Teams will begin holding training camps in the area as early as July 31. The USA men’s and women’s teams will compete against teams from Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Japan and others. The men’s team from Australia will defend its 2010 world championship, as will the USA women’s team. 

“The NWBA with its International Tournament of Champions wheelchair basketball tournament has been totally embraced with great Southern hospitality by Visit Lake Norman and the Cornelius and Huntersville Parks and Recreation Departments,” says Dick Bryant, NWBA president.

Tournament venues in Cornelius will be Bailey Middle and J.V. Washam Elementary schools, in Huntersville at Barnette Elementary, Hopewell High, Huntersville Elementary, Lake Norman Charter Middle and Lake Norman Charter High schools. Additional gyms in Cornelius and Davidson are also being considered. 

The event is expected to generate an estimated $502,500 in visitor spending and 900 hotel room nights. Visit Lake Norman assisted organizers to secure host hotels located in both Cornelius and Huntersville.

The NWBA was founded in 1948 by World War II veterans after many came home with disabilities. Today, the NWBA consists of men’s, women’s, intercollegiate and youth teams throughout the United States of America and Canada. Comprised of more than 200 basketball teams across 22 conferences and seven divisions, the mission of the NWBA is to provide qualified individuals with physical disabilities the opportunity to play, learn and compete in the sport of wheelchair basketball. For more information about the NWBA, visit www.nwba.org/index.php. 

For more information about the National Wheelchair Basketball Association International Tournament of Champions, contact Travis Dancy, at Visit Lake Norman at 704-987-3300 or  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .