Posted on January 7, 2022
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 our own Mary Free Bed Pacers and Rollin’ Drive. Teams are traveling to Grand Rapids from Illinois, Minnesota and Florida.
When: 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday
Where: Mary Free Bed YMCA, 5500 Burton St. SE
The Mary Free Bed Pacers is a National Wheelchair Basketball Association DI team, a level of play that’s fast paced and fun to watch. The Rollin’ Drive is an NWBA DIII team for entry-level play.
The teams last participated in a tournament in March 2020, at the National Wheelchair Basketball Tournament in Missouri. The Pacers took fifth place at the national event, just as the first COVID-19 cases were being tracked in the United States.
Jimmy Moceri, who plays for the Pacers, remembers that uncertainty. Now he’s excited to be back out on the court.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” said Moceri, 32, who sustained a spinal cord injury in a car crash when he was 17. “There’s nothing like the competition and being active with your teammates.”
Moceri makes the drive from his home in Rochester Hills to Grand Rapids twice a month to practice and play.
“It’s totally worth the drive,” he said. “I love how playing keeps me healthy, competitive and working with a team.”
