BUFFALO, NY — A Western New York basketball organization is bringing inclusivity to the court, the Buffalo Wheelchair Basketball League is hosting it's 2nd annual ' Dropping Dimes' tournament on Sunday.
The league hopes to level the playing field for disabled and non-disabled athletes, this tournament is a fundraiser for the team to purchase wheelchairs.
"I think when the kids without disabilities when they come in and they play. They feel like its going to be easy but the moment that they get into a chair and start playing the game they found out it isnt as easy," said Head Coach of the Buffalo Rims Chris Keicher.
Chris and his wife Elizabeth started the league back in 2019 for their daughter Emily who is living with Spina Bifda.
The league connects players of all abilities to try something new as well as teaching kids about those living with disabilities.
"They are inadvertently learning about disability without it being preachy or having to talk to them about it, they are having the experience of what it is like in a chair and we are hopeful that breaks down those community barriers between the non-disabled and the disabled community," said Elizabeth Keicher.
The League is teaching people aged 7 to adulthood about the importance of playing together and learning about one another.
I wanted to make this team so i could show people that disabled people and non disabled people could play on the same exact sport at the same exact level.
If they cant walk like you can there's all these sports that they wanna play like stand-up basketball but they can't this a sport that many people can play together
Then we can all start to learn about each other in different ways and come together into a big community instead of being separated in our different ways
They do have a lot of other opportunities as every other child does as my other child does and it's just gratifying
Sunday's fundraiser was free to attend, but if you want to donate to the Buffalo Rims, click here. Money will be used to cover the increasing costs of attending adaptive basketball camps and assist with general basketball-related expenses.
