DAVID ENG

Athletes statement, signed by wheelchair basketball players from around the globe. The language is strong but so is our passion for the Paralympic Games. We all want the same thing. Lets figure it out together.

Turkish international, Cem Gezinci has been deemed non-eligible by the IPC. He gave this statement to Rollt. - - - - - Dear all, Ive been playing for 15 years ...and have seen 5 European Championships, 3 World Championships and 2 Paralympic Games. They all have separate stories, separate memories, joy and sadness. When I look back, there is so much experience. I was keen about the next Paralympic Games in Tokyo. But the IPC has decided to end my dream. Unfortunately the dysfunction of my knee no longer met IPC standards! What should I do now? So much labor, sweated blood, my hands were remaining in the blood whilst getting used to pushing a wheelchair. And the family longing I felt at the endless training camps and a lot of suffering that I cannot explain right now. All this was to be a better player and to represent my country better. Now the IPC tells me that I am no longer allowed to participate in the Paralympic Games. The frustration I have experienced is huge and cannot be expressed in words. What am I going to do next? What about my last 15 years? What will be my goals and dreams? The same institute, IPC which has previously allowed me to play in 2 Paralympic Games, now says I cannot play. How would they feel if such a decision affected them who made that decision? I want justice. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the IWBF Family and the entire wheelchair basketball community who are with me in this process. Having them support me gives me strength. With kindest regards, Cem Gezinci. - - - - - Translated via DeepL. - - - - - International Standards for Eligible Impairments > https://bit.ly/39ACRgV - - - - - #RolltbeiMir #DasBesteRollt | Photo: Steffie Wunderl Fotografie

Be THIS guy. . . Dont bow the knee to the Culture. . .Take a Stand for the GOSPEL.

When a teammate faces adversity and challenge it is felt by the whole squad, not just by their on-court counterparts but also by their wider support network. ... Together we are united in support and solidarity. BWB statement https://bit.ly/3k8JiwO #TogetherWeAreGB

Great Britains George Bates was deemed ineligible by the IPC. He took to Instagram to release a statement and gave a further statement to Rollt. "Im extremely... disappointed to have been deemed ineligible by the IPC, after living with a disability that has severely affected me physically and mentally for the last 15 years of my life. As well as this the decision has the potential to remove me from the sport and team that I love and have dedicated the last decade of my life to. I find it hard to comprehend that the people that make this decision are seemingly so far removed from the sport, that they can make decisions that affect peoples life without any apparent real life insight into the potential it has to affect players lives. Its extremely upsetting that the top tier of this sport can turn their back on athletes that dont perfectly fit in to their 10 disability categories. This is obvious discrimination." - - - Instagram statement > https://bit.ly/304OVUK - - - International Standard for Eligible Impairments > https://bit.ly/39ACRgV - - - - - #RolltbeiMir #DasBesteRollt | Photo: Steffie Wunderl Fotografie See more

Thoughts on the whole IPC classification situation. We need to speak up . Players, coaches, fans, PLEASE fight this. Lets change this narrow minded classificat...ion process. Lets fight for George Bates, David Eng Annabelle Lindsay etc. Time for a change. Wheelchair basketball world, speak up! See more

IPC clarifies IWBF statement. bit.ly/31OfzCB IPC clarifica declaracin de IWBF. bit.ly/3e7TNfF

David Eng #letdaveplay #wheelchairbasketball #canada #paralympics

Whats on my mind? I was exchanging e-mails with a long time friend of mine, Tip Thiboutot. He was sharing his thoughts on the recent decisions by the IPC and t...he IWBF around player eligibility. He shared with me a letter he was writing. He asked that I share that letter with people I know so I thought I would share it with you. A little bit about Tip before you read this letter. Tip has been involved in basketball and wheelchair basketball for over six decades. He is a person who has helped develop wheelchair basketball all the way from local clubs to the international level. Tip is a person of the highest integrity who has only one thing in mind in every action he does, helping maximize the potential of all individuals through sport. I have been very fortunate to have him teach me over the years. He has helped me grow as a person and a coach. So as you read Tips words, know that they come from a person with significant knowledge about the sport of wheelchair basketball and who is a person who I hold in the highest regard. June 23, 2020 Letter to Wheelchair Basketball Players (and IPC administrators) Subject: Is your disability acceptable to the IPC? On June 18th, Wheelchair Basketball Canada announced that Canadian wheelchair basketball player, David Eng, was declared ineligible by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). Previously, Eng had been deemed eligible to represent Canada in five Paralympics. He had been judged eligible in the USA. And, he had also been judged eligible by the governing body of international wheelchair basketball, the IWBF. But NO, David, you are not eligible, the IPC has declared, Eng was born with one leg shorter than the other. And you, IPC administrators, you IPC classifiers, have ruled that he can no longer roll his wheelchair onto a Paralympic basketball court. Therefore, players with comparable disabilities will not be eligible. Wheelchair basketball players, one of you could be the next athlete to be stripped of your eligibility by the IPC. The IPCs evaluation and intrusion into the IWBFS classification system is continuing. But here is what is cruelly ironic. The eligibility rules of the international Wheelchair basketball (IWBF) state: A wheelchair basketball player is unable to run, pivot or jump at a speed and with the control, safety, stability, and endurance of an able-bodied player. Not good enough for the IPC! Imagine yourself, Mr. and Ms. PC, playing conventional basketball. You have a short leg and, you are defending an average, or an even less than average conventional , standupbasketball player. Your opponent has possession of the ball. He (or she) fakes in one direction and then moves quickly in the opposite direction. Your opponent escapes. Your defense is compromised. Why? Because you are unable to generate sufficient power from your shortened leg to quickly pivot or move laterally. Finally, you pivot, but the offensive player has passed by you and is moving away towards his basket. You are slow to recover and catch him. Why? Your first step is too weak, again due to the diminishment of power in your short leg. It cannot propel you forward with sufficient speed. you, the player with the short leg, are preparing to rebound. Your opponent, of the same size and height, contests the rebound. Who is more likely to secure the ball? You, with your short leg, or your opponent, who, with an unimpaired leg, can generate more speed and power in the vertical direction? The answer is obvious the able-bodied player with a normal leg. you are preparing to shoot, a skill that requires optimal stability. But you naturally lean to one side, the side of your shorter leg. That in turn requires compensation from the other side. You are disadvantaged by your short leg. One shoulder becomes lower than the other. The more stable, able-bodied player clearly has the greater advantage when shooting. Finally, what do you tell the 14 year-old boy or girl who are discouraged by the fact that they cannot jump, run or pivot as effectively as their able-bodied friends due to the presence of a short leg. That short leg limits their potential. That short leg limits the possibility of joining a community or school team and competing on an equal level with able-bodied children. Securing a place on their nations Olympic team becomes no more than a dream. Should they stay at home, find a different form of recreation; or should they be invited to join a wheelchair basketball team where they can compete on an equal level against players who use wheelchairs. That child should not be denied the opportunity to become on a Paralympian, And here lies a second irony, one that can be found on a page of the IPC Classification Code, under Eligible Impairments: 3.1.4 Leg length difference Athletes that have a difference in the length of their legs as a result of a disturbance of limb growth, or as a result of trauma. Reinstate David Eng, the athlete with a leg length difference. Then, adopt the IWBF criterion indicating that eligibility to play wheelchair basketball is contingent upon an inability, I repeat, to run, pivot or jump at a speed and with the control, safety, stability, and endurance of an able-bodied player. Fourteen year-old girls and boys with impairments comparable to David Engs will be very grateful. Rolling onto a basketball court at the Paralympics becomes an achievable goal for hopeful children. IPC officials, dont deny them that possibility. NOTE: Wheelchair basketball players, write your own letter addressing this prejudicial decision by the IPC, or copy and send this statement to, [email protected] Author:Tip Thiboutot, former Vice President of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) and the USAS National Wheelchair Basketball Federation (NWBA), and wheelchair basketball player due to paraplegia. The latter, as you know, is just one of many qualifying impairments for participation in wheelchair basketball. Thiboutot is also the co-author, with Stan Labanowich, of Wheelchairs Can Jump, a History of Wheelchair Basketball.

My friend Armand Thiboutot (Tip) made some fair points on the recent classification decisions impacting the sport of wheelchair basketball ... his published rem...arks are below and he encourages all concerned to become involved: June 23- 2020 Letter to Wheelchair Basketball Players (and IPC administrators) Subject: Is your disability acceptable to the IPC? On June 18th, Wheelchair Basketball Canada announced that Canadian wheelchair basketball player, David Eng, was declared ineligible by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). Previously, Eng had been deemed eligible to represent Canada in five Paralympics. He had been judged eligible in the USA. And, he had also been judged eligible by the governing body of international wheelchair basketball, the IWBF. But NO, David, you are not eligible, the IPC has declared, Eng was born with one leg shorter than the other. And you, IPC administrators, you IPC classifiers, have ruled that he can no longer roll is wheelchair onto a Paralympic basketball court. Therefore, players with comparable disabilities will not be eligible. Wheelchair basketball players, one of you could be the next athlete to be stripped of your eligibility by the IPC. The IPCs evaluation and intrusion into the IWBFS classification system is continuing. But here is what is cruelly ironic. The eligibility rules of the international Wheelchair basketball (IWBF) state: A wheelchair basketball player is unable to run, pivot or jump at a speed and with the control, safety, stability, and endurance of an able-bodied player. Not good enough for the IPC! Imagine yourself, Mr. and Ms. PC, playing conventional basketball. You have a short leg and, you are defending an average, or an even less than average conventional, standup basketball player. Your opponent has possession of the ball. He (or she) fakes in one direction and then moves quickly in the opposite direction. Your opponent escapes. Your defense is compromised. Why? Because you are unable to generate sufficient power from your shortened leg to quickly pivot or move laterally. Finally, you pivot, but the offensive player has passed by you and is moving away towards his basket. You are slow to recover and catch him. Why? Your first step is too weak, again due to the diminishment of power in your short leg. It cannot propel you forward with sufficient speed. you, the player with the short leg, are preparing to rebound. Your opponent, of the same size and height, contests the rebound. Ask yourself, who is more likely to secure the ball? You, with your short leg, or your opponent, who, with an unimpaired leg, can generate more speed and power in the vertical direction? The answer is obvious the able-bodied player with a normal leg. you are preparing to shoot, a skill that requires optimal stability. But you naturally lean to one side, the side of your shorter leg. That in turn requires compensation from the other side. You are disadvantaged by your short leg. One shoulder becomes lower than the other. The more stable, able-bodied player clearly has the greater advantage when shooting. Finally, what do you tell the 14 year-old boy or girl who are discouraged by the fact that they cannot jump, run or pivot as effectively as their able-bodied friends due to the presence of a short leg. That short leg limits their potential. That short leg limits the possibility of joining a community or school team and competing on an equal level with able-bodied children. Securing a place on their nations Olympic team becomes no more than a dream. Should they stay at home, find a different form of recreation; or should they be invited to join a wheelchair basketball team where they can compete on an equal level against players who use wheelchairs. That child should not be denied the opportunity to become on a Paralympian, And here lies a second irony, one that can be found on a page of the IPC Classification Code, under Eligible Impairments: 3.1.4 Leg length difference Athletes that have a difference in the length of their legs as a result of a disturbance of limb growth, or as a result of trauma. Reinstate David Eng, the athlete with a leg length difference. Then, adopt the IWBF criterion indicating that eligibility to play wheelchair basketball is contingent upon an inability, I repeat, to run, pivot or jump at a speed and with the control, safety, stability, and endurance of an able-bodied player. Fourteen-year-old girls and boys with impairments comparable to David Engs will be very grateful. Rolling onto a basketball court at the Paralympics becomes an achievable goal for hopeful children. IPC officials dont deny them that possibility. NOTE: Wheelchair basketball players, write your own letter addressing this prejudicial decision by the IPC, or copy and send this statement to, [email protected] Author: Tip Thiboutot, former Vice President of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) and the USAS National Wheelchair Basketball Federation (NWBA), and wheelchair basketball player due to paraplegia. The latter, as you know, is just one of many qualifying impairments for participation in wheelchair basketball. Thiboutot is also the co-author, with Stan Labanowich, of Wheelchairs Can Jump, a History of Wheelchair Basketball.

Four-time Paralympian and two-time Paralympic gold medallist David Eng has been ruled ineligible to compete at Tokyo 2020 Full story: https://www.cbc.ca/1.5617099

Wheelchair Basketball Canada Statement on initial athlete eligibility ruling for Paralympic Games. EN: http://ow.ly/v2aD50Ab6zD Dclaration de Basketball en fau...teuil roulant Canada propos de la dcision initiale sur ladmissibilit des athltes aux Jeux paralympiques. FR: http://ow.ly/JZ4D50Ab6Uk

New York Rollin Knicks vs Dallas Wheelchair Mavericks

Championship Game !