George Bates (wheelchair basketball)

British wheelchair basketball player

George BatesPersonal information

Born|  (1994-06-18) 18 June 1994 (age 29)
Leicester, England
Nationality| British
Number| 94 | 8
Career history
2008-2014| Leicester Cobras
2014-2017| Porto Torres
2017-2018| Sheffield Steelers
2018-2021| Mideba Extremadura
2021-Present| Sheffield Steelers

George Bates (born 18 June 1994) is a British professional wheelchair basketball player. He has played professionally since 2014, playing in England, Italy, and Spain. Bates has also represented Great Britain at under 23 and senior level. He is the Head Coach of the Loughborough Lightning Wheelchair Basketball Team.[1]

## Early life[edit]

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Bates was born in Leicester, England on 18 June 1994 and is the eldest of 3 brothers. Having loved sport from a young age he played football, cricket, and golf. In 2006 he suffered an injury playing football for his local team Groby Juniors. As a result of this injury Bates then developed complex regional pain syndrome in his left leg, leaving him unable to walk unaided. He was then introduced to wheelchair basketball in 2008 after seeing a poster for a taster session.

## Wheelchair basketball[edit]

Bates started playing wheelchair basketball at his local team Leicester Cobras in 2006. By 2012 he was training with the Great Britain under 23 team. In 2013 Bates played in the Under 23 world championships, where the British team finished 4th after losing to Australia in the bronze medal game.[2] The following year the Great Britain under 22 team would go on to win the European championships in Zaragoza, Spain.[3] After this success he then signed professionally for Porto Torres based in Sardinia, Italy. In his last year he broke in to the senior Great Britain team and achieved a silver medal in the 2017 European Championships.[4] A year later Bates was part of the Great Britain team win the 2018 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Hamburg, Germany.[5] He finished the final as the joint top scorer.[6] After the success he then moved to Badajoz to play for Mideba Extremadura in the Spanish league, during his time there he won the accolade of the top scorer in the league in his first season.[7] In 2019 he had more success with the GB team as they won the European Championships In Wałbrzych, Poland[8] this meant the team also qualified for the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

### Classification and eligibility[edit]

Bates is classified as a 4.5 point player. In 2020, due to rule changes in the International Paralympic Committee classification code, Complex regional pain syndrome was deemed to be a non eligible impairment.[9] Subsequent media reports claimed he was considering to have his leg amputated in order to stay eligible to compete in the Paralympic Games[10][11][12]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "World and European champion George Bates to lead Loughborough Lightning". 25 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
2. ^ "Men's U23 World Championship". IWBF - International Wheelchair Basketball Federation. 19 August 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
3. ^ "George Bates". British Wheelchair Basketball. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
4. ^ "European Championships 2017 - GB Men Win Silver". British Wheelchair Basketball. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
5. ^ "World Championships 2018 – GB men win gold and our women take silver!!!!". British Wheelchair Basketball. 26 August 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
6. ^ "GB men win wheelchair basketball gold". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
7. ^ "Basket BSR". bsr.feddf.es. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
8. ^ "GB Men's team are crowned the Champions of Europe". British Wheelchair Basketball. 8 September 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
9. ^ "2015 Athlete Classification Code". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
10. ^ "GB's Bates may consider amputation". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
11. ^ "Wheelchair basketballer considers leg amputation for Paralympic eligibility". the Guardian. 30 July 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
12. ^ "George Bates considers leg amputation over 'heartbreaking' wheelchair basketball rule change". Sky Sports. Retrieved 18 February 2021.