March - April 2010 Newsletter

Australian Athletes with a Disability

Funding Grants

Funding Grant applications closed on Friday 12th March. All applications have been finalised and applicants have been notified in writing. The next round for funding is set for August/September 2010.

Australian Sports Commission

Sports Leadership Grants and Scholarships for Women

The Australian Sports Commission and Australian Government Office for Women are looking to develop more Australian women in leadership and decision making roles in sport. Applications for the Sports Leadership Grants and Scholarships for Women are currently open and close Friday 30th April.

For more information visit www.ausport.gov.au/women

Australian sports urged to engage all cultures

The Minister for Sport Kate Ellis has launched a new online resource in February to help sporting groups engage more sportspeople from culturally diverse backgrounds. Minister Ellis joined the Australian Sports Commission and leading national sports to promote All Cultures, a program that aims to connect people from new migrant groups with their local sporting clubs.

The All Cultures program aims to lift low participation rates by providing advice to the Australian sporting sector about how to be more inclusive. The new online resources include videos detailing existing multicultural sport programs and useful tips for clubs, coaches and officials. The website complements the All Cultures education programs and an ambassador- led awareness program. The Department of Immigration and Citizenship is working closely with the Australian Sports Commission to promote the All Cultures resource to schools and community groups.

For more information, please visit the ASC All Cultures website: www.ausport.gov.au/participating/all_cultures Wheelchair Basketball

Frank Ponta Trophy Basketball Australia introduced the Frank Ponta Trophy tournament as a development initiative to support the National Wheelchair Basketball League (NWBL). Thirty-four athletes and four coaches participated in the league held over two rounds in March at the AIS Training Hall. The David Gould Whites defeated the Sandy Blythe Blues 53-45 in the Grand Final. Twenty-one-year-old rookie Adam Deans (Perth Wheelcats) earned his call up to the Rollers squad after impressing coaches during the tournament and Josh Christian (Tasmania) looks set to make his NWBL debut with the Dandenong Rangers after making an impact with the Brad Ness Golds.

Women’s Festival The Women’s Festival of Wheelchair Basketball took place from 12th – 14th March at the Sydney Academy of Sport with 32 girls and women from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania and the ACT. The Women’s Festival is an annual event, hosted by Wheelchair Sports NSW that supports the women’s pathway to the WNWBL.

Rollers On Tour In Turkey The Australian Rollers held a four-day training camp in Varese, Italy, before heading to Turkey for an international friendly series from 2nd – 5th April against the Turkish national team and Turkish club champions Galatasary. The tour forms part of the Rollers preparation for the 2010 IWBF World Championships to be held Birmingham, England 7th – 17th July 2010.

New Programs In The Territories Two new wheelchair basketball programs tipped off to provide regular learn to play opportunities in Alice Springs and Canberra. Wheelchair Sports NSW together with Basketball ACT hosted a Come and Try day in Canberra and introduced a weekly program after a three-year break in the ACT.

Alice Springs Basketball Association hosted a series of clinics from 11th – 14th April with five-time Paralympian, Liesl Tesch, on hand to introduce the game for the first time in Alice Springs. Twelve new basketball wheelchairs were donated by Disabled Sports Association NT (DSANT) and the sport was very well received by the Alice Springs community.

WNWBL In March, Sydney Uni Sport and Fitness (SUSF) announced the integration of the first Australian University wheelchair basketball team into the Sydney Uni Flames basketball program for 2010. The new Sydney Uni Wheelchair Flames (formerly Hills Hornets) topped the ladder after Round 1 of the Women’s National Wheelchair Basketball League (WNWBL) on 9th – 11th April.

The second round of the WNWBL will be held from 30th April - 2nd May at the Sydney University Sports and Aquatic Centre. The QLD women’s development squad, the Rockets, will be joining Round 2 of the league to see the current teams in action and participate in a coaching clinic with NSW Junior coach, Evan Bennett, as part of their campaign to re-join the WNWBL in the 2011 season. For more information, FIBA Live stats and results visit www.wnwbl.basketball.net.au.

NWBL

Final preparations continue for the 2010 National Wheelchair Basketball League (NWBL) with round one to be held on 4th – 6th June at various venues. For information on the NWBL visit http://www.nwblaus.com.

IWBF Officials

The IWBF announced that there will be two Australians amongst the International Technical Officials for the 2010 BT Paralympic World Cup. Congratulations to Mark Flanagan (Referee) and Don Perriman (Classifier) who have been chosen to attend the World Cup in Manchester from 27th – 30th May 2010.

Congratulations also to Greg Love, Don Perriman, Gabe Caligiuri and Matt Wells for being chosen by the IWBF to represent Australia as International Technical Officials for the 2010 World Championships to take place in Birmingham from July 7th – 17th July 2010.

Boccia

Boccia Australia National Championships

The 2010 National Boccia Championships will be held at the AIS in Canberra 2nd – 7th May 2010. This year’s tournament will see teams from Tasmania, Victoria, Queensland, ACT, New South Wales & New Zealand competing. From this tournament an Australian Representative team will be selected to compete at the Boccia World Games in Lisbon, Portugal in June 2010.

If anyone is interested in playing or learning about boccia, please contact the National Development Officer, Lynn Kavanagh at [email protected] or by contacting Cerebral Palsy Boccia Australia, 2 Duchess Place, Cleveland, Qld 4163.

Further information is available from www.boccia.com.au

Lawn Bowls

The 2010 National Championships will be held on 3rd – 7th May 2010 in Melbourne. A classification course is being held in conjunction with the National Championships. Six people are registered for the course, including technical classifiers from Northern Territory, New South Wales and Victoria, and a medical classifier from New Zealand.

The IWAS World Championships are being held on 24th September – 5th October in Adelaide, South Australia. Nominations for the Australian team closed on 23rd April. More information will be available shortly. The 2011 IBD World Championships will be held on 30th April – 14th May 2010. Expression of interest forms closed on the 23rd April. Nomination forms and further information will be available later in the year.

For further information on Lawn Bowls contact Wheelchair Sports Australia at [email protected] or your state wheelchair sport organisation (links are available from www.sports.org.au).

Cerebral Palsy Football 7-A-Side

The 2010 National Paralympic Men’s 7-aside Football Championships are being held at the Darebin International Sports Centre from 11th – 14th June 2010 in Melbourne, Victoria. The annual event will see four teams competing for the title, Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland. The 2010 championships is the first for Victoria and South Australia.

If you are interested in finding out more about CP Football then please email [email protected] or phone 0413 713 368 after business hours. Volleyball

Congratulations to Dr Stephen Giugni (Tasmania) and Dr Andrew Davison (Victoria) for being chosen to officiate at the 2010 World Volleyball Championships for people with a disability. Held every 4 years, the championships will be conducted at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Oklahoma, USA in July 2010 and the appointments are made by the World Organisation, Volleyball for Disabled (WOVD). For further information www.avf.org.au

Wheelchair Rugby

2010 Wheelchair Rugby 4 Nations

Australian Paralympic Committee is hosting the 2010 Wheelchair Rugby 4 Nations tournament at Sydney Olympic Park on 28th April – 2nd May. The tournament will play a critical role in determining the make-up of Australia’s 2010 World Championship squad.

More than 2000 school students from 48 schools across NSW and the ACT will attend the event. Members of the public are also being encouraged to attend. Entry is a gold coin donation. Wednesday – Friday Round robin games from 10am, Saturday: Semi-Finals at midday and 2pm. Sunday: Finals at midday and 2pm. For further information visit www.paralympic.org.au

2010 NWRL

This is the ninth season of the National Wheelchair Rugby League. The 2010 season sees four teams compete for the title of National League Champion; SA Sharks, Victorian Coloplast Thunder, Jetstar Gold Coast Wheelchair Rugby Titans and NSW Gladiators.

There will be a total of four rounds each hosted by the competing states. Round one kicks off on 21st – 23rd May in Melbourne, followed by round two on 9th - 11th July in Adelaide, round three on 6th - 8th August in Brisbane and the finals series on 20th - 22nd August in Sydney. The Australian Steelers Wheelchair Rugby team will then head to Vancouver, Canada for the 2010 IWRF World Championships to be held on 16th – 26th September.

If you are interested in playing wheelchair rugby please contact your state Wheelchair Sports office or Wheelchair Sports Australia at [email protected] For information on the NWRL visit http://rugby.sports.org.au

Referees

Wheelchair Sports Australia is always looking for new referees; with training and development provided for suitable applicants.

If anyone is interested in becoming a wheelchair rugby referee, please contact your state Wheelchair Sports office or Wheelchair Sports Australia at [email protected]

Disabled Bodied Sailors

SBS One recently screened a four part series titled Disable-bodied sailors. The documentary takes you on a journey of the 2009 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race with the crew including Liesl Tesch (member of the Gliders) and Mark Whiteman (Lawn Bowls and former Paralympic Volleyballer). More information is available from: http://www.sbs.com.au/shows/disablebodiedsailors/episodes/page/i/1/h/Episodes/

Calendar of Events 2010 (*Subject to alterations)

May Boccia - 2-7 CPASRF National Championships AIS Canberra ACT 3-7 Lawn Bowls National Championships Melbourne VIC Wheelchair Invacare World Team Cup (Super 3-9 Tennis series) Antalya TUR Wheelchair 12-16 Tennis Japan Open (Super Series) Fukuoka JPN Wheelchair 14-16 Basketball WNWBL - Round 3 Melbourne VIC Festival of Football State 15 Football/Soccer Championships Brisbane QLD Wheelchair 21-23 Rugby NWRL - Round 1 Melbourne VIC Wheelchair Paralympic World Cup (Rollers & 27-30 Basketball Gliders) Manchester UK

June Wheelchair 2-4 Tennis Roland Garros (Grand Slam) Paris FRA Wheelchair 4-6 Basketball NWBL - Round 1 TBC Wheelchair Melbourne 7-12 Basketball Gliders World Challenge TBC VIC Wheelchair 10-13 Rugby North America Cup Birmingham USA Wheelchair QLD State Championships 'The 11-13 Basketball Classic' Brisbane QLD 2010 National 7-a-side Paralympic 11-14 Football Men's Championships Melbourne VIC Wheelchair 18-20 Basketball NWBL - Round 2 TBC NSW Wheelchair 18-20 Rugby Canada Cup Montreal CAN Wheelchair BNP Paribus French Open (Super 22-27 Tennis Series) Paris FRA

July Wheelchair Tournament in Berlin/Hamburg 2-4 Basketball (Gliders) Berlin/Hamburg GER Wheelchair 2-4 Tennis Wimbledon (Grand Slam) London GBR 3-4 Athletics Gold Coast Wheelchair 1/2 Marathon Gold Coast QLD Wheelchair 7-17 Basketball World Championships Birmingham UK Wheelchair 9-11 Rugby NWRL - Round 2 Adelaide SA Wheelchair North Queensland Wheelchair Champs 16-18 Tennis (Futures) Townsville QLD Wheelchair 20-25 Tennis British Open Super Series) Nottingham GBR Wheelchair 23-25 Basketball NWBL - Round 3 TBC Wheelchair 30-1 Basketball NWBL - Round 4 TBC

August Wheelchair 6-8 Basketball WNWBL - Round 4 Sydney NSW Wheelchair 6-8 Rugby NWRL - Round 3 Brisbane QLD Wheelchair 13-15 Basketball NWBL - Round 5 TBC 15-21 Swimming IPC Swimming World Championships Netherlands NL Wheelchair 20-22 Basketball NWBL - Round 6 TBC Wheelchair 20-22 Rugby NWRL Finals Sydney NSW Wheelchair 27-29 Basketball NWBL - Round 7 TBC Wheelchair USTA Wheelchair Championships 31- 5/09 Tennis Open (Super Series) St. Louis USA

September Wheelchair USTA Wheelchair Championships 31/08- 5 Tennis Open (Super Series) St. Louis USA Wheelchair 3-5 Basketball NWBL - Round 8 TBC 5 Athletics QLD State Championships Brisbane QLD Wheelchair 9-12 Tennis US Open (Grand Slam) New York USA Wheelchair 10-13 Basketball WNWBL - Finals Series Perth WA Wheelchair 16-26 Rugby IWRF World Championships Vancouver CAN Wheelchair 17-19 Basketball NWBL - Finals Series TBC Wheelchair 17-19 Tennis South Pacific Open (Futures) Nowra NSW 18 Powerlifting QLD State Championships Brisbane WLD 26/09- 04/10 Lawn Bowls 2010 IWAS World Championships Adelaide SA

October 3-14 Multi Sport Commonwealth Games Delhi India 16-17 Boccia Maryborough Masters Games Maryborough QLD Wheelchair 22-24 Tennis Victorian Open (futures) Bendigo VIC 24 Swimming QLD State Championships Brisbane QLD

November Wheelchair 5-7 Tennis NSW Open (Futures) Wollongong NSW Wheelchair 17-21 Tennis NEC Singles Masters Amsterdam NED Wheelchair 24-28 Tennis Camozzi Doubles Masters Brescia ITA TBC Golf QLD State Championships Brisbane QLD

December

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