Our very own AmpuTeam Spartans were featured on the PBS television show "A Wider World."Our very own AmpuTeam Spartans were featured on the PBS television show "A Wider World."
Recently, the Wright & Filippis AmpuTeam Spartans, a team of stand-up (not wheelchair) amputee basketball players, challenged a fellow amputee basketball team, AMP1, at Royal Oak Shrine High School. The teams demonstrated how, with the help of modern high-tech prosthetics, sheer determination, and their love of the sport, they have overcome lower limb amputations. Currently, the AmpuTeam Spartans and AMP1 are the only organized teams of amputees playing stand-up basketball in the country.
"We're proud to be among the first organizations to put together such a game. This event provided opportunity for awareness of the advancement of prosthetic technology as well as to showcase just how far an athlete's perseverance can take them," said Kurt Schlau, Prosthetics Director for Wright & Filippis.
Brad Shebib, coach for The AmpuTeam Spartans, said, "The team was just really excited about the opportunity to play AMP1 and show their skills and determination as prosthetic wearers."
Ticket proceeds benefited The Filippis Foundation, a non-profit group that supports services and programs for the disadvantaged and physically challenged.
AMP1's team vision is to grow amputee, stand-up basketball into an organized, national league.
