British Wheelchair Basketball announce first-ever Women’s Premier League
April 23, 2021
On Tuesday, British Wheelchair Basketball (BWB) announced the creation of the inaugural Women’s Premier League. The league will be the UK’s first-ever professional para-sport league and the first of its kind for women’s wheelchair basketball in the world.
The first season will run from December 2021 to May 2022 with franchise teams hosted at four universities which have all signed High-Performance Partnerships with BWB: Cardiff Metropolitan University, Loughborough University, the University of East London and the University of Worcester.
The High-Performance Partnerships are now recruiting elite players for their Women’s Premier League and British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) teams. The league will comprise 60% British players and 40% internationals, promoting the growth of the women’s game while potentially attracting some of the best female players in the world.
“The introduction of the Women’s Premier League is massive for the sport and for us as players. Historically there has been a bit of a gap in elite level competition for female players so I’m absolutely thrilled that British Wheelchair Basketball are ensuring we have equal opportunity to develop and flourish," said Team GB Wheelchair Basketball player, Amy Conroy.
“The sport is fast-paced and high-octane, and I can’t wait for more people to be able to watch us in action. I hope that it will also challenge misconceptions about disability sport and inspire more people to try wheelchair basketball for themselves.”
The creation of the Women’s Premier League is integral to BWB’s 12-year strategy, which set out bold targets of delivering a Professional Domestic League, developing a world- class high-performance system and doubling participation in the sport.
Addressing gender imbalances is also a goal. According to The Guardian, outside of internationals, women’s wheelchair basketball players often play in teams alongside men, meaning they often do not play in the dominant roles they would command on a women’s team. Currently, 70% of wheelchair basketball participants are men and 30% are women.
Lisa Pearce, British Wheelchair Basketball’s Chief Executive, said: “Today is an important moment in achieving our big ambitions for the sport and working with the universities is central to raising the profile of the sport, building new audiences and creating more opportunities for people to play across all levels.”
Ultimately, the universities will become centres of excellence for both women’s and men’s wheelchair basketball in the UK.