Algeco UK delivers free container to inspiring wheelchair basketball club

One of the leading worldwide providers of portable accommodation and secure storage containers, Algeco UK, formerly known as Mobile Mini UK, has delivered a 20ft storage container on a year's free hire to Warwickshire Bears Wheelchair Basketball Academy, based in Solihull. The container will be used to safely house wheelchairs for children who wish to take part in the sport. 

The Warwickshire Bears Wheelchair Basketball Academy was set up in Stratford-Upon-Avon in 2002 to offer wheelchair basketball for people of all ages across Warwickshire. The club has had to move locations several times since the pandemic and is now located at North Solihull Sports and Leisure Centre in the West Midlands.

The Bears offer a community that goes far beyond sport, creating a setting for local disabled individuals to join a club where they can play competitive basketball in high-level competition, as well as come together and offer advice, support and share experiences. The team encourages able-bodied players to take part too and all members of the club meet up regularly away from the basketball court on social occasions, giving a chance for members to get to know each other better and build lifelong friendships. 

All management members are volunteers and give their time freely, as well as organising their own fundraising activities, demonstrations and school taster sessions. All money raised by the club goes towards sports hall hire, purchase of specialised wheelchairs, kit and other equipment used in the running of the sport. 

One of the biggest challenges is storing sports-grade wheelchairs for the 40+ members of the club across both professional men's and women's senior teams as well as the ever-growing children’s academies that cater for the ages of 5 – 18. The donated container from Algeco UK is set to be used exclusively by the junior team, giving them their own dedicated storage facility which will free up space for the professional team and increase the efficiency and speed that children can gain access to their chairs and maximise play-time. This equipment costs around £3,000 per user, meaning secure and safe storage is of paramount importance, especially considering these are funded by the club on top of kits, basketballs, bibs and location hire. 

Thomas Masterson is the club founder and Head Coach. He said, “We are incredibly grateful to Algeco UK for supplying this storage unit and to North Solihull Sports and Leisure Centre for allowing us to house this on-site. As a self-funded club, we rely on sponsored events, collections at local stores, fundraising activities, private grants and generous donations to keep providing wheelchair basketball to the community.  We try to keep costs down as much as possible so everybody who will benefit from play can afford to do so, especially now during this cost-of-living crisis. 

“We are particularly grateful for the impact this container will have on our junior members. Seeing them join with low confidence and within months become competitive and sociable is a wonderful journey to witness. Ellen Fraser, for example, joined us when she was 13, and now plays in the Premiership with Worcester Wolves and Team GB, having just been to Dubai with the international team and previously was part of the squad for the Commonwealth Games. Since we moved closer to Birmingham, junior sessions have taken off massively and every few weeks a new player or two comes along. The savings we make from this donation by Algeco UK will help us to keep ensuring we are able to provide a chair for every child."

Daniel Smith is club treasurer and started playing with the Bears 18 years ago, “I didn’t want to get out of the chair after the first session, I was hooked and have played ever since. I had a severe car crash but had been sporty before I became a paralyzed person. My mum got in contact with the club and knew it could help bring me out of my shell again. The club is great for adults and parents as well as children, as it offers a chance to socialise with others who are facing similar challenges to you, where you can talk about things that other friends don’t quite understand. You are all on the same level on the court, even able-bodied people enjoying playing and it is fantastic that interest in the sport continues to grow.”

Algeco UK has a long history of supporting worthy causes, especially those involving children. Last year, whilst still known as Mobile Mini UK, the company provided pupils at Monkwearmouth Academy, a state secondary school in Sunderland, with over £15,000 worth of recycled Lenovo computer equipment. The company also took part in a special DIY SOS for BBC Children in Need, helping to build the world’s first all-inclusive surf centre in Caswell Bay.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company donated containers to Eaton Socon pre-school, a large early years facility in St Neots, Cambridgeshire, allowing 100 pupils and 25 members of staff to return to school whilst adhering to social distancing guidelines. The business has also donated containers to Friends of Eastfield, a non-profit organisation that collects old school uniforms to provide them to other children at a discount cost and has sponsored kits for Frydays Dance Academy, an Irish dancing youth group from London that was chosen to be part of the England Team for the Dance World Cup.

Sunil Achtar, Algeco UK Marketing Manager, said, “Our company is proud of its longstanding history of support for young people. It gives us great pride knowing we are making a positive impact in the lives of others. When we saw a post on social media by UK Tool Hire, appealing to anyone that could provide the Warwickshire Bears with an urgent storage need, we knew we could help. Our 20ft x 8ft containers are weatherproof, full steel and benefit from anti-vandal construction, allowing them to be used for a number of applications related to safe and secure storage. We really look forward to seeing the Junior Bears make the most of our container and will be keeping track of the club's progress moving forwards, helping out in any way we can.”

For more information on wheelchair basketball in the midlands, visit www.bearswbc.co.uk