avoid being penalised for travelling.

There are 12 players in each team, with no more than five on court. Every player is assigned a point value based on their functional ability, 1.0 to 4.5. During play, the total on-court point value for each team of five players cannot exceed 14.
Both the men’s and women’s tournaments begin with a round-robin – the 12 men’s teams divided into two groups of six teams, the 10 women’s teams divided into groups of five. The top four teams in each group qualify for the quarter-finals, from which point the tournaments are played to a knockout format.

Wheelchair Basketball - Past & Present
Wheelchair Basketball featured at the first Games in Rome 1960, and has remained on the Paralympic programme ever since. The women’s competition was added at the Tel Aviv 1968 Games.

At London 2012, the Basketball competition will take place at two venues. The preliminary games will be split between the Basketball Arena, a new purpose-built venue in the Olympic Park, and the state-of-the-art North Greenwich Arena just across the Thames. All quarter-finals, semi-finals and medal games will take place at North Greenwich Arena.

Jargon Buster
Assist: A pass that leads directly to a basket scored by a teammate.
Downtown: The area outside the three-point line.
Shot clock: A timer measuring the length of time since the last shot. If the ball doesn’t touch the rim or pass through the net within 24 seconds, possession passes to the opposition.



Courtesy of http://www.london2012.com