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Wichita Will Host 2020 Nationals

By NWBA Team, 07/09/19, 2:00PM CDT

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NWBA and Visit Wichita Announce Wichita, KS as Host of the Adult and Junior Division Championships, portions of the 2020 Toyota National Championship Series

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO – The National Wheelchair Basketball Association Board of Directors is excited to announce the dates and location for the Adult and Junior Division portions of the 2020 Toyota National Championship Series. The following national tournaments will be hosted in Wichita, KS:

  • National Adult Division I Wheelchair Basketball Tournament: March 12-14
  • National Adult Division II Wheelchair Basketball Tournament: March 12-14
  • National Adult Division III Wheelchair Basketball Tournament: March 12-14
  • National Varsity Wheelchair Basketball Tournament: March 13-15
  • National Varsity Invitational Wheelchair Basketball Tournament: March 13-15
  • National Prep Wheelchair Basketball Tournament: March 13-15

The above events will be hosted at Wichita Hoops, a state of the art, 12-court basketball facility. Wichita Hoops has over 100,000 feet of expansive hardwood basketball courts, and comes with other critical amenities, such as built in shot clocks and scoreboards, as well as electronically adjustable rim heights for Junior Prep Division games. For more information, go to www.wichitahoops.com

The top 16 ranked teams for each Adult Division (I, II, III) will earn an invite to their respective divisions’ national tournament. A total of 48 teams from the three Adult Divisions will battle it out for a coveted national title during this event.

The top 16 ranked teams for Varsity level of play in the Junior Division will earn an invite to compete in the National Varsity Wheelchair Basketball Tournament, based on their performance throughout the season. Varsity teams ranked 17-32 will receive an invite to participate in the National Varsity Invitational Wheelchair Basketball Tournament . The top 16 ranked teams from Prep earn an invitation to participate in the National Prep Wheelchair Basketball Tournament. 

Will Waller, NWBA CEO, said: “The Board and I are pleased to announce this host of the 2020 Toyota Adult and Junior National Championship dates and location. We had a great team of members begin work on this immediately after 2019 Nationals, while feedback was still fresh. This team vigorously debated the options and developed thoughtful recommendations for the Board. The decision was difficult, but we feel we have selected partners who will help us balance our goals of further consolidation, memorable member experience and a financially responsible format.”

Wichita will be well prepared for this tournament, as they have hosted numerous sporting events over the past few years and have many more on the calendar. In 2018, Wichita was host to the first and second round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament as well as the US Figure Skating Synchronized Skating Sectionals.  In addition to this tournament in 2020, Wichita will be hosting the NAIA Men’s Wrestling National Championship, two more US Figure Skating events and the ECHL Hockey All-Star Game.  Also, Wichita will once again host the first and second round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in 2021 and the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament in 2022.

“We are excited to bring this event to Wichita, a sports city capable of hosting sporting events of all kinds and magnitudes,” said Brian Hargrove, Executive Director of Sports Development at Visit Wichita. “Wichita’s love of sports and top-notch facilities like Wichita Hoops make it a wonderful city for teams to compete in. Plus, Wichita has so much to offer athletes and those traveling with them during their time in our city, and we’re looking forward to helping to create an exciting and memorable experience.”

Wichita is also no stranger to hosting large scale wheelchair basketball competitions. From 2014 to 2018, the American Collegiate Society for Adapted Athletics (led by Rob Egan) hosted The Wheelchair Basketball Bash in Wichita. Due to the success of this event, and the local following that was developed for the sport, Wichita was awarded the 2020 Toyota Intercollegiate Division Men’s and Women’s National Tournaments (March 18 – 21, 2020). For information on this tournament, click here.

The Local Organizing Committees and NWBA will work to develop and publish detailed fact sheets for the newly awarded events in a timely fashion to allow potential attendees and teams to plan accordingly. All updates will be published on the NWBA website at www.nwba.org and distributed to NWBA registered members.

About NWBA

The National Wheelchair Basketball Association is the recognized National Organization for Wheelchair Basketball by the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation and the High Performance Management Organization by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. The NWBA trains and selects teams for participation in the Paralympic Games, World Championships, and other international competitions. The NWBA was founded in 1948, and today consists of seven divisions including: Adult Division (I, II and III), Women's Division, Intercollegiate Men's Division, Intercollegiate Women's Division and Junior Division. For more information, visit: www.nwba.org.