National Triumph For Peter Cusack

Bablake's Peter Cusack was part of the victorious England Central Wheelchair Basketball team that played in the 2014 Sainsbury's UK School Games, a multi-sport event for the UK's elite young athletes of school age, held in Manchester at the start of this month.

The competition re-enforces the experience of the Olympic and Paralympic Games complete with Opening and Closing Ceremonies and around 1,600 of the nation's finest young sports stars were competing.

At the age of 15, Peter was one of the youngest members of the squad, but he played a part in all of the matches. England Central won its pool games convincingly, against Northern Ireland and England South, then went on to beat Wales in the semi-final.

The final was against last year’s winners England North and despite Central opening up a small lead in the early stages of the match, the scores remained close for the majority of the fixture. An incredible final quarter though, with stunning performances at both ends of the court, saw Central avenge the 2013 final defeat, winning 50-29.

The photograph, kindly submitted by Mrs Nic Kusack, shows Peter proudly showing his Gold medal.