The London Titans, one of the country’s leading wheelchair basketball teams, will be able to help more players experience the sport, thanks to the support of a charity.
Path to Success has chosen the club as its annual cause and is raising money to buy special wheelchairs for the club, which plays in the National Super League and has been the home of several Paralympians, including Ade Adepitan MBE.
The London Titans run six teams at three venues across the capital: The Olympic Park; Stanmore; and Ealing. The Titans feature a number of the sport’s leading names, including Tyler Saunders and Gaz Choudhry, as well as newer names in the GB squad, such as Jim Palmer and Christy Gregan.
However, the club has no money to fund wheelchairs for aspiring players. Designed for maximum mobility, they are the lightest wheelchairs on the market and are specially made to fit a player’s posture. They cost up to £4000 each and even the cheapest cost £1500.
Chairman Jaspal Dhani said: “The 2012 Paralympics encouraged a lot more people to try wheelchair basketball, but you can’t play in a wheelchair that’s designed for everyday use. The support we’re getting from Path to Success will allow us to provide special wheelchairs to new players who want to have a go. We also have a lot of players on disability benefit, who can’t afford their own chairs, and this will mean they are not excluded from the sport”.
Path to Success was founded 10 years ago by Anita Choudhrie and has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for good causes in the UK and abroad. The London Titans is its nominated charity this year and fundraising events will include a Diwali casino party and a charity auction. A team of 12 will take on the Three Peaks Challenge in August, climbing the three highest peaks in England, Wales and Scotland in 24 hours.
Mrs Choudhrie said: “We are delighted to be helping the London Titans. Over the last three years we have raised money to buy wheelchairs for a basketball team in India and have donated 83 wheelchairs to NHS hospitals, including motorised wheelchairs to help children with special needs, so this fundraising campaign is in the finest traditions of the charity”.
