It is with inexpressible sorrow that CWBA announce the loss of Keith Batty, who passed away suddenly this week.

The recipient of the CWBA Keystone Award on several occasions, Keith, a fiercely independent and private man, was a stalwart of the wheelchair basketball community for over 30 years and CWBA for much of that time.

 As a player he was often top scorer for his team, but he was so much more on court, guiding his team mates to excel.

He was a coach throughout his time with CWBA, guiding many of the youngsters in the club to better achievements and playing a significant part in the number of players CWBA have contributed to the GB pathway. He also helped several of our teams to divisional promotion within the BWB National League. Despite his insistence that he was not good with children, all of them adored him.

His dedication to our sport didn’t stop there.  He became a top statistician, working for the Club and BWB at many competitions, culminating in him representing his country at both the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. 

His expertise with disability needs meant he also became a Regional Classifier for BWB  and trained other classifiers. 

He used the same expertise to commission and maintain the club’s stock of basketball wheelchairs helping to train new maintenance staff at CWBA and supporting new suppliers of chairs at RGK.

If all the above was not enough, Keith functioned as treasurer for CWBA from its reconstitution in 2017.

Keith retired from basketball at the end of last season due to an ongoing shoulder injury and a desire to indulge his passion for cricket.

We have lost a much-loved colleague, and our sport has lost a wealth of expertise. Our thoughts are with his family. We will miss him dreadfully.