SPORTS 'N SPOKES

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Bring on the Fire

Two separate sports - basketball and rugby - enjoyed top billing during two Alabama weekends.

A blowout? On the surface it may have seemed so, but in reality action was smokin’!

On the final day of the basketball competition, the Dallas Mavericks completed their undefeated weekend and clinched the Division II title. The Alabama women found success yet again, winning all their games.

In rugby action, host Lakeshore Demolition hoped to defend its home turf but was unable to match Team Canada’s ruthless offense.

Pioneer Classic

Sixteen wheelchair basketball teams from across the country gathered at Lakeshore Foundation in Birmingham, Ala., January 8–10, to compete in the 23rd Annual Pioneer Classic.

The event has grown over the years to become one of the country’s premier tournaments. It began in 1987, when Jo Fowler, along with other members of BellSouth’s all-volunteer community service organization—now known as the AT&T Pioneers—raised $6,000 to fund Lakeshore Foundation’s first wheelchair basketball invitational.

Twenty-three years later, the Pioneer Classic has become a long-standing tradition among competitive players as well as an opportunity for newcomers to experience the growing sport.

This year’s tournament featured seven teams from the National Wheelchair Basketball Association’s Division II and five from the Women’s Division, including the defending national champion University of Alabama. Four youth teams also participated.

The Pioneer Classic gives the Birmingham community as well as fans from all over the country an opportunity to see competitive wheelchair basketball in action.

“We love the Pioneer,” says University of Alabama Director of Wheelchair Athletics Brent Hardin. “The tournament is special to us because it is here in our home state. We place a high importance on playing well each year. Our women are the defending champions, and we take that very seriously. This tournament is always a highlight of our year.”

This year’s championship division was based on round-robin play. “It was all about maximizing the number of game opportunities so each team will have the chance to play every other squad,” says tournament director Ashley Collier. “We want each team to leave at the end of the weekend feeling like they had a chance to compete with everyone.”

On the second day of competition, the University of Alabama took the Women’s Division championship. The defending tournament champs remained undefeated the entire weekend, finishing with two more wins on Saturday.

The Tide first took on the previously undefeated Canadian team, breaking Canada’s record and winning, 76–54. Alabama sealed the deal later in the afternoon with a huge defeat over the RIC Sky, 52–23.

The youth also had a chance to get in on the action. Lakeshore’s prep team, the Sharks, was matched against the Georgia Blazers twice, as was Lakeshore’s varsity Lakers with the Blazers’ varsity team.

Throughout the weekend no one could touch the D-II Dallas Wheelchair Mavericks’ amazing offense. With a 31-point win against the GR Pacers on Sunday morning, Dallas completed its undefeated weekend and took home the title.

“The Pioneer Classic is arguably one of the longest-running sporting events in Birmingham and has showcased the nation’s best talent in wheelchair basketball over the years—from up-and-coming young players to the elite level Paralympians,” says Lakeshore Foundation President Jeff Underwood. “We are always proud to host this special tournament.”

Demolition Derby

Lakeshore Foundation also hosted the 2010 Demolition Derby quad rugby tournament, January 29–31. Three U.S. club teams and five of the world’s strongest national squads competed in the event’s tenth year.

Canada, with former Demolition coach Kevin Orr at the helm, pulled ahead in the championship game against Lakeshore to win the tourney.

The Demolition, recognized as one of the nation’s premier rugby programs, welcomed club teams from Arizona and Texas as well as national squads from the U.S. Quad Rugby Association, Canada, Sweden, Great Britain, and Germany.

“For the past decade, Lakeshore Foundation has provided national and club quad rugby teams the op­portunity to compete against one another in a world-class setting,” says Lakeshore Foundation Chief Program Officer Beth Curry. “Quad rugby is one of the fastest-growing wheelchair sports in the world.”

Adding even more international flair was one of Lakeshore Demolition’s standout players, Shin Nakazato, who moved from Japan this year to join the team. He is currently living and training at Lakeshore.

The tournament’s unique eight-team format began Friday morning with the top seeds advancing through the first two rounds. Each team had two chances to play, but only Canada completed the day with two wins. The Demolition beat Sweden, 51–47, but fell by four to USQRA in the afternoon, 52–48.

Pool play continued Saturday with a close match between Canada and Lakeshore. Each allowed the other to get only a point ahead as the ball was passed back and forth over the goal line. Canada had the ball last and topped the Demolition by just a point, 54–53. Team Canada came away with another win against the TIRR Texans, 59–26, while Lakeshore also won its afternoon game against Germany, 51–45.

On the final day of action, Canada defeated Lakeshore for the championship. In the first quarter the teams were neck and neck until Demolition’s Bryan Kirkland went to the penalty box, ending the quarter, 12–9, Canada. In the second quarter the Demolition showed exhaustion from the weekend as they closed out the first half behind by ten, 27–17. Lakeshore gained one point on Canada in the third but remained behind, 39–30. Although they had renewed energy in the fourth, they were still unable to stop Canada’s offense and suffered a heartbreaking loss, 52–42.

Before switching over to coach Canada this year, Orr had been Demolition head coach since 1992. When asked how it felt to beat his former team at his old home, Orr said, “It’s a little bittersweet. I’m very proud of how these guys have been playing, but it is indeed a very bittersweet victory.”

Lakeshore’s Kirkland said he was proud of how the Demolition played against Canada, but a few bad calls held them back. “It’s frustrating to lose, but we have to keep in mind that our end goal is Nationals,” he said.

Canada’s Patrice Simard received Best Picker award, Lakeshore’s Joel Wilmoth was Best Hitter, and Chris Rathje took the Sportsmanship award. Ross Morrison (Great Britain) earned Best Offensive Player, Phoenix’s Nick Springer was Best Defensive Player, and Shin Shimakawa, also from Phoenix, took home the tournament MVP award.

 

Contact: www.quadrugby.com / www.lakeshore.org.

 

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