A fundamental part of The Lord's Taverners Junior Programme – where many of the ParalympicsGB wheelchair basketball teams at London 2012 honed their skills – the tournament sees the best players from all across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, descend upon Stoke Mandeville Stadium in the quest to bring home the under-15 and under-19 regional trophies.

Included in the line-ups are players from the Great Britain under-22 team which, earlier this year, successfully qualified for the 2013 U23 World Championships by reaching the bronze medal game at the 2012 U22 European Championships.

"The Lord's Taverners believes that sport and recreation is essential for all young people, regardless of ability," said The Lord's Taverners acting chief executive Tim Berg.

"We are delighted to be able to support the development of grassroots wheelchair basketball and helping to get even more young people playing this great game and enjoying the benefits of competitive sport."

It is also a boost that the event will take place at Stoke Mandeville, the famous venue where German neurologist Sir Ludwig Guttmann sowed the seeds for the Paralympics in 1948 when he organised a sporting competition for injured patients rehabilitating from World War Two at the local Stoke Mandeville Hospital.

"The Lord's Taverners National Junior Championships is our showcase event for junior wheelchair basketball," said British Wheelchair Basketball junior development officer Tina Gordon.

"Although fiercely competitive the Championships also fosters great friendships between rival teams, and provides the inspiration for many of our young players to go further to gain international honours."

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