Wheelchair basketball is the biggest Paralympic team sport in the UK. It is a fast-paced sport that allows disabled and non-disabled people to compete together in its domestic leagues and competition. Every player is given a classification from 5 to 0.5, depending on their level of impairment. You can have 14 points across the five players on court at any one time.

Combining speed, skills and power, wheelchair basketball is one of the most exciting sports to watch. The rules are the same as in the running version of basketball - two teams of five players go head-to-head for 40 minutes, equally divided into four quarters.

The court dimensions are exactly the same as the running game, and the aim remains the same too: simply score more points than the other team. Movement up the court is measured in dribbling – that’s one bounce for every two pushes of the chair in the wheelchair game!

The Governing Body is British Wheelchair Basketball (BWB). In Scotland you can play wheelchair basketball for a club (find a club) or recreationally at a multisport club (contact Craigie-Lee on 07595 278686 for more details)

Player Pathway

National Teams (u14, u18 and u25)

Selection Process

Talent ID, tracking and monitoring of Athletes for National Squads is an ongoing process throughout the year.  Athlete recommendations can be made by club coaching staff; National Academy Coaches; schools and colleges.  Performance at domestic club, school and college competitions, talent ID Camps or training programmes will all be taken into consideration within this process.

Training Camps

• Up to six training days will take place between November and April each year.
• Each camp costs £25.
• These camps will be used to select the teams for the Home Nations Cup which is held in August each year.  Players are selected in each of the three age categories.

Eligibility & Classification

All Athletes must be registered with basketballscotland and British Wheelchair Basketball (BWB) and meet the eligibility requirements in line with BWBs ‘eligibility criteria’ and hold a confirmed BWB classification* (Eligibility-criteria-for-BWB-2025.pdf) (*for BWB competitions only).

DISE

Young athletes can also apply to improve their skills on and off court with the DiSE programme whilst in full-time education, a two-year programme that earns you 64 UCAS points. The Diploma in Sporting Excellence (DiSE) offers aspiring athletes the opportunity to develop their sporting capability, by training in an elite environment supported by British Wheelchair Basketball (BWB), whilst continuing in full time education. DiSE has been designed to meet the needs of young people who have the realistic potential to achieve excellence in their chosen sport and are aiming to perform at the highest level. In addition, it enables National Governing Bodies to measure the young athletes’ ability to apply themselves to professional development in the technical, tactical, physical and psychological aspects of Sport.

Pathways - British Wheelchair Basketball

Commonwealth Games

Wheelchair Basketball was introduced to the Commonwealth Games in 2022 when it moved from a 5v5 format to the newer 3x3 format. It was combined with the running game.

Scotland sent a women’s team featuring Robyn Love, Jude Hamer, Lynsey Spiers and Jess Whyte. They finished 4^th – just missing out on a bronze medal by 2 points

Glasgow 2026 will follow the same format.  This time Scotland will be entering both a Men’s and a Women’s team. Tickets are now on sale.

GB team

BWB select athletes from across the UK for their performance programme.

See https://britishwheelchairbasketball.co.uk/gb/ for all the details.