Brantford Police Services came out on top as the winners of the 27th annual Wheelchair Basketball Tournament on Saturday, February 8, 2025
Held each year in support of Brantwood Community Services and Participation Support Services (PSS), the event is put on in partnership with the Brantford Lions Club and the Branlyn Neighbourhood Association.
Doug Hunt, Director of Marketing, Fundraising and Volunteers for PSS and co-organizer for the event, explained the origins of the tournament.
“Years ago we used to have an actual wheelchair basketball league for people with physical challenges called the Brantford Bobcats. Myself and Ian MacKellar put the team together and we did that for quite a while, but eventually the team dissolved and people moved on,” he said. “I still had all the chairs that we used with the Bobcats so I came up with the idea to do a tournament with able-bodied players and we eventually decided to partner up with Brantwood. They’re so similar of an organization to us that I figured, ‘I don’t want to compete with them, I want us to work together instead,’ and so we’ve been putting this on with them for well over a decade now.”
He added that not only does the tournament support the two agencies, but that it also gives people a different perspective on what it means to use a wheelchair.
“It’s a great fundraiser because it really puts people in our world and makes them aware of the people that PSS and Brantwood support every day,” said Hunt. “It’s just really a fun tournament and it doesn’t matter if you’re a university basketball player or you’ve never played before, when you get in the chair, it’s a whole new experience.”
With 11 teams participating in this year’s tournament, altogether they raised $11,310, going above and beyond the $7,500 raised in 2024. Funds raised from the tournament will be split evenly between the two agencies.
During the event, Tracy Humphrey, Brantwood’s Director of Services and the event’s other co-organizer, thanked everyone for the donations and congratulated this year’s top two fundraisers.
“Another Round has always been one of our top sponsors, they really make a difference for us and this year, they brought in $2,600,” announced Humphrey. “I will say though, you were out-beat for the first time in a long, long time so let’s give a big shout out to the St. George Lions Club who raised over $2,800 for us this year.”
Humphrey later said that overall, she’s happy with this year’s turnout and always looks forward to the event.
“My favourite part is watching the games and seeing all the excitement going on. It just has a sort of fun and competitive vibe to it but at the same time, everyone is always laughing and cheering each other on,” she said with a smile. “We have 11 teams this year, all of which are returning teams with the exception of the St. George Lions Club, they’re a new team this year and it’s been great to have them involved.”
Humphrey said she was thankful for all the community partners that get involved in putting on the event year after year, noting that it’s become a great partnership.
“We’re also always so appreciative of the Branlyn Neighbourhood Association, they get the gym for us and run the canteen to make sure people are fed, and then the Brantford Lions Club always comes in and runs our registration table,” she said. “We also have a lot of volunteers helping us too and so it’s really a great partnership for everybody involved.”
Tony Davidson of the St. George Lions Club later told the Brant Beacon that while his arms felt a little stiff after playing all morning, he was happy to hear that the team could help support the cause.
“Its pretty exciting to hear that we were the top fundraiser this year, our Lions Club has supported Participation Support Services for many, many years so it was nice to continue with that in a different way,” he said. “I haven’t done something like this in quite some time so my arms are a little stiff but it’s a lot of fun, I’d do it again for sure.”
Leeanne Vreugdenhil, who returned with her team Another Round, said her and her family have been playing in the tournament since before 2011 and that it’s something they always look forward to.
“A majority of the team is made up of family and a few friends, and we’ve been involved with the tournament since around 2009 or 2010,” she said. “We really like getting involved because it’s a great cause but also because my family’s a little competitive, so this is always fun for us because we get to compete with each other to try and raise money.”
She added that not only is it a great chance to play basketball and spend time together, but to understand other people’s limitations too.
“For us, it’s twofold. One, it’s an opportunity to hang out with each other, but more importantly it’s for a good cause,” said Vreugdenhil. “You get to kind of understand the limitations that other people face all the time by being in their shoes and actually doing something. Unless you’ve done it before, you don’t realize how difficult it is or even just how much higher the net is. There’s a lot of skills involved to not only coordinate your balance to get from one point to a second point, but to also play basketball all at the same time.”
Vreugdenhil said it’s always nice to reunite with each of the teams but that she hopes other people will get involved next year as well.
“I would love to see more people come and check it out. It doesn’t have to be a corporate team or anything like that, we’re just a group of family and friends so anyone can get involved,” she said. “Its just a matter of getting a few people together and putting your mind to it, though I do recommend a team of ten people so you can switch out because it can get pretty tiring.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
