Andy Craddock and Birmingham Wheelchair Basketball – Financial support for Wheelchair Basketball

At My Club, we’re proud of the clubs we support. This post is a part of our series showcasing some of the most inspiring and interesting stories from our community of grassroots sports clubs. To find out how we can help your team click here:

“anybody can do anything they want to do”

One of our clients, Andy Craddock, the organiser of Birmingham Wheelchair Basketball, has captured the hearts of Birmingham. He started Birmingham Wheelchair Basketball to give back to his community and to bring people of Birmingham together and is hoping to bring in the rest of the East Midlands. Andy Craddock, started the all-inclusive Wheelchair Basketball club 5 years ago when a few people played for clubs elsewhere and they wanted to bring it closer to home, to Birmingham. And it’s gone from strength to strength.

Wheelchair sport is the most inclusive sport in the world. Anyone can play, regardless of disability or non-disability. In a crisis or just having a bad day, the Birmingham Wheelchair Basketball family is there to support. On the pitch and off, the club has grown together to support one another, build determination, resilience and to go out there and pass on the knowledge they have learnt to everybody else.

The club hosts coffee mornings around Birmingham to promote inclusive sports and diversity, to show that anybody can play sport and support mental health and well-being. Another reason why they started these coffee mornings is to invite people along to come and try different activities and to have a chat about what they want to do and how the club can help them. The club now encompasses other activities such as Par badminton and are starting, a world first: American Wheelchair Football.

Over the pandemic, Andy continued to connect with people despite all the lockdowns. He has been nominated for Inspiration of the Year, Community Sport and Recreation Awards 2022. When people were locked in their homes, Andy found a way to continue supporting the community and provide opportunities to get people active. He conducted interviews with people in the local community and after a good response managed to involve several Olympians and Paralympians. He has carried this on a year later. Andy is working with Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games to show support for the Commonwealth ethos, and his club is participating in the Wheelchair Basketball 3×3 this year, a quicker and more intense game.

Andy’s story shows how sports clubs offer endless benefits and opportunities in a community. They can benefit everyone, young and old, both male and female and all ethnicities… everyone. Being a part of a club not only helps you make new friends and meet new people; it also offers health benefits and promotes lifelong lessons. Sports clubs offer an opportunity to bring everyone together to learn about being a part of a team and accepting everyone and everyone’s differences. All-inclusive clubs that allow both disabled and able-bodied sports is ever growing over the UK.

how my club works with birmingham wheelchair basketball 

Birmingham Wheelchair Basketball use My Club Market to help raise money for their club.

If you’d like to support BWB by shopping in their My Club Market, they earn 10% of every sale here.

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£150,000

worth of grants generated

£20,000

generated from bespoke shopping outlets

£15,000

worth of savings made on kit design & production