Walker Cup: Playing for the Gold in Women's International Wheelchair Basketball.

Hosting an international sporting event for individuals with disabilities is full of challenges and rewards. Here are some lessons learned from hosting the 1st Annual Walker Cup International Women's Wheelchair Basketball Challenge.

During April of 2000, four teams of elite competitors assembled on the campus of East Carolina University located in Greenville, North Carolina. The goal was simple -- bring home the gold medal from the 1st Annual Walker Cup. The competitors traveled from all over the United States, Japan, Mexico, and Great Britain. Each team consisted of well-trained, and dedicated world-class athletes. Each came with her own story, her own history, and her own wheelchair.

The first Annual Walker Cup International Women's Wheelchair Basketball Challenge was a five-day tournament. The tournament consisted of preliminary games held early in the week and the medal rounds held on Friday and Saturday night. The tournament was a precursor to the Paralympic Games held immediately after the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Each of the four teams in attendance were sanctioned by the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) and had already qualified for the competition in Sydney.

The Walker Cup was originally designed to be a training camp for the USA team. The coach of the USA team, Dr. Frank Brasile, had made a plea to individuals and organizations across the country to sponsor a training camp so that his athletes could better prepare for the Paralympics. The request came in light of the fact that these women incur the same training expenses as athletes without disabilities, yet they have limited access to national organizing committee funds and commercial sponsors. Upon hearing that ECU was interested in supporting a camp, Coach Brasile presented an even more ambitious proposal. Was ECU willing to host an international tournament so that teams throughout the world could have a similar opportunity? Under the direction and vision of Dr. Leroy Walker, the training camp began its transformation into an international, multi team competition.

The commitment of Dr. Walker toward athletes with disabilities began many years ago. Dr. Walker was the first United States Olympic Committee (USOC) President to endorse the Paralympic movement. He also helped to pass landmark legislation entitled The Amateur Sports Act of 1987, which mandated that athletes with disabilities have equal opportunities for athletic competition. However, this legislation was difficult to enforce, and without funding, opportunities for athletes with disabilities remain slim. Hosting the Walker Cup was one way to help promote disabled sports, as well as educate the community regarding the talents of athletes with disabilities. Clearly committed to the endeavor, only one task remained. Prepare East Carolina University and the surrounding community, to play host to its first international sporting competition.

Tournament Organizing Committee

As with any major event, planning began by establishing an organizational structure. The Tournament Organizing Committee (TOC) consisted of three tournament directors and seven subcommittees. The primary responsibilities for the tournament were accomplished under the leadership of three directors -- the Tournament Director, Tournament Marketing Director, and Operations Director. Each of these directors helped to guide the work of seven committees: Fundraising and Marketing, Media, Competition, Logistics, Community Outreach, Research, and Student Education. Once a committee chair was named, the major responsibilities and a timelines for completion were established for each committee. A diagram of the committee structure appears below.

Preliminary Planning

Preliminary plans for the Walker Cup were started over a year before the tournament. Unfortunately, Greenville and eastern North Carolina experienced the wrath of Hurricane Floyd, which resulted in record breaking flooding in most of the area. As a result, the planning stages for the tournament were put on hold and much of the early momentum was lost to thoughts of survival and recovery. With less than four months and only two teams confirmed, a decision had to be made. Was the tournament to be held or would it be put on hold until next year? With determination and enthusiasm, it was decided that the tournament would go on, but tasks would have to be completed at record setting pace.

Leroy "Cush" Walker Jr. assumed the responsibilities of tournament director just three months prior to the arrival of the teams. With only months remaining to prepare, "Cush" organized the efforts of all committee members. His primary objective was to direct the completion of all committee work and anticipate events that might cause the demise of the tournament. In conjunction with the other directors, a concerted effort was made to identify and solicit confirmation of all teams. Within a month, USA, Japan, Great Britain, and Mexico had all agreed to participate in the event.

Concurrently, Al Delia -- Tournament Marketing Director and Walker Center Director -- was seeking sponsorships and arranging event publicity. Sponsorships were sold in packages as described in Table 2.

TABLE 2. SPONSORSHIP LEVELS

Title           Minimum donation of       Two on court
Sponsor         $40,000 cash or Value     identification logos
                in Kind (VIK) services    Logo inclusion in all print,
                or products               video and radio promotions
                                          200 two-day event passes
                                          20 VIP parking passes
                                          20 hospitality credentials to
                                          access VIP lounge
                                          Corporate identification
                                          signage at center court

Gold Level      Minimum donation of       Logo inclusion in all
Sponsor         $20,000 cash or VIK       promotional material
                services or products      100 two-day event passes
                                          10 VIP parking passes
                                          10 hospitality credentials
                                          Corporate identification
                                          signage near center court

Media Level     Minimum of $10,000 in     Mention in all print video
Sponsor         media trade time          and radio advertisement
                valued at published       30 two-day event passes
                rates                     50 single tickets for use
                                          in promotional give-aways
                                          10 VIP parking passes
                                          10 VIP lounge passes
                                          One time-out during each
                                          night of the tournament
                                          Third priority on court
                                          identification signage

Silver Level    Minimum donation of       Logo inclusion in all print
Sponsor         $5,000 cash or VIK        advertisement 50 two-day
                services or products      event passes 10
                                          VIP parking passes
                                          10 VIP lounge passes
                                          Fourth priority on court
                                          identification signage

Bronze Level    Minimum donation of       10 two-day event passes
Sponsor         $1,000 cash or VIK        10 VIP lounge passes
                services or products      Shared corporate
                                          identification signage
                                          in arena

During the time that sponsors and team confirmations were being made, Dr. Diane Groff -- Tournament Operations Director and Assistant Professor at ECU -- was coordinating the efforts of the remaining sub-committees. Each sub-committee consisted of a team of dedicated volunteers who put in long hours of work to complete designated tasks. In an effort to identify the tasks each sub-committee would perform, a preliminary informational survey was conducted with each team. The survey identified all travel, lodging, and equipment needs. From that point, each subcommittee began making arrangements for transportation, equipment, medical needs, arena management and preparation, food services, lodging, signage, volunteer scheduling and management, wheelchair repair, interpreters, referees, and announcers. To promote community involvement in the Walker Cup, the community outreach committee organized lead-up activities to the tournament.

In spite of the significant task facing the TOC, arrangements were completed with remarkable accuracy. The teams' arrival necessitated that plans unfold into action and the campus and community sprang alive with daily activity surrounding the tournament.

The Tournament

The typical daily schedule was dependent upon the careful orchestration of transportation, meals, and athletic demands. The first shift of volunteers arrived at the arena at 6:00 a.m. to prepare the venue for the first wave of practices. Simultaneously, the athletes ate breakfast at the hotel and then boarded buses to arrive at the arena in time for their scheduled practice. Morning practices and any athletic training needs were followed by lunch and a brief rest period prior to the evening competition.

In addition to practices, two different types of community-based educational seminars were conducted on three afternoons. Educational seminars for adults were held on the ECU campus and addressed disabled sports psychology, coaching, and athletic training. In addition, six public schools hosted educational seminars for their students. These seminars were designed to teach children about wheelchair basketball and the athletes who play the sport. Furthermore, they were intended to increase the sensitivity to and awareness of individuals with disabilities. Two athletes from each team were called upon to represent their teams at each of these sessions.

In addition to daily practice and educational seminars, preliminary games were played on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings. These preliminary games were arranged in a round robin format with every team facing off against each of the other countries once. While competitive in nature, this early round competition was only a warm up for the teams, the fans, and the community. The results of this early competition determined the seating for the semifinal games to be held later in the week.

Having earned a break from physical play, the coaches, athletes, tournament operating committee, officials, and sponsors gathered Thursday evening for a semi-formal banquet. This evening afforded everyone a time to gather in the spirit of friendship. At the banquet, individuals took the opportunity to interact with each other on a more informal basis, not as athletes, but as people.

Friday evening saw a return to competition in the semi-finals. Based on their record thus far, this important evening included a battle between the first and fourth place team, and second and third place team. The winners of each semi-final game would compete the following evening for the Walker Cup.

Saturday evening brought fierce competition as all four countries competed for the gold, silver, and bronze medals. By now, the fan base was building, although still smaller than desired. The media had taken hold of the event and was enthusiastically reporting on the extensive talents of these athletes. Furthermore, the international world of wheelchair basketball was following along by posting the results of the tournament on the web. But most importantly, the preliminary games and practice had afforded these teams the opportunity to compete on an international level. The opportunity to compete at this level, in such close proximity to the Paralympic games, is a rarity in disabled sport. The athletes were primed for competition.

In the end, Mexico and Great Britain squared off for the Bronze. Although earlier games had seen Great Britain defeated by substantial margins, the game remained close throughout. Mexico defeated Great Britain by a score of 44 to 39. The championship game was between Japan and the crowd favorite, USA. Down by as much as 10 points in the opening half, the USA came back against Japan to win the gold with a score of 54 to 45. True to Paralympic tradition, members and coaches of the top teams were honored for their achievement in a medal ceremony. All medals were presented by Dr. Walker and a representative of Regional Rehabilitation Center of University Health Systems of Eastern North Carolina.

Hosting a Successful Tournament

The smooth operation of all these events required a host of volunteers. These dedicated individuals staffed the competition arena, buses, dining facilities and educational seminars. The volunteers were scheduled in four hour blocks to coordinate with the athletes rotating morning practice schedule, lunch, and evening competition. The volunteers were an indispensable factor in the operation of the tournament, donating large amounts of time and adjusting easily to the variety of tasks requiring attention.

Behind the scenes, numerous auxiliary services were required to provide a successful tournament. Of utmost importance was effective communication between committee members. Committee chairs were each assigned a car telephone and a hand held radio. Car telephones were beneficial but cell phones would have improved communication efforts in all locations, not simply when members were in their cars. Hand held radios proved to be tremendously important allowing instant communication between all committee members. These radios had a range of approximately 15 miles and without this vital link, things would have been chaotic.

Another important element of communication was the interpreters. Interpreters were available as often as possible for the non-English speaking teams. These individuals helped to ensure that the teams understood the transportation schedule, meal plans and other competition details. Finding interpreters willing to volunteer their time was a challenge however. In future tournaments, service to international teams could be improved by getting more interpreters to share this responsibility and to have someone available for the athletes during the majority of waking hours.

The transportation team had a precise and crucial task to complete. The primary focus of this team was to follow a fixed schedule detailing when teams were to arrive or depart the hotel, arena, and dining facilities. One critical element of this plan was the ability to smoothly adjust to unexpected changes. Any change to the transportation schedule had to be relayed to members of the TOC, volunteers, the teams, and other drivers. The use of hand held radios proved to be an effective means to communicate these changes. However, for complicated changes, new schedules were printed and distributed to all involved.

As one might imagine, transporting over 30 individuals who use wheelchairs can be a burden on even the most accessible transportation systems. ECU responded to this challenge remarkably well. The university had recently added two peripheral seating buses to its' fleet of accessible vehicles. The wide isles, fast lifts, and well trained lift operators allowed for efficient movement of athletes on and off of the vehicle. While transportation locally did not prove to be problematic, getting the athletes to and from the airport was a bit more difficult. Because the Greenville, NC airport only accommodates small aircraft, the athletes utilized the Raleigh-Durham International Airport. This airport is a two and one half hour drive from the host city. Although the transportation team was able to successfully complete all airport shuttles, it took several bus trips and individual vehicles to accommodate the diverse schedule of all travelers. In the future, it would be helpful if all of the teams were given parameters for arrival and departure times. In addition to attending to the travel needs of the athletes, a chase vehicle was used to transport all baggage and competition game chairs. The chase vehicle proved to be instrumental and will be retained for use in subsequent years.

Supplying meals for these athletes was accomplished through several venues. A buffet breakfast was served at the hotel prior to the athletes' departure for morning practice. Lunch was served at the university cafeteria and was well received by the athletes because of the diverse menu available. Dinners were served at the venue after the evening game. In order to accommodate the different times that teams would eat, area restaurants were called upon to provide take-out meals. In general, the meal arrangements proved to be successful in offering a balanced diet that accommodated the diverse food preferences of this group of athletes.

Promotion of the tournament was accomplished via a variety of mediums. A television commercial featuring Dr. Walker and Ron Curll, a local athlete who is a former Paralympian, was aired one week prior to the event. In addition, the coaches and athletes appeared in several live early morning television spots throughout the week. The media also showed several stories regarding the athletes and reported the results of the competition on a daily basis. Finally, newspaper ads regarding the tournament were placed in the local paper for the week prior to and during the tournament. Information regarding the tournament also appeared in the newspaper through several feature stories. To encourage media coverage, press passes and special seating arrangement were provided at center court. Finally, in an effort to increase the volume of news reported about the event, local newspapers and television stations received a press release and statistical sheet each night. Overall, the media coverage was admirable but could have been improved. The campus media could have covered the event more thoroughly and information regarding the tournament and players could have been increased prior to the athletes arrival. Furthermore, with minimal effort the coverage area could have been expanded to include local communities that are within a reasonable driving distance. Perhaps by increasing the coverage area, the tournament would have attracted more spectators. Finally, in an effort to receive national recognition, a major television network could have been solicited. In the future, the tournament organizing committee will have to seek national coverage from networks that support disabled sports and the accomplishments of individuals with disabilities.

Given that officiating wheelchair basketball requires a talent that is not commonly found in local communities, the expertise of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) was sought to locate qualified officials. To ensure that the games were called at a level consistent with international play, all officials were either sanctioned IWBF officials or in the process of being sanctioned. As with the officials, the members of the scorers table also required special training in the rules of wheelchair basketball. However, unlike the officials, local volunteers were recruited to perform the functions required of this job. Individuals were given training as needed prior to the event by local experts on the sport as well as by the officials.

One final detail that contributed to the overall success of the event included a variety of athlete services. Wheelchair repair personnel were on site during morning practices and evening competitions throughout the entire week. These services were highly valued by the teams and greatly aided in the efficient operation of the event. The athletes' practice and game uniforms were laundered nightly by Recreational Services at ECU. Finally, vendors representing medical equipment supplies, and wheelchair manufacturers and equipment supply companies were on hand during the event to market their products. The presence of the vendors served as a method for reaching out to the local disabled community and providing them with information regarding the latest supplies and technology.

Looking to the Future

One would think that nearly a decade after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, equitable access to sports and recreational opportunities for individuals with disabilities would not warrant special attention. However, one need only look at the disparity in media coverage between the 2000 Olympics and Paralympic to see that opportunities for individuals with disabilities to fulfill their dreams in competition are not available. Therefore, hosting international sporting events, such as the Walker Cup, needs to be a concern of all public agencies that meet the athletic needs of individuals with disabilities. As public parks and recreation service providers, we can seek to negate the disparity that exists by challenging ourselves to promote international sporting events for disabled athletes. Not only will the athletes win, but as we discovered in Greenville, NC, the community will win as well.

Diane Groff and Katharine Maddocks are the authors of "Walker Cup: Playing for the Gold in Women's International Wheelchair Basketball" on page 62. Groff is an assistant professor of recreational therapy at East Carolina University. Her academic interests involve individuals with physical disabilities and adapted sports. Her recreational interests include sports, adventure activities, and running. Maddocks is a graduate student at East Carolina University. She is currently balancing the demands of serving as the volunteer coordinator of the Walker Cup, and completing her thesis on the impact of an adventure challenge program on the problem solving skills of deaf students. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her dog.