BROOKFIELD, Wis. — More than 150 athletes put their skills to the test for the 9th Annual Big Cheese Classic Elite Wheelchair Basketball Tournament in Brookfield.
Players including Paralympians and wounded veterans. Teams came from as far as California, Florida, and Michigan.
"It's a very physical sport. They aren't dainty with their chairs. They're very competitive. They're very athletic. They crash into each other. They can fall over. It's not for the light of heart," Nicole Verneuille said.
Veneuille is the program director for Wisconsin Adaptive Sports Association (WASA) which hosted the 3-day event.
"The range of abilities, level that is in the sport is far and wide," Verneuille said. "I think this is the perfect platform for everybody to see that this is a real sport and individuals with disabilities can do a lot more than you think they can."
Jeremy Lade has been playing wheelchair basketball since he was 12 years old. He said this past weekend was more about getting ready for a national tournament.
"What we tell people is the first thing that they're probably going to see is a wheelchair, is adaptive equipment, but after you get a couple minutes into the game you start seeing basketball, because the wheelchair just starts to disappear."
Lade has competed at three different Paralympics. For him, wheelchair basketball is part of who he is.
"It's one of those things that is more than just basketball. Early on helped build confidence, showed me I could do everything that everyone else was doing, just had to be able to find a new way to do those things," Lade said.
