Jonathan Shaw is promoting wheelchair basketball. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

In May, Jonathan Shaw played his first game of wheelchair basketball with fellow MEP candidates and toppled flat on to the floor some four times until he got the hang of it.

The event, aptly named This Ability, inspired the 41-year-old to make this one-off initiative grow into regular training sessions for disabled people.

The disabled people at the event were playing on regular wheelchairs but to effectively play the game, specific wheelchairs designed for this sport are needed.

Mr Shaw pledged to Noel Aquilina, the CEO of NGO Breaking Limits, that he would support their cause and make wheelchair basketball an ongoing sport.

A couple of months on, he is making good on his promise. Mr Shaw has sourced 10 good quality basketball wheelchairs from a UK supplier and negotiated the price of €650 each.

The wheels of these specialised wheelchairs are positioned further apart than those of regular ones and they are inclined at an angle. The wheelchairs are also lighter, more durable and agile, as well as being slightly different according to each player’s position on the court.

The total cost for these wheelchairs and other necessary items to kick-off this initiative will be €8,000.

Mr Shaw has sent out a request for donations to a number of his business contacts. So far he is halfway through, having managed to collect €4,000.

“There are already 12 players interested in taking up the sport. I played the sport for one hour and it’s no joke – it’s one of the toughest sports I ever played.

“It’s played in a full-size court with full-size rings. But I really enjoyed it – it’s a great sport and it really fosters teamwork.

“The sport is empowering and it helps promote a powerful message about the abilities of people with disabilities and the importance of sport in everyone’s life.”

The former Nationalist MEP candidate is collaborating with Breaking Limits and Alexander Cutajar, the communications coordinator of the Parliamentary Secretariat for Rights of Persons with Disability, who is working in his own personal capacity.

After the equipment is acquired, a basketball court where the equipment can be stored will be located. A schedule of training sessions will then be drawn up and perhaps a national wheelchair basketball team could, in time, be formed.

Mr Cutajar added that wheelchair basketball will serve as a gateway for other wheelchair sports in a country where the only such sport is dancing.

“Sometimes, parents tend to be overprotective of their disabled children. But when they see their child having so much fun and keeping fit, they’ll realise the great benefits of this sport.”

The objective is to purchase the wheelchairs before August 15. If you would like to support the cause or if you are a disabled person who would like to attend wheelchair basketball sessions, email maltawheelchairbasketball@gmail.com.