Normally home to a Wildcat or Lynx helicopter, the flight-deck of Portsmouth based HMS Diamond was put to a very different use this week as it was transformed into a basketball court for the United Kingdom Armed Forces Wheelchair basketball team.
The one off event was filmed by a BBC television crew as part of a piece for the upcoming Invictus Games, the annual multi-sport event in which injured service and ex-service men and women compete against their compatriots from other nations.
This year’s competition will be held in Orlando, Florida.
HMS Diamond acted as a backdrop for the BBC team to film an introduction to wheelchair basketball, whilst the players demonstrated their skills.
Major (Maj) Scott Wallace, a serving Royal Marine, is the coach of the team “The team have been preparing hard for the tournament, so this was something a little bit different and a great opportunity for the players, most of whom are from the other services, to see life on board a Warship.”
During the day the team were treated to a private tour of Admiral Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory, the oldest commissioned Warship in the world, housed in Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard before returning to Diamond for a day of filming.
The BBC piece, which will air in the lead-up and throughout the Games featured an introduction to rules of the game as well as introductions to all of the players and the coach with HMS Diamond providing an impressive backdrop.
“We jumped at the chance to host the team on board” said Lieutenant Commander Hugh Botterill, Executive Officer of Diamond.
“It’s an absolute privilege to be able to play host to this team, all of whom have overcome tremendous hardship to get to where they are today.
“We wish the team all of the best at the games, they’ve already made all of us very proud.”
The 2016 Invictus Games will take place in Orlando, Florida from the 9-13 May 2016 and will be broadcast live on prime-time BBC One.
