Robyn Love and her teammates will be representing British Wheelchair Basketball this week as the Women’s European Championships tip off tonight in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Ayrshire born Love, who is the only Scottish representative on the GB squad, elaborated on the team’s final preparations for the tournament:
“The final preparations have been brilliant. In the final week before the tournament we were lucky enough to have some influences from players and coaches from the men’s team. In Britain we have so many fantastic coaches and basketball experience to draw from, which is a real positive that we are taking into the tournament.”
Whilst the on-court focus is solely basketball, Robyn explained that the team has had off-court help from other athletes to develop some key skills:
“Off the court, we’ve also had Olympian Kate Richardson-Walsh from GB Hockey working with us on our team leadership skills and creating that winning mentality. Overall, I think we are ready for this championship.”
With years of experience playing for Team GB, Love discussed her pride at representing both Scotland and GB, as well as her hopes for more Scots to achieve what she has achieved:
“I’m very proud to represent Scotland within GB. It’s a true honour to me, I have both the Scottish and British flags stitched onto the back of my sports chair. I’m looking forward to the day where there are more Scottish women playing alongside me but right now I’m proud to be the only one. The opportunities that I had in Scotland allowed me to be part of this GB team which I am forever grateful for.”
GB face a tough schedule with five games in as many days, starting with France tonight at 5:15pm. Spain, hosts Holland, Turkey and Germany await in the remaining group fixtures as GB look to build on last year’s World Championship silver.
Updates on Robyn’s progress will be provided through basketballscotland’s digital channels.
