The Bath Romans are a wheelchair basketball team set up in 2019. Since pandemic restrictions have lifted, their numbers have more than doubled. They are gearing up for a match against one of the best teams in the country, the Exeter Otters, but with so many new and inexperienced players, do the Romans stand a chance?

Leighton is the team’s newest player, having only played for a few weeks. He was on track to be a professional footballer when he was younger, but a lifelong condition resulting in chronic pain forced him to find a new sport. Keen to build friendships with his new team, Leighton also opens up to manager and club founder, Alex, about his past.

Kayleigh is the Bath Romans' queen of banter, and club manager Alex, who finds her hilarious, is often at the receiving end. Kayleigh jokes that Alex is the worst player on the team despite being one of the only players without a disability. She is one of the more experienced players and started using a wheelchair after having an injury when she was 11. With the game just around the corner, a recent shoulder injury means Kayleigh’s aim of scoring in her first match in over two years might be out of reach.

To many players, training is the highlight of their week. Player Simeon says it’s one of the only places he can go and not feel judged ‘I can just be me when I’m at training.’ Simeon fell in love with the sport when he was eight years old after seeing it on TV. After recently returning to the sport, he has concerns around his fitness and is nervous in the lead up to the match, ‘I just want to be able to keep up with my teammates.’

Wheelchair basketball allows both disabled and non-disabled players to take part. Alex, who doesn’t have a disability, founded the Bath Romans due to the lack of clubs in the area, and partly because he wanted somewhere to play himself. He was surprised at how many new players joined after the pandemic, ‘I thought the pandemic would damage the club but if anything we’ve blossomed’.

The team train hard to prepare for their first big match, but do they have what it takes to compete with the much more experienced Exeter Otters?
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