WORCESTER is currently playing host to the European Wheelchair Basketball Championships 2015 at the University Arena.

As the city plays host to some of the greatest teams on the Continent vying for their place at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games as well as taking home the European title.

With the finals set to take place on Sunday, your Worcester News found out eight things you should know about wheelchair basketball and the European championships.

Thanks to the team behind the Euro championships for their help.

1. The games is almost 70 years old

The game was first played by US war veterans in 1946. The first international game was played between Great Britain and the Netherlands in England at the International Stoke Mandeville Games.

Today, the total number of players worldwide is approximately 30,000.

2. Who can play?

Wheelchair basketball is not only for people confined to wheelchairs.

Over half of athletes have amputated limbs or other handicaps, preventing them playing “able-bodied” basketball or other competitive sports.

In many ways, the wheelchair is considered similarly to a bicycle - a sports enabler.

3. Wheelchair basketball and able-bodied basketball have many similarities

Wheelchair and able-bodied basketball has many similarities such as court size, basket height and tactics however there is no second dribble and three pushes without bouncing the ball is a travelling violation.

To ‘balance’ the various disabilities, wheelchair basketball uses a points-system with points being allocated according to the players disability ranging from 1 to 4.5 with 4.5 being the least-disabled.

The total number of points may not exceed 14 points on the court at any moment in time. If this is exceeded, the team receives a technical foul.

4. Worcester is a key city for wheelchair basketball

The city is the home of the National Training Centre for British Wheelchair Basketball.

Jan Berteling, President of IWBF Europe, said: “The Worcestershire bid to host the IWBF Europe Wheelchair Basketball Championships stood out for many reasons.

Key was the accessibility of the venue, the closeness of accessible accommodation and the partnership seen between the community, business and education.”

5. It has been a record-breaking year for the games

The championships have enjoyed a digital high with the first 48 hours of the event's live stream channel already clocking up 77,758 views from 26,016 unique visitors.

The most popular session was recorded as GB Men v Poland on Saturday with 5,228 views.

6. Where to watch it

As well as being able to watch games at the University Arena, the Livestream feed is available at euro2015.uk/euros/index.cfm/schedule.

7. A lot of people are involved in the games

Worcester News:

8. ..along with lots of air miles, acupuncture needles and hours of physio

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