Weekend’s Wheelchair Basketball Tournament features over 100 athletes including a World Champ
This weekend, 120 athletes from around the country will compete at the Mary Free Bed Invitational Adult Wheelchair Basketball Tournament. Nine teams across three divisions are scheduled to compete, traveling from states across the country – including California, Minnesota and Ohio. When: Saturday, December 2, from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Sunday, December 3, from […]
Rolling to the Hoop: Youth Wheelchair Basketball Glides into Grand Rapids
This weekend, young athletes will hit the courts for Mary Free Bed’s 24th annual Keep Up the Pace tournament. The junior wheelchair basketball tournament features over 50 athletes, ages 7 – 18 with various physical disabilities. The tournament is hosted by the Mary Free Bed Wheelchair and Adaptive Sports program. Six different teams are traveling […]
MFB Camp Instructor Competes with Team USA in World Championship
Gabe Den Braber, a 22-year-old from Grand Rapids, is competing with Team USA at the Men’s U23 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Thailand. Gabe was born with spina bifida, a condition in which the spinal cord didn’t form properly and has affected his lower limbs and his ability to walk. In 2014, when Gabe was […]
Fifth-ranked Mary Free Bed Pacers to play for national championship
The Mary Free Bed Pacers wheelchair basketball team is ranked fifth in the country and is heading to Wichita, Kansas to compete for the national championship. The Junior Pacers also will compete on the national stage, which means 20 athletes from West Michigan will make the trip. Both teams had their last practice this week […]
Wheelchair basketball tournament returns to Grand Rapids after nearly two years
About 70 athletes from across the country will compete this weekend in the Mary Free Bed Invitational Wheelchair Basketball Tournament. For many of the teams, the event marks the first return to tournament play since the COVID-19 pandemic forced cancellations almost two years ago. Seven teams from two competitive divisions are scheduled to compete, including […]
Junior Pacers Wheelchair Basketball—2009 Midwest Conference Champs
by Jess Venlet I didn’t know what to expect when I arrived at Jenison High School to watch wheelchair basketball for the first time. I thought that the game would be pretty laid back. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The games were intense, and the players competitive. I realized my mistake quickly. I had […]