Photo supplied, Lizbeth Velaszquez

OGDEN — Utah’s only junior league wheelchair basketball team is competing in the West Coast Conference Championships on Saturday and Sunday at Weber State University. The tournament, to be held at the Swenson Gym inside the Stromberg Complex, is free to watch and spectators are welcome.

Games start at 8 a.m. on both days. The Utah Rush plays at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday. If all goes well, they will be playing at the same times on Sunday.

Utah is competing against eight teams from Oregon, Washington, California and Arizona in the first Western Regionals tournament for a chance to go to nationals next month in Wichita, Kansas.

The Rush is registered as part of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association. The NWBA is the accredited body for sanctioned tournaments allowing teams to qualify for the national playoff.

Team manager Lizbeth Velaszquez said the Rush athletes have had to travel outside of Utah for many years to compete, being the only junior league in the state.

Photo supplied, Lizbeth Velaszquez

“It gets really expensive,” said Daniel Turner, WSU’s campus recreation manager.

Turner’s 16-year-old daughter plays for the Rush. He said they travel outside of Utah to play basketball at least four to five times a year.

According to Turner, WSU’s mission to provide more adaptive sports fell in line with the team’s need for a place to play close to home.

The Rush does not have its own basketball court. As a self-funded organization, it relies on generous donations. Funds received are placed in a general fund to help pay for tournament registration fees as well as other costs associated with traveling to compete.

Neuroworx Adaptive Sports Program, a nonprofit organization providing specialized neurological rehabilitation, manages the teams funding. Velaszquez said the team has been able to rent the facility’s basketball court for practice at a reasonable price until COVID-19 hit.

Fortunately, Club V in North Salt Lake donated their courts for Rush athletes to practice free of charge.

A single tournament can cost between $500 and $1,000, according to Velaszquez, with team registration fees guaranteeing them a spot averaging between $300 and $400.

Utah Rush head coach Adam Lindsay said no matter how good the team is, they can only compete as funds allow. To qualify for wheelchair basketball, a player must have a lower limb disability and a $3,500 sports chair.

Playing basketball in a wheelchair does not impede these athletes’ abilities, according to Turner. “It’s probably more aggressive than typical basketball,” he said.

According to Velaszquez, flipped wheelchairs is a common site at games. It’s all about chair skills, she said, adding that “Sometimes you can smell the rubber.”

While Rush athletes cannot be graduates of high school, they can be as young as 10 years old. Velaszquez said, ideally, younger kids would play prep before joining a junior league, but again, Utah does not have one.

Rush’s youngest player is 12 years old while the oldest is Velaszquez’s 17-year-old daughter, Alma, who is not only the team captain and a senior in high school but also a future Wildcat for the University of Arizona.

Alma is one of many Rush athletes who have been accepted to play wheelchair basketball at the collegiate level, with some having gone on to play in the Paralympics, according to Velaszquez.

Getting to interact with those who share in disabilities and abilities in a co-ed sport is what makes the program unique, said Turner.