University of Alabama doctoral student Margaret Stran, head coach and member of the inaugural UA Women’s Wheelchair Basketball team, dribbles to the hoop.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The University of Alabama Disabilities Sports (UADS) Program recently unveiled the UA Women’s Wheelchair Basketball team at halftime of a preseason women’s varsity basketball game.

The team, which is the first of its kind in the state, kicked off their inaugural season with an exhibition game against students in the UA College of Education’s department of kinesiology program during halftime of the UA vs. Berry College pre-season game at Coleman Coliseum. The team’s next game on campus will be Jan. 25 at halftime of the UA vs. Mississippi State game in Coleman Coliseum.

In the inaugural season the team is made up of 12 players, including UA students as well as participants from the surrounding area. The program is open to anyone who cannot play stand-up basketball for any reason. UADS is actively recruiting female wheelchair athletes to attend the University and play wheelchair basketball for the Crimson Tide.

The Crimson Tide Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team will compete this year in the Women’s Division of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA). The team will play in games and tournaments across the Southeast in order to qualify for the Women’s National Wheelchair tournament at Slippery Rock University in Slippery Rock, Penn., March 4-7.

The season runs from early December until the National Women’s Tournament in March. At the national tournament, the Crimson Tide will play against women’s teams from across the country including the University of Illinois and the University of Arizona.

The team participated in a training camp in Warm Springs, Ga., for three days in November, and recently played two games at Warm Springs on Dec. 6. The Tide will play in four more events throughout the season, including games against the Atlanta Rolling Glory on Jan. 31 in Atlanta, and at the Lady Texans Classic in Dallas Feb. 13-15.

The team is coached by Margaret Stran, a doctoral student in the UA department of kinesiology, who is also a player. Coach Stran says she is amazed at the support the team has received during her first year of coaching them and sees limitless possibilities for the program.

“We have received unbelievable support from the local community as well as from the UA Women’s Basketball Team,” Stran said. “Our goal is to become a true college team in the future comprised completely of UA students. If that were to happen we would be one of only three university teams in the nation.”

The team, which is the brainchild of UADS director Brent Hardin, is gaining momentum and has progressed faster than expected. The team has even gotten help from outside the University community. Several individual and group sponsors have contributed to UADS and these sponsorships make it possible for the team to compete across the country.

For more information about UADS or the UA Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team, please contact the UADS director Brent Hardin at 205/348-5109 or head coach Margaret Stran at 205/348-7991. Contribution forms can be found by visiting the UADS Web site at www.bama.ua.edu/~uads.