The Bulls DSC

🎂🏀 HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATHAN! 🏀🎂

Actor. Writer. Director. Reality TV fugitive. Dad. Grandad. And, most importantly, A Bull! 🐂

Nathan has survived being hunted through the wilderness on national television… so naturally his next sensible life choice was wheelchair basketball.😂

We hope your birthday brings plenty of cake, absolutely no Predators hiding behind trees, and considerably fewer people trying to chase you down than you get on court.

Have a brilliant birthday from everyone at The Bulls DSC🐂🏀

And remember Nathan: on The Hunted, you were allowed to run away from people chasing you.

On court, we expect you to turn around and defend! 😏😂

🎉 Happy Birthday! 🎉

WHAT. A. GAME.

GB Masters leave Bolton with a narrow one point victory over The Bulls, in what was a close game throughout.

The Bulls went into this game with a squad of mixed abilities, including several players who do and could play at Division 3 level, with others who are still developing, and a few players who have never played competitive games before. We also had Bulls alumni and Commonwealth Games silver medallist Kayli English join us for the game - thank you Kayli!

Whilst the result was close, and we had our opportunities to win it, that wasn't the important thing today.

Today was an opportunity for our experienced players to get valuable minutes against a very experienced team in GB Masters, with many of the players playing above our level still, including a few playing at the top.

Even then, we got all of our players good minutes today, rotating options throughout the game. Everyone enjoyed themselves and played really well, showing just how much potential we have as a team. We can all be proud of that performance.

Thank you to Bruce and the GB Masters team for the opportunity and experience, and good luck in the competitions that lie ahead!

Today we welcome GB Masters Basketball to Bolton for a friendly that we've been excited about for weeks!

When we got the email from British Wheelchair Basketball asking clubs to express interest in arranging friendlies with GB Masters, we didn't hesitate, and got in touch immediately.

The opportunity to test ourselves against players who have played at, and in most cases still do, a much higher level than we currently play at.

The Bulls haven't played in the National League since 2018-19, and we hope to return within the next 2 years. We continue to rebuild and develop our new players, and giving them opportunities like this is exactly what they need to test themselves and get ready for the UKWB Development League this season, and build towards that National League return.

Spectators are more than welcome, and we will be using the event to support a test stream through UKWB ahead of the new season, which will be available at https://www.youtube.com/live/Qj22UQd6a7g?si=lgWVAdiJpIE_X25C if all goes to plan.

It's game day tomorrow, as we welcome GB Masters to Bolton for what will be our third friendly of the week for some of our Bulls players, having played Wakefield's Division 2 team on Tuesday and their development team on Thursday.

Tomorrow will be a big test for our senior players, taking on a GB Masters team with much more experience than us, and with most players playing at a higher level than our players do. We're up for the challenge though, and as with the Wakefield D2 friendly, we appreciate the opportunity to test ourselves.

Spectators are more than welcome, and we will be using the event to support a test stream through UKWB ahead of the new season, which will be available at https://www.youtube.com/live/Qj22UQd6a7g?si=lgWVAdiJpIE_X25C if all goes to plan.

The Bulls are playing in the Development League West and the Women's Cup again this year.

These competitions are great for people starting out in the sport, and open to anyone from the age of 12.

Fancy giving the sport a go? https://training.thebulls.org.uk

Free for the first 3 training sessions.

Three weeks until we host GB Masters at Smithills.

We're a development side, with aspirations of returning to the BWB National League by 2028-29, and we're taking on a squad with far more experience than us, and at a much higher level. That's exactly the kind of game that makes you better, and we're excited about the challenge.

Free entry, no ticket, just turn up. Sunday 23 August, tip-off 12:40.

First 3 sessions free if you fancy a go yourself. https://training.thebulls.org.uk

WB3x3 is a concept for a 3x3 wheelchair basketball league for the UK, put forward by UKWB.

We are building it now, and season one expressions of interest are open to the community.

The concept format: regional pools of five teams, one host club per round, ten-minute games and a twelve-second shot clock, with referees, digital scoring and streaming provided centrally so hosting a round costs a club a hall booking and a day of volunteers.

We are honest about where this starts. None of it is funded yet. Your expression of interest is the evidence that grant applications and sponsorship conversations need, and where the league runs will be decided region by region on what comes back.

If you are a player, a coach or a club official, put your club on the list. Five questions, about three minutes, and it commits your club to nothing.

https://wb3x3.co.uk

In the Women's gold medal match, England came out of the blocks with a blistering pace, first with Jade Atkin being ruthless and scoring 7pts without missing a single shot, before Lucy Robinson came in and continued the fantastic shooting form, to lead 11-3 barely half way through the game.

Scotland were unable to claw back the early deficit, and England saw out the win 18-10.

England were by far the more experienced team, and massive congratulations to them.

The future is very bright for the Scottish team, and Great Britain, especially with 17-year-old Lea Smith playing as well as she has.

A final mention for former Bulls player Kayli English, who had a fantastic tournament for Scotland. We're all very proud of you and a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games is an outstanding achievement!

📷 IWBF

In the Men's gold medal match, a young England team came unstuck against the experienced Australia, with some excellent shooting from Ethan Leard, who scored 10pts, and O'Neill-Thorne, who set the tone right from the start with a 2pt basket after just 5 seconds!

Their relentless pressure was too much for England, often forced into fade away shots from range, or at times desperate 2pt shots. Australia narrowly missed out on finishing the game early with some missed opportunities at the end, but finishes the game 19-13.

Nevertheless, a silver medal is a fantastic achievement, and they will learn so much from this experience as they go into future competitions, not least Oscar Knight who will be representing Great Britain at the World Championships in Ottawa in September.

📷