In this installment of AMA-UTA CreateCollab, UTA wheelchair basketball athlete Jakob Gorton explores the importance of taking care of your armor in his one minute documentary, The Importance of Wheelchair Basketball Chair Maintenance.
Scroll to read more about our partnership with The University of Texas at Arlington.
THE IMPORTANCE OF WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL CHAIR MAINTENANCE
ABOUT MY ONE MINUTE DOCUMENTARY
by Jakob M. Gorton
Just like a knight who has their strong and shiny armor carefully crafted from scratch, wheelchair basketball players have their chairs made to their specific needs and wants. Except their armor takes a different type of form. And just like a knight who maintains their armor to be in the best condition for protection and performance in battle, wheelchair basketball players do the same in their own unique way. In wheelchair basketball, maintaining your wheelchair is perhaps one of the most important things you can and should do. With each individual chair, players must have the knowledge and ability to continually conduct regular maintenance to ensure that their chairs are ready to hit the court and help them compete at a high level.
As a member of Team Canada, Reed De’Aeth has learned plenty of things that he uses to help himself and others maintain his chair to ready him for peak performance.
In my video, University of Texas at Arlington freshman and UTA Movin’ Mavs wheelchair basketball player Reed De’Aeth details the importance of regular chair maintenance. From casters to axles, De’Aeth details the importance of maintaining even the smallest aspects of the chair and why it is important to have spare parts at the ready for any and all times. You’ll also get to see firsthand how Reed is able to change tires and fix axle housings while working quickly and efficiently.
In addition, you will even get to see some footage from the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation Under-23 Tournament in Phuket, Thailand, a tournament that Reed competed in with Team Canada this past summer. Finally, you’ll even get to see a bit of what the wheelchair basketball workspace in the Movin’ Mavs and Lady Movin’ Mavs locker room looks like, where a majority of chair maintenance happens.
Meet Jakob Gorton
Hello, my name is Jakob Gorton, and I am a junior at The University of Texas at Arlington. I am currently a journalism major and hope to one day go into the world of sports journalism since I am a huge sports fan.
Originally I am from Dallas, but I came to school from Florida since my dad is in the military. A few things I enjoy are playing wheelchair basketball, hanging out with friends, and watching hockey.
About AMA-UTA CreateCollab
Throughout the Fall 2022 semester, the Arlington Museum of Art is partnering with The University of Texas at Arlington and a senior-level digital storytelling class to explore a wide variety of contemporary themes inspired by A Knight’s Tale.
Class projects include photo essays, one-minute documentaries, and one-minute podcasts about themes as broad as sword fighting with light sabers, fulfilling family legacies, every day heroes, and modern metalsmithing.
Associate Professor of Communication Erika Pribanic-Smith, who teaches the class, values opportunities to bring real-world experiences to her students.
“My goal is to give my students real-world experience in all of my classes, creating real stories using real sources,” said Dr. Pribanic-Smith. “Creating stories that will be published for the public to see, not just submitted for a grade, gives students extra incentive to put forth their best effort. Furthermore, working with professionals gives the students another layer of feedback to re-enforce what they’re learning in the classroom. I prefer to work with organizations like the Arlington Museum of Art who will benefit in some way from the students’ content so that we are providing a service to the community.”
