Loughborough College will play a critical role in nurturing future stars as part of the ground-breaking launch of the British Wheelchair Basketball Women’s Premier League.
The College’s Elite Sports Academy will support the learning of recruits signed up to Loughborough University’s women’s wheelchair basketball team and its High Performance Programme (HPP), which is designed to help students excel in both their academic and sporting careers whilst studying.
The new professional women’s league is expected to tip off in 2022 and will become the world’s first women’s wheelchair basketball league and the first professional para-sport league in the UK.
Matt O’Dowd, a former British Olympic marathon runner who heads up the College’s elite sport department, said: “We are proud and delighted to be helping to grow disability sports opportunities on such a scale.
“As a nationally recognised sport inclusion hubs, this is a perfect match for us and we are looking forward to supporting students as they launch their careers in British Wheelchair Basketball.”
The Premier League season will run from January to May 2022, with franchises based at four universities: Cardiff Metropolitan University, Loughborough University, University of East London and University of Worcester. They will also act as elite bases for top male and female players.
It is hoped the launch will promote the growth of the women’s game while potentially attracting some of the best female players in the world.
Lisa Pearce, British Wheelchair Basketball’s Chief Executive, said: “I am absolutely delighted to be announcing the creation of British Wheelchair Basketball’s Women’s Premier League and our new High-Performance Partnerships. The league will provide incredible opportunities for elite female talent, both in the UK and internationally and we expect the teams to attract the best players in the world.”
Great Britain is among the world’s best across the sport, with the women’s team winning silver at both the 2018 world championship and 2019 European championship, while Britain’s men’s team are the holders of both titles.
Find out more here: https://britishwheelchairbasketball.co.uk/2021/04/british-wheelchair-basketball-announce-launch-of-first-ever-womens-premier-league/