Wheelchairbasketballisa slamdunkwithstudents
RAMSGRANGE COMMUNITY SCHOOL students got to grips with wheelchair basketball recently and loved it!
Ms Waldron and Ms Moore’s 5th Year physical education classes took part in a wheelchair basketball day in the school gym. In total, 29 students togged out to learn the sport.
The event was facilitated by Paul Ryan and Joanne Wall from the Irish Wheelchair Sport department.
In the morning, the students began by getting comfortable with using the sports wheelchairs by taking part in a variety of simple activities and drills. Paul then introduced activities involving the basketball and taught the students some basic rules and skills of wheelchair basketball.
The students then had the opportunity to take part in a mini tournament which also included a highly entertaining teacher versus student game at lunchtime.
In order to make this day possible, the 5th Year students undertook numerous fundraisers including a lunchtime Clan Basketball Tournament for 1st and 2nd year students, a bake sale, a collection of money during the teacher against student game and also collecting sponsorship in the run up to the event.
A grand total of €1,100.85 was collected which was split between the Irish Wheelchair Sports Department and the South East Swifts Wheelchair Basketball club.
Michael Hennessy from Gusserane, who is a member of the South East Swifts, came in to accept the donation on behalf of the club. He explained to the students that the money would go a very long way in helping to fund travel to matches, renting of training space, as well as the purchase and maintenance of the sports wheelchairs.
The 5th years wanted to raise awareness of the everyday struggles experienced by wheelchair users. To highlight this, two 5th Year students and two Transition Year students spent the day in a wheelchair. They had to navigate the school corridors travelling
Paul Ryan.
from class to class in a wheelchair. The students then completed a report on their experiences which highlighted some of the difficulties they faced while being wheelchair bound.
5th Year student Jacob Ferguson said: ‘After using a wheelchair for the few hours of the day that I did, I didn’t find it very tiring wheeling myself around. However, it was awkward trying to navigate the busy hallways between classes. The biggest annoyance was the fact that the wheelchair could not fit through doors, meaning I had to get out of the chair, fold the chair and unfold it at the other side of the door of the classrooms. It could not fit between the desks in the classrooms either. I also couldn’t reach high places and could barely reach my locker which is about 6ft off the ground.’