CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA–The Charlottesville Cardinals wheelchair basketball team is finding that their October calendar is loaded.
In addition to their weekly practice sessions, the Cardinals have been very active in community events, including an extensive workout and demonstration session with the Kinesiology/Sports Medicine students of Dr. Luke Kelly at the University of Virginia (10/8). On October 18th the team will spend the day at Fluvanna High School, talking with students and playing in a 2:00 p.m. game against the Fluvanna HS faculty and athletes as part of the school’s Disability Awareness Month activities.
On October 22nd the Cardinals travel to Virginia State University in Petersburg, Virginia where they will put on a demonstration game for the student body as part of VSU’s “Midnight Madness” event that introduces the university’s varsity basketball team to the public.
Finally, on October 30th the team will appear at Piedmont Virginia Community College at 11:30 a.m. to perform a demonstration game against the Piedmont students as part of the school’s disability awareness program.
“I’m very proud of the continued commitment of our players to the community,” said coach Tom Vandever. “Their dedication to educating the public about the abilities of people with disabilities has always inspired me and has provided a huge benefit in making our communities better places to live.”
The Cardinals also have scheduled their annual “training camp” weekend for October 19th-20th. The team will have a extensive weekend of practice sessions in preparation for the start of the regular season. The Cardinals will be at Walker Middle School on Saturday from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and at Carver Recreation Center on Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to noon.
The team will travel to Atlanta on November 1st to compete in the Shepherd Shootout tournament that weekend. The team hits the road again the following weekend, November 9th-10th, to compete in the University of Pennsylvania–Edinboro’s “Boro Shootout” tournament in Edinboro, Pennsylvania.
The Cardinals will also be hosting their annual Herman Key, Jr. Memorial Holiday Tournament in Charlottesville the weekend of December 6th-8th.