National Paralympic Day - Liam Holt talks wheelchair hoops

Ahead of National Paralympic Day on Saturday 7th September we will be running a series of interviews on the Paralympics - particularly wheelchair basketball.

If you want to know more about the sport of wheelchair basketball click HERE for an introduction to the sport (go to the bottom of the page).

Liam Holt is our first interviewee, he plays wheelchair basketball and was part of Channel 4's Paralympic presenting team during London 2012.

Holt was keen to encourage people who hadn't played or seen wheelchair basketball to get involved.

He said: "It's a fast-paced game which is brutal at times! To me it is just as exciting as the able-bodied game."

"The wheelchairs add a different dimension, the element of positioning and controlling the chairs make the game more strategical."

"It's exciting to watch, like an extreme chess or chess with violence! People who come for the first time are pleasantly surprised by what they see."

"I started playing when I was nine, I went to a taster day at my local leisure centre and the sport caught my attention instantly, my dad is able-bodied and he joined in as well - able-bodied people are able to play in the league as well."

With a keen interest in wheelchair basketball, Holt became a member of Channel 4's highly successful Paralympics, what does he think the future holds for the coverage?

"London [2012] was a real pioneer in the coverage, there was dedicated coverage throughout the day and the fact it was on a separate channel from the Olympics gave the Paralympics it's own identity."

"There is a lot of human interest from the public in hearing the paralympians stories but they soon realised the elite level of sport involved."

"It's great that we have a dedicated day to recognise the various achievements and promote disability sport, people can see the legacy, there are now many household names in the Paralympic world."

For tickets for National Paralympic Day click HERE or for more info click HERE.

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