Hi guys. My name is Peter Arbuckle and I am in need of a new Wheelchair Basketball chair to train and compete at competitions locally, interstate and possibly internationally. 

I am a Veteran who spent 8yrs in the Army with an Active Service deployment to Cambodia.

In July of 2015 I lost my left leg below the knee in a motorbike accident and I almost died in surgery. Following my accident and my subsequent return home, I developed an infection which seen me in and out of hospital for four months with at least another 12 operations to save what was left of my lower leg and not have to become an above the knee amputee. Times have been hard since then but the one thing outside of my children that has kept me going is my involvement in sport. 

I was introduced to wheelchair basketball whilst I was still in hospital. Townsville have a team called The Townsville Cyclones and I am now a part of that team.
Through a lot of hard work and training throughout 2016, we culminated the year by winning the Northern Challenge, (A competition between Townsville, Cairns, Mackay and Rockhampton), a feat that no other Townsville team has ever won. On the back of this success I applied and trialed for the Australian Invictus Games team. We spent a week at The Australian Institute of Sport where I was selected for the training team. We are back to the AIS again in March for more training. I also train at Mates4Mates in Townsville and help other Veteransthrough their rehabilitation phase. So as I improve as a player, so does my need for better equipment. I can no longer rely on borrowed and broken equipment.  

Through Sporting Wheelies I was fortunate enough to be loaned a basketball wheelchair which has served me fairly well. As you can imagine, each wheelchair is built to specific mesurements for each individual. The chair that I loaned is over 10yrs old and is well past its used by date. I have also outgrown this chair both in size and with my abilities. Chairs that were designed and built 10+ years ago are vastly different to current designed chairs and in order for me to compete at the next level and be at my very best, I need a chair that is designed and built for me. The latest chairs are lightweight, strong and durable, but also very expensive.

I am raising funds for not just a chair, but also a set of spare wheels and a four wheel carrybag for when I need to travel. I will need to travel extensively for both training camps and competitions and these items are a necessity. Once ordered, the chair will take approximately 8-10wks to build. I am hoping to raise the funds as soon as possible so that I can order the chair and prepare for upcoming competitions and to defend our title at the Northern Challenge.

Thank you in advance for your support.

Regards,

Pete