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Ade Adepitan launches new wheelchair basketball team at UEL

Thursday 3 May 2012

Ade Adepitan

The charismatic TV Presenter and Paralympic wheelchair basketball player, Ade Adepitan, paid a special visit to SportsDock at UEL this week to help launch a new wheelchair basketball team in Newham, and lend his support to Universities Week.

With the London 2012 Games on the horizon, the creation of this new team – the first of its kind in Newham – is another strong example of how UEL is working at a grassroots level to ensure the spirit of the Olympic and Paralympics lives on in Newham.

The team, which will be based in SportsDock and open to people of all ages and abilities, is the culmination of a shared vision by UEL, Newham All Star Sports Academy (NASSA) and Ade Adepitan to introduce wheelchair basketball to Newham.

Speaking at the launch this week, Ade said: “I’m really honoured to be involved in this new scheme with UEL and NASSA. When I first started playing wheelchair basketball, my initial thoughts were that anyone can play this. I then realised these guys are real athletes.

“I want to share the dream of the Olympics with people who have disabilities, and there’s no better place than the SportsDock to help realise that dream. It’s a great feeling to think that we could have the best wheelchair basketball team in England in two years’ time here at SportsDock.”

David Cosford, Director of Sport at UEL, said: “We’re really happy to have Ade on board with this scheme .This is the start of something very special here at UEL, and will help us in our aim to become the number one university for sport in London by 2015. It’s a great coming together of people interested in wheelchair basketball, and creating a team at UEL we can be proud of.”

Further information on the new team and how to join will made available during the summer.

This year’s Universities Week campaign, which runs between Monday, 30 April and Monday, 7 May, is looking at the diverse contribution that universities are making to the 2012 Games, the overall impact on the UK sports industry and the work that institutions and academics are doing around the Cultural Olympiad and 2012 legacy programme.

Notes to Editors

The University of East London (UEL) is a global learning community with over 28,000 students from over 120 countries world-wide. Our vision is to achieve recognition, both nationally and internationally, as a successful and inclusive regional university proud of its diversity, committed to new modes of learning which focus on students and enhance their employability, and renowned for our contribution to social, cultural and economic development, especially through our research and scholarship. We have a strong track-record in widening participation and working with industry.

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