Ireland is to play host to Division C of the European Wheelchair Basketball Champ-ionships this week, it has been announced.
The event, organised by Basketball Ireland and the Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA), will run from 24–28 September at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght.
The eight European nations set to take to the court have been named as Ireland, Portugal, Greece Latvia, Serbia, Lithuania, Finland and Ukraine.
Ireland coach Alain Trembley, who is originally from Canada, believes his team will give a good account of themselves at the competition.
“The team have been training hard and are extremely committed,” he said. “Com-petition will be of a very high standard, but I’m sure they will face the challenges required of them to the best of their abilities.”
Event director Mairéad Farquharson of the IWA said the event will provide the Irish public with a unique opportunity to see wheelchair basketball being played at the highest level.
“It is a great opportunity for people to see high performance wheelchair sport,” she enthused. “Wheelchair basketball is one of our most popular sports and is growing all the time. It gives our young members a chance to see what they can aspire to.
“We are also looking forward to working in tandem with Basketball Ireland to host these high quality championships.”
Chief executive officer of Basketball Ireland, Debbie Massey, said she believed Ireland was given the opportunity to host the event as the result of the strong working relationship between her organisation and the IWA.
“Having recently signed a Memorandum of Understand-ing with IWA Sport, the hosting of the European Championship provides all of us with a tangible and challenging opportunity to enact this agreement and provide a fantastic event for the athletes and spectators alike,” she noted.
Trembley has named the Irish squad for the tournament as Mark Rohan, Joseph Hargrow, Philip Gibson, John Fulham, Michael O’Cearra, Pat Tierney, Patrick O’Neil, Mark Barry and Barry Cooke.
