Meet three inspiring members of our Wheelchair Basketball team

The Newcastle University Wheelchair Basketball team was established in 2018 and is an inclusive sports club that welcomes both able-bodied players and those with disabilities. The team plays an important role in raising awareness of disability sports on campus, encouraging more students to get involved and challenging stereotypes around disability and exercise. Through regular training and participation in competitions, the team not only competes at a high level but also contributes to Newcastle University’s broader goals of inclusivity and diversity in sport.

We spoke to three members of the team to explore what the club means to them, and how the club has benefitted from the support of the Newcastle University Student Fund. 

Hi everyone, thanks for agreeing to speak with us! Firstly, can you tell us a little about yourself and your time at Newcastle University?   

Abby Sinclair (English Literature, MA) (AS): I’m Abby and I’m the President of the Wheelchair Basketball Club for this coming year. I’m currently a student on the MA English Literature course, I’ll be finishing my master's this coming December, but have hopes of continuing at the university to start a PhD in January. 

Abbie Johnston (Speech and Language Therapy BSc Honours, UG) (AJ): I’m Abbie and I will be the Welfare Officer for the team this year. I’m also about to go into my third year studying Speech and Language Therapy.  

River Heffernan (Psychology BSc Honours, UG) (RH): My name is River, and I study Psychology. I’m about to go into my second year at Newcastle and this year I’ll also be social secretary for our team. 

Nice to meet you! When did you first become interested in wheelchair basketball? 

AS: I first became interested in wheelchair basketball in the third year of my undergraduate course here at Newcastle. The first two years of my degree were done online at home as I was shielding throughout Covid, so when I finally got to move to Newcastle for my third year, I was looking for something new and exciting to get involved in outside of my course. 

AJ: Before coming to university, I hadn’t played sports in nearly a decade due to my disability. I didn’t think that sport was something I could do anymore, but when I started university the President of the Wheelchair Basketball Club encouraged me to come to the free give-it-a-go event. I was reluctant at first, unsure whether my body could handle the physical exertion, but I thought I might as well give it a go at least once and ended up loving it! The effects on my body weren’t nearly as bad as I had feared, and I have slowly been able to build up my tolerance and strength. 

RH: During Freshers week last year, our captain approached me because he saw my walking stick and asked if I was interested in playing. I hadn’t ever really heard of disability sports outside of the Paralympics before that point so didn’t know much about it. However I thought it seemed like fun, so I agreed to go to a session or two and have loved it ever since. 

That's lovely to hear, what is it about the sport that you love so much? 

How often do you train? Is it difficult to fit this in with your studies? 

AS: We train twice a week, two hours on a Monday and Saturday, and I’ll try to book my own court sessions to get some individual practice in where I can. As my degree contact hours have mainly been on Tuesdays and Thursdays, this training schedule works well for me, and wheelchair basketball is great for helping me take breaks from intense independent study when I need to! 

AJ: Aside from the usual training, I sometimes also train on my own or with a few teammates. My course is quite intensive, but I manage to fit it in. My disability causes fatigue so it can be difficult to manage everything, but it just requires some careful planning. I find it more difficult to fit in during exam and assignment season when I am inclined to spend all my time on work. However, I have discovered that training sessions offer a nice break from work, and I often go back after training feeling rejuvenated and more focused. 

RH: It can be difficult to fit in, but it’s a great thing to have to burn off steam when you’re stressed about uni so I do try to prioritise it. I think as well, because most people on our team are disabled, there’s a lot of understanding and support if you do sometimes have to miss training sessions because of your studies or your health, which ensures it doesn’t become a stressful experience. 

Do you have any big games/ tournaments coming up? Who are your biggest rivals? 

Do you think this is something you will continue with once you leave university?

AS: I plan to continue with the sport once I leave university. When I’m home during the summer I train with the Mohawks, a local team in Cumbria, and if I stay in Newcastle, I plan to join the local team here. 

AJ: Yes, I will continue playing wheelchair basketball once I leave university. I have already started playing with my local team back home during the Christmas and Summer holidays. I love the sport, and I don’t see how I could give it up.  

RH: Yes, it’s such a great way to make friends and get some exercise so I’d love to continue it after uni and try out other disability sports as well. 

Finally, The Newcastle University Student Fund provides funds for equipment and subsidised access to Students’ Union clubs and societies, including the wheelchair basketball team. How important do you think this is for students, and for those who may never have taken part in activities such as this before?

AS: The Newcastle University Student Fund has been so important for us as a club. Personally, as the fund financially supported the club in purchasing our first sports chairs for members to use, it meant I was able to get involved with a disability sport for the first time in my life. Specialist equipment, such as the wheelchair basketball chairs we use, is expensive, which makes the sport inaccessible to beginners. Accessing this fund meant the club welcomed new players who were completely new to the sport. 

AJ: The Student Fund is so important. It has allowed me to play without worrying about the extra costs associated with playing sports, such as membership and travel. Playing sports can be expensive, it is especially important for disabled students who make up a lot of our team. This is because being disabled involves lots of extra costs and a lot of us are unable to work consistently alongside university to earn extra money. Therefore, the Student Fund can be the difference between being able to access sport or not. This also applies to all sorts of students who are unable to afford the costs involved in playing sports. It gives people the opportunity to play a sport they may never have been able to play before. 

RH: I believe it is crucial to enable as many students as possible to get involved. The fund provides us with club equipment, allowing anyone interested in trying the sport to have access. This makes it highly accessible and gives people the flexibility to attend a few sessions to genuinely experience it. 

Thank you all for sharing your stories with us. 

The Newcastle University Student Fund