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NWBA Victory Tour in Kansas City

By NWBA, 10/12/17, 2:45PM CDT

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A great kick-off to National Wheelchair Basketball Week October 13-22

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO – The Youth for Kansas City (Y4KC), a community service organization for young adults, hosts the National Wheelchair Basketball Association’s Victory Tour this weekend October 13-14 in Kansas City, Missouri. This event will kick-off National Wheelchair Basketball Week from October 13-22 as a week-long celebration of wheelchair basketball and the progress the sport has made since founded in 1948.

The NWBA Victory Tour highlights the historic performances by U.S. Men’s and Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Teams capturing Gold Medals at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. This is the first time since the Seoul 1988 Paralympics that Team USA has won both the men’s and women’s team gold medals.

The NWBA Victory Tour in Kansas City includes three main events: exhibition wheelchair basketball game, wheelchair basketball demonstration and a gala event. The NWBA invites the public to attend all the events this weekend. Tickets for the exhibition game are $10. Tickets for the gala dinner are $125 for an individual ticket or $750 for a table of eight and can be purchased online at www.nwba.org.

Athletes attending the events for the NWBA Victory Tour in Kansas City include Rio 2016 Paralympic gold medalists: Desi Miller of Monroe, Washington; Abby Dunkin of Arlington Texas; Steve Serio of Westbury, New York; Trevor Jennifer of Huntington, Maryland; Rose Hollerman of Elysian, Minnesota; John Gillbert of Fairfax, Missouri; and Nate Hinze of Cedar Grove, Wisconsin.

Also attending the events for the NWBA Victory Tour in Kansas City are: Sarah Castle of Kansas City, Missouri, the President of the NWBA Board of Directors and four-time U.S. Paralympian; Will Waller of Hudson, Ohio, member of the NWBA Board of Directors and London 2012 Paralympic bronze medalist; and Team USA’s Men’s Coach Ron Lykins of Columbia, Missouri.

This Victory Tour will start tomorrow, October 13, at 7:00 pm the University of Missouri-Kansas City with the exhibition wheelchair basketball game at the Swinney Recreation Center located at 5030 Holmes Street Kansas City, Missouri 64110. Trading cards of all athletes in attendance will be made available, with an opportunity for spectators to obtain autographs and meet these accomplished athletes.

On Saturday, October 14, at 10:00 am a practice will be hosted for local youth of the Kansas City area to experience wheelchair basketball at the Liberty High School 200 W Blue Jay Drive, Liberty, Missouri 6406. Athletes from the St. Louis Jr. Rolling Rams and Nebraska Red Dawgs will be in attendance to support with the practice.

The NWBA Victory Tour in Kansas City will conclude on Saturday evening, as the College Basketball Experience hosts a gala dinner, a live and silent auction, and featured speakers starting at 6:30 pm. The live and silent auction includes a significant amount of priceless and high-value retail items that have be graciously donated by supporters of the NWBA. Featured speaker for the gala is two-time Paralympic medalist, co-captain of the Team USA’s Men’s Team and 2017 ESPN Espy Award recipient Steve Serio.

The Y4KC is excited to bring the NWBA Victory Tour to Kansas City to raise awareness for the sport and encourage growth of wheelchair basketball in the community. All proceeds from this event will benefit the NWBA and Midwest Adaptive Sports. 

Y4KC is mentored by NWBA Board of Directors’ President, Sarah Castle. She is a four-time U.S. Paralympian and wheelchair basketball gold medalist in 2008, and is also an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney and Diversion Manager for the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office. Castle also earned her juris degree from the University of Missouri at Kansas City.

For more information on the NWBA Victory Tour in Kansas City please contact Anthony Bartkowski at anthonybartkowski@nwba.org.