In October 2009 the Acers lost Shelley Preece, a much loved and respected player. Shelley was known for her constant enthusiasm, silliness and of course her skills both on court and off court on the dance floor.

In Shelley's memory, the Acers organised a testimonial match to raise money to go towards the charity selected by Shelley's family, the Aspire Force Wheelchair Basketball club. We are proud to have raised £1,055 and in August 2010 we attended a training session at the club to be put through our paces, meet with GB player Helen Turner and present the cheque.

The training was a great experience for us, the hoops remain 10ft and as you can imagine much harder from a seated position, this coupled with trying to find the co-ordination to control the wheelchair makes it look far easier than it actually was! The special sport wheelchairs cost £1,500 each so we are pleased to have raised enough money to contribute to a new chair.

Thanks for a great day and most importantly for going easy on us Aspire!