Alabama Adapted Athletics will host a wheelchair basketball tournament, November 12-13th. ABC Medical is honored to partner with Alabama Adapted Athletics as well as have our very own wheelchair basketball team compete against the top collegiate wheelchair basketball teams in the country.
Did You Know ABC Medical Sponsors a Wheelchair Basketball Team?
The ABC Medical Legends based in Tuscaloosa, AL, have nine players rostered for the 2020-2021 season featuring Alabama Adapted Athletics alumni and current Alabama wheelchair basketball coaches! The team started in 2018 after an ABC Medical alumni exhibition game in San Diego, CA, that featured an all-female Alabama Alumnae roster. The Tuscaloosa residents realized they could establish a team in Tuscaloosa, AL. Per NWBA rules, enough people lived in town and the surrounding area to start a new team. Previously, a few of the Legends athletes played for the Lakeshore Foundation in Birmingham, AL.
How often and who do they play?
The ABC Medical Legends play in Division II of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA) with whom ABC Medical also has an annual partnership. The team typically practices once a week in the evening at the Stran-Hardin Arena on the University of Alabama campus. The ABC Medical Legends play against NWBA sanctioned DII wheelchair basketball teams and friendly games against the Alabama men and women's team throughout a regular season.
Adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic
However, this year is anything but regular. The COVID-19 pandemic put an abrupt end to the 2019-2020 wheelchair basketball season in March. More than 1,000 athletes in five divisions were supposed to compete in the NWBA National Tournament Series in Wichita, KS.
Since March, some collegiate wheelchair basketball programs have allowed players to return to campus to continue their studies and participate in team practices. The University of Alabama is one of these universities. The priority of Alabama Adapted Athletics is to ensure the health and safety of athletes and staff. They have strict cleaning and social distancing procedures and regular COVID-19 screenings and tests.
All but three players of the ABC Medical Legends have professional careers outside of the Alabama Adapted Athletics program. All members of the ABC Medical Legends are asked if they exhibit any COVID-19 symptoms as well as have their temperature taken before every team practice. Before the ABC Medical Invitational Wheelchair Basketball Tournament, they underwent COVID-19 testing.
Be ready for the next installment of our ABC Medical Invitational blog series which will feature game results and more!
How to watch the ABC Medical Invitational live
- Tune in here!
- Times listed below are EST
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