PEWAUKEE, Wis. — Teams from all over the country came to Wisconsin this weekend for the 11th annual Big Cheese National Wheelchair Basketball Association Tournament.
Dozens of games took place at Pewaukee High School. It served as a fundraiser for the Wisconsin Adaptive Sports Association, also known as WASA, which aims to provide equipment for people with disabilities.
Catherine Reddin is a member of the Wisconsin Adaptive Sports Association Marquette Golden Eagles Wheelchair Basketball Club.
She is currently a sophomore in high school, but has played this sport since she was in fourth grade.
“I immediately fell in love with it,” Reddin said. “I felt like school is kind of hard when you’re in a wheelchair. I felt like I belonged for the first time, that everyone was normal there, like everyone is different."
Her father, Bob, said wheelchair basketball has had a big impact on her life.
“She was the youngest of four children for us, and the other three all played a lot of sports, so she’d been getting dragged around,” he said. “This gave her an outlet for all of her athletic ambitions, and it’s been a godsend for us, and for her especially.”
WASA Director of Volunteers PJ Galganski said it’s inspiring to see these athletes come from across the nation to compete in this tournament.
Reddin said because of this sport, she has not only made lots of friends but also learned the value of teamwork.
“You’re always building each other up. It’s a team sport; you can’t win it by yourself,” she said.
She said this allows her and the other athletes to work together and leave everything on the hardwood.
