Next week's wheelchair basketball tournament in Beijing is giving Olympic organizers a final chance to make sure that preparations are in the place for the Paralympic competition in September.

The tournament, an invitational, will be held at the newly-built National Indoor Stadium from January 20-25.

It is one of two pre-Paralympic test events that have been scheduled and follows on from last year's Good Luck Beijing International Goalball Tournament.

Eight teams from six countries will participate. The women's side features teams from China, Canada, Germany and Japan, while the men's teams come from China, Canada, the Netherlands and Australia.

Overseeing the matches will be 24 international officials from the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF), the sport's governing body.

A total of 842 volunteers will be assigned to their posts on January 18.

Games organizers will also take this opportunity to disseminate knowledge about the Paralympics.

Zhu Shanlu, head of the Beijing Olympic Education team, has already begun workshops to educate BOCOG staff, technical officials, volunteers and Olympic sponsors about the Paralympics.

"Para" refers to the fact that the two Games are held in tandem, as opposed to implying some kind of disability. BOCOG has pledged that the 2008 Paralympics will be a "Games of Equal Splendor."

Nonetheless, cheap tickets attest to the struggling popularity of many events.

Wheelchair basketball is one of the few exceptions that enjoy evergreen support.

It was invented in 1946 by US basketball players keen to shrug off their wartime injuries and re-experience the exhilaration of an athletic sport in a team environment.

It is now played in over 80 countries by some 25,000 people with physical disabilities.

It is similar to basketball except that the wheelchair is considered a part of the player's body.

Every team has five players and seven substitutes; each game is made up of four 10-minute periods.

Players who spin their wheels more than two times without dribbling are booked for traveling violations.

Faster wheelchairs are also employed featuring anti-tipping devices and up to four wheels.

The Beijing Paralympics will run from September 6-17. It is expected to attract 4,000 athletes from over 150 countries and regions. They will compete in 20 sports (471 disciplines) including goalball, boccia, rowing, sailing (held in Qingdao), equestrian (Hong Kong) and wheelchair rugby.

(China Daily January 18, 2008)