On Nov. 2 and 3, Mounds View High School will host the 40th annual Courage Kenny Classic Wheelchair Basketball Tournament, organized and sponsored by Allina Health. This tournament features teams from around the country, and it is hosted at the beginning of the wheelchair basketball season, which starts in September and goes until April.

According to the Allina Health website, the Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute has the longest-running wheelchair basketball tournament in the country, highlighting many athletes with disabilities, and it has worked closely with the NWBA (National Wheelchair Basketball Association) since the ‘70s. Allina Health employee and tournament organizer, Ali Brickner, explains that this tournament was started out of necessity. “At the time of the first tournament, it was one of four tournaments nationally. This tournament was created to give local athletes the opportunity to compete close to home. It also allowed greater opportunities for athletes to compete [nationally] who might not have the opportunity to otherwise,” Brickner said.

The institute hosts several teams in two age groups, youth (ages 5-18) and adults (18 and older). Youth has four teams: the Rolling Rascals which is non-competitive, the prep Junior Rolling Rowdies, the junior varsity Rolling Gophers and the varsity Junior Rolling Timberwolves. The adult teams have two divisions of Rolling Timberwolves. 

The institute had many hardships getting the Courage Kenny Classic started. According to Brickner, there was a lack of opportunities for women and younger players to play wheelchair basketball until the late 1970s and 1980s, and teams would often have to play against able-bodied individuals. “Although the sport was growing fast during the 1960’s and 1970’s, the original tournament planners had to overcoming all the challenge of growing awareness and increasing opportunities for athletes in Minnesota, the upper Midwest and the United States,” she said. 

Another large challenge for Allina Health each year is finding a suitable venue for the tournament. After researching different spaces, organizers decided on Mounds View High School, which has never hosted the tournament before.  “In the past few years, the Courage Kenny Classic has been without a reliable home venue. Each year we do extensive research about the basketball facilities and accessibility of the venue.” said Brickner.  “We are very excited about the opportunity to host our tournament [at Mounds View].”

Not only is the event being held on the MV campus, but Mounds View has a student participating in the tournament. Senior Ian Fallgatter plays for the varsity Junior Rolling Timberwolves and has made fond memories since joining the team. “[My] favorite parts of the tournament is the camaraderie of the team and the traveling,” Fallgatter said. He has been playing basketball for eight years and this is his third year playing for the varsity team. He originally did not like basketball when he was younger, but after his parents signed him up, he tried it and loved it. Prior to playing basketball, Fallgatter tried other sports such as martial arts, tennis, track and sled hockey. 

This year, Fallgatter is excited that the tournament is at Mounds View this year and thinks it is a good way to show his progress to his peers watching. “Every tournament is a chance to prove to everyone that you’ve been working on your game and that hopefully it’s enough to win,” he said.

He expresses that this tournament is not only important to him, but to the disabled community as well. “What I would say to people who think disabled people can’t do anything is simply this: Watch a basketball game. This tournament and league is so important for the disabled community to make a difference in the world and to foster lifelong connections. I’m so proud to be a part of this program, and I hope it continues to grow.”