Paralympic medallists will be part of the British team taking on the best of the rest of the world in Wheelchair Basketball, Football 7-a-side, Swimming and Athletics across seven days of competition, at two world class venues in the city from 25-31 May.

The Manchester Regional Arena will set the stage for three sports this year. Athletics will commence the competition on 25 May, with North West athletes Ian Jones (Manchester), Shelly Woods (Blackpool), Graeme Ballard (Chorley), Michael Churn (Manchester), Dan West (Corrington), David Devine (Merseyside), and Jenny McLoughlin (Stockport) confirmed.

Ian Jones said, “I love this event, and for it to take place in my home town makes it even more important to me. It’s always a really important competition on my schedule because I get to race some of the best guys in the world so I can see where I am in the standings and if there’s anything I need to improve on. As a local boy the support and atmosphere is amazing so I’m hoping we get just as much this year as every other.”

From the 27-29 May, the Arena will then host Wheelchair Basketball with GB represented by Abdi Jama (Liverpool), Dan Highcock (Liverpool), Ade Orogbemi (Liverpool) and Jon Pollock (Wigan) taking on the region’s hopes in the men’s match.

The GB women’s Wheelchair Basketball squad will be announced in the next couple of weeks however North West athletes Maddie Thompson (Manchester) and Laurie Williams (Manchester) will be hopeful of securing their place in the team, having competed in Manchester last year.

The new addition of Football 7-a-side to the event will bring new stars into the spotlight, including Jordan Raynes (Manchester), Michael Barker (Liverpool), Joel Taylor (Liverpool), Jamie Pratt (Stockport), Matt Dimbylow (Sandiway) and Dean Cartwright (Wigan) competing for GB as they take on teams from the USA, the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland from 26-29 May.

Team captain Jordan Raynes is relishing the opportunity to compete in his home city and said, “I’m really excited about the BT Paralympic World Cup, it’s a massive event to be competing in and as a Manchester lad, having the opportunity to compete in front of a home crowd is great. It’s the first year for us footballers to be involved so we’re looking forward to putting on a good show.”

Natalie Jones (Manchester), Sean Frasier (Manchester), Matthew Walker (Stockport), Elizabeth Simpkin (Stockport) and Thomas Young (Lancashire), will then be bringing the competition to a close at the Manchester Aquatics Centre on the 30-31 May.

The confirmed North West athletes and events are:
Ian Jones T44 100m & 400m
Graeme Ballard T36/37/38 100m & 200m
Michael Churn T36/37/38 100m & 200m
Dan West F33/34/54-57 Discus
David Devine T11-13 400m
Jenny McLoughlin T36/37 100m & 200m
Shelly Woods T53/54 800m & 1,500m
Matthew Walker S7 50m Freestyle
Thomas Young S8 100m Backstroke
Heather Frederiksen S8 50m Freestyle, S8 100m Backstroke
Elizabeth Simpkin S9 100m Butterfly
Michael Barker Football 7-a-side
Dean Cartwright Football 7-a-side
Matt Dimbylow Football 7-a-side
Jamie Pratt Football 7-a-side
Jordan Raynes Football 7-a-side
Joel Taylor Football 7-a-side
Dan Highcock Wheelchair Basketball
Abdi Jama Wheelchair Basketball
Ade Orogbemi Wheelchair Basketball
Jon Pollock Wheelchair Basketball

The BT Paralympic World Cup is the world’s largest annual multi-sport elite disability event and major international stars and a strong British contingent are expected.

The competition will be staged in Manchester from 25-31 May, with over 400 competitors from over 31 countries scheduled to compete.

For the first time this year, a team challenge has been introduced which sees Great Britain take on teams from the Americas, Europe and the Rest of the World, with athletes competing for the overall BT Paralympic World Cup trophy.

Athletes will compete in four sports at world class competition venues in Manchester: Athletics, Wheelchair Basketball,

Football 7-a-side at the Manchester Regional Arena and Swimming at the Manchester Aquatics Centre.

Tickets for the BT Paralympic World Cup are now on sale and can be purchased via the event website: www.btparalympicworldcup.com or by calling 0844 8471622. Tickets are priced at £6 per session.

BT is the title sponsor of the Paralympic World Cup; the sponsorship runs up to and includes the 2012 BT Paralympic World Cup.

The BT Paralympic World Cup is sanctioned by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the Cerebral Palsy International Sports & Recreation Association (CPISRA) and the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) and supported by BT, ParalympicsGB, the FA, Manchester City Council and the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA).

The BBC, the official televised partner to the event, will broadcast live from the Manchester Aquatics Centre on Monday 31 May 2010 on BBC Television.

The event schedule will see Athletics on 25 May, Football 7-a-side on 26-29 May and Wheelchair Basketball on 27-30 May, all at the Manchester Regional Arena and Swimming at the Manchester Aquatics Centre on 31 May.

Follow the BT Paralympic World Cup on Twitter: www.twitter.com/BTPWC