Pitt State hosting 5th annual wheelchair basketball tourney

The 5th annual Via Christi Home Medical Gorilla Invitational Wheelchair Basketball Tournament will be held Friday and Saturday at the Student Recreation Center and Kansas National Guard Armory at Pittsburg State University.

The tournament will include six teams from four Midwestern states and will feature competitive basketball action.

"These games are very much like what we call stand-up basketball," said Dan Ferguson, professor in the Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation. "They are fast-paced and all of the rules, except for one involving wheelchairs, are the same as traditional basketball. The games are typically high-scoring, and the caliber of play is always very high."

The tournament, sponsored by Via Christi Home Medical, Mac Fitness, the PSU Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation and the Crawford County Convention and Visitors Bureau, is scheduled to begin at 9:15 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 14, with the championship game scheduled for 3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 15.

Competing teams include the Kansas Wheelhawks from Topeka; the St. Louis Rolling Rams from St. Louis, Mo.; the University of Missouri from Columbia, Mo.; the Oklahoma State University Spokes from Stillwater, Okla.; the MAPVA Chargers from Oklahoma City, Okla.; and the Madonna Magic from Lincoln, Neb.

The tournament is open to the public and admission is free.

For more information, contact Ferguson at 620-235-4911 or ddferguson@pittstate.edu.