IWBF Europe welcomes Malta Wheelchair Basketball Association
With the membership approval from IWBF on January 25th, IWBF Europe has currently reached a total of 35 members.
IWBF Europe is delighted to welcome Malta Wheelchair Basketball Association.
The MWBA goes back to 2014 when Malta had its first Member of European Parliament Elections. The candidates of that election decided to take a shot at wheelchair basketball in everyday chairs. One of the candidates, Mr. Jonathan Shaw, literally fell for wheelchair basketball and went ahead to purchase the association’s first basketball chairs. From that point the club went on and the rest is history. Today the MWBA has flourished into a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) which is giving those people with different disabilities a chance to keep active and improve their skills in the sport. The male team has since played against a number of local and foreign teams such as teams from Leeds and Birmingham.
The MWBA, as the local national association for wheelchair basketball in Malta is planning to implement a competition structure build on three pillars:
(1) competitions between local wheelchair basketball teams – at present, there is only one wheelchair basketball team, but in the future, the hope is the top local able-bodied basketball team have their own wheelchair basketball teams, thus creating a local competitive environment;
(2) hosting regional or international competitions in Malta, at club or national team level; and friendly competitions between able-bodied and wheelchair basketball teams, aimed at raising awareness and education around Para Sport; and
(3) open days and trials for prospective athletes wishing to start practicing wheelchair basketball.
