By Brendan Rees
People of all ages competed in the inaugural South Eastern wheelchair basketball tournament held at Casey Stadium on Saturday 9 March.
Casey Saints Blue and Casey Saints White teams faced mixed teams from Bendigo, Werribee and Kilsyth in up to seven games over the day.
Program manager of the Saints Wheelchair Basketball Michelle Jankovic said the tournament was great for people to “come together and participate in a sport they love.”
“It draws teams from all over Victoria. Four of our players are Victorian junior players who will be competing this April in Townsville at the National Kevin Coombs Cup,” she said.
Casey Cardinia Foundation provided Saints Basketball Club with a $3,000 grant to run the event with support from Casey Basketball and Basketball Victoria.
Casey Cardinia Foundation director Paul Thomas said the Foundation was proud to support the basketball competition with the grant benefiting the social impact area of disability.
“The program provided by the Saints emphasises the development of building leadership skills, self-confidence and team work in an engaging and inclusive environment,” Mr Thomas said.
“The Foundation distributes grants to not-for-profit charities and organisations, directly benefiting the social impact areas of disability, older persons, disadvantage, crisis and youth within the region,” he added.
Casey Saints Blue were runners up while VWBA Vipers of Kilsyth took out the tournament.
