THE VISION BULLETIN Blind Sports NSW
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Edited by Sophie Milton February 2020 edition of THE VISION BULLETIN Blind Sports NSW Blind Sports NSW to host monthly Multi Sports Days in 2020 Blind Sports NSW will host monthly Multi Sports Days in 2020 to provide regular opportunities for members to take part in a range of competitive, social and recreation activities. In 2019, Blind Sports NSW focused on assisting sports to adapt their delivery model and ensure they offered more inclusive opportunities for vision impaired participants. We have worked with main stream sports in particular to set up teams for things like Touch Football and Futsal, while assisting our affiliate sports to align with the main stream State Sporting Organisations where possible on collaboration of programs. The Multi Sports Days will offer various sporting opportunities, as well as activities to take participants out of their comfort zone or experience an adrenaline rush! These activities may include go-karting, paintball or indoor sky diving as an example. Blind Sports NSW is also excited to begin providing transport assistance to members for upcoming events through our new 22-seater bus which is due to arrive in March. This will break down barriers around access and enable participants to attend day-long excursions as part of our Youth Adult Excursion program, in addition to the regular Multi Sports Days. The 2020 Multi Sports Day dates are listed below: Date Venue Inside this issue: Sunday 23rd February ACPE, Sydney Olympic Park 2020 Multi Sports Days 1 Sunday 15th March ACPE, Sydney Olympic Park NSW Wins Third NCIC 2 Friday 17th April Ryde and Penrith High School Vision Camp 3 May Education Camp Sydney Academy of Sport Partnerships 3 Sunday 21st June ACPE, Sydney Olympic Park Victoria Open Tennis 4 July Winter Sports Camp Jindabyne Goalball 2020 Season 5 Sunday 30th August ACPE, Sydney Olympic Park Blind Football 5 Sunday 20th September ACPE, Sydney Olympic Park Australia Player Selection 6 Sunday 25th October ACPE, Sydney Olympic Park Board Announcement 7 Sunday 29th November ACPE, Sydney Olympic Park Contacts & Partners 8 For more information or to register for Multi Sports Days, Podcast 8 please visit: www.blindsportsnsw.com.au/events/list/. THE VISION BULLETIN Blind Cricket NSW Wins Three Straight National Cricket Inclusion Championships Titles NSW Blind Cricket won their third consecutive National Cricket Inclusion Championships title after defeating South Australia in this year’s final. The 2020 National Cricket Inclusion Championships were held in Geelong, Victoria from Sunday 12th - Saturday 18th January 2020, with the NSW Blind Division team led by captain, Lindsay Heaven. Photo: NSW Team (Blind Division) at 2020 National Cricket Inclusion Championships Blind Sports NSW would like to congratulate the team on such an amazing achievement, and also congratulate NSW player, Oscar Stubbs for being named Player of the Final. The team has been extremely successful in the modern era. A success Blind Sports NSW applauds but also must continue to support and foster, with youth players coming through the Variety Thunder v Sixers camp events to build sustainable success. For more information on Blind Cricket opportunities, please email: [email protected]. Photo: L: Oscar Stubbs (player), Page 2 R: Jason Stubbs (Coach) High School Education Camp to be held by Blind Sports NSW in May Blind Sports NSW is excited to launch the High School Vision Camp with the support of NSW Department of Education. The camp will be held at Sydney Academy of Sport in Narrabeen from Monday 18th - Friday 22nd May. The camp is open to all students across NSW with a vision impairment and will provide opportunities for participants to experience: • Fun social & recreation activities in an inclusive environment • Modified sport sessions with specialist instructors and adaptive equipment • Mentorship from camp councilors and athletes with lived experience • Relationship building and interacting with other campers to make friends for life For more information on the camp or to register, please visit: www.blindsportsnsw.com.au/events/49922/ CEO provides update on Blind Sports NSW Partnerships The Blind Sports NSW Chief Executive Officer recently announced that we are starting to gain some real ground with key stakeholders including NDIS and Vision Australia. On January 16th, the CEO presented to the National Disability Insurance Scheme in Geelong to discuss the success of our Information, Linkages and Capacity program through supporting growth of mainstream sport and capacity building for participation. This was a successful meeting with further collaboration planned around the upcoming outcomes of the new Economic Community Participation grants. Later in January, a meeting was held with Vision Australia in regards to creating work experience, training and mentoring opportunities for VA job seekers. Blind Sports NSW is also working closely with Department of Education and Catholic Education to build stronger relationships and engage more students with a vision impairment throughout NSW. Page 3 THE VISION BULLETIN Victoria Open Tennis Tournament and Regular NSW Sessions Tennis Victoria is pleased to announce they will host the Victoria Blind & Low Vision State Championships at the National Tennis Centre in Melbourne. This tournament is open to players of all age and ability levels and is a great opportunity to have a first competitive opportunity in the sport. There will be a pre-tournament training opportunity for all players competing in the tournament on the Friday afternoon, with everyone encouraged to attend and participate. TRAINING CAMP DETAILS: All players competing in the tournament are invited to a pre-tournament training camp being held at the National Tennis Centre. This is a great opportunity to meet fellow players and coaches prior to competing in the tournament. Training Camp Date: Friday, 27th March Training Camp Venue: National Tennis Centre, Olympic Blvd, Richmond, VIC Entry Fee: $10.00 – payable by cash on-site Time: 1:00-4:00pm RSVP: [email protected] by March 14, 2020. TOURNAMENT DETAILS: Tournament Dates: Friday 27 March 29 March, 2020 Tournament Venue: National Tennis Centre, Olympic Blvd, Richmond, VIC Tournament Director: Lita Trimmings Entry Fee: $20 Singles/$20 Doubles – payable online, via credit card on entry form, or cheque payable to Tennis Victoria. *It cannot be guaranteed that all classifications will have enough players to host a separate draw. In the event that there are not enough players, an ‘Open Mixed’ category will be created at the discretion of the Tournament Director. Online Entry Link: VIC Blind & Low Vision Championships Entry Link For further information, please call Lita on 8420 8420 or email [email protected]. W: www.tennis.com.au/vic/ NSW SESSIONS Tennis Australia and Blind Sports NSW are hosting regular Tuesday night and Saturday sessions across the Sydney region for blind or vision impaired participants of all levels. For more information, please contact the NSW State Inclusion Coach, Steve Manley by email at: [email protected] Page 4 Photo: Vision Impaired Tennis Session at Blacktown, November 2019 NSW Goalball Season Launch Party and AGM Join NSW Goalball to kick-off the 2020 season! NSW Goalball invites members and their families to attend the joint launch party and AGM on Saturday 14th March at ACPE in Sydney Olympic Park. The Annual General Meeting will take place from 11:00am - 12:00pm, followed by lunch and some friendly scrimmage games. Members aged 18 and over are encouraged to be in attendance to participate in voting. A NSW Goalball staff member will be available to assist with any questions about registering for events, tournaments or training, and provide the opportunity to purchase new equipment if necessary. NSW Goalball is also accepting interest/registrations for the 2020 Goalball 4 Schools program. Please visit www.goalball.com.au for more information, or if you have any questions about the program, email Liza at: [email protected]. Blind Football Australia Appoints New Vision Impaired Futsal Coordinator Australian Blind Football has officially announced and congratulated James Sardisco on his new role as National Coordinator of Vision Impaired Futsal for 2020. This comes after Dave Connolly took his new role as National Coordinator of Blind Football. While Igor Negrao and Pete Nowakowski remain in their roles as Head Coach and Assistant Coach of the Blind Football squad of 2020, respectively. James' role will be to focus on the National Vision Impaired Futsal squad and related camps, championships and tours. Therefore, any queries regarding the Vision Impaired Futsal squad and related activities please feel free to contact James by email at [email protected]. James is new to the role and is currently working on a plan for the 2020 season ahead. James will be in touch with the squad to confirm details moving forward shortly. Congratulations on the appointment James! Page 5 THE VISION BULLETIN Graham Coulton and Mark Eschbank selected for World Blind Golf Championships NSW representatives Graham Coulton and Mark Eschbank have been selected to represent Australia at the 2020 ISPS HANDA World Blind Golf Championships. The Championships will be held from 4th - 12th September in Cape Town, South Africa, with the ISPS HANDA South African Blind Golf Open to take place prior to commencement of the World Championship tournament. Both players were selected on a merit basis from the Blind Golf Australia Order of Merit calculated by previous results. This also follows the success of Mark winning the Japan Open in 2019. Blind Sports NSW would like to congratulate Graham and Mark on their selection and wish them Photo: Mark Eschbank Photo: Graham Coulton both the best of luck in South Africa! Murray Elbourn selected to represent Tennis Australia at World Championships Murray Elbourn has been selected to represent Australia as part of the Tennis Australia team to compete at the World Championships in Italy.