Wheelchair Sports WA

22-04-2013

National Results Roundup

Sporting fans were spoilt for choice this week with Wheelchair Sports WA athletes competing in six National Championships across Australia.

Athletics, Hand-Cyling, Rugby, Shooting, Swimming and Table Tennis Championships saw athletes travel from Adelaide to Ballarat with some promising results from athletes.

The National Age Swimming Championships were held in Adelaide with WCS athletes Ben Popham, Liam Smith and Guy Harrison-Murray performing very strongly to bring home multiple medals. This year was the first that multi-class Nationals were combined with the able bodied Championships. The meet was a resounding success with Guy picking up 4 silvers in the 400 Free, 50 Free, 50 Butterfly and 100 Free while he also picked up a bronze in the 50 Backstroke.

Ben Popham, competing in the same age group as Guy took on a huge program over the meet to record some fantastic PB swims. Ben recorded a 9 second PB in the 400 Freesyle to finish 12th whilst in the 100 Backstroke he recorded another 9 second PB.

Liam Smith competed in the 16-18 yrs multi-class category in a staggering 8 events across the weekend. Liam's best performance came in the 100 Backstroke with a 2 second PB earning him a silver medal. He also picked up 2 bronze medals in the 100 Free and 50 Back setting a near 2 second PB in the 100 Free. Liam also set a massive 5 second PB in the 400 Freestyle.

A team of 3 athletes travelled to Sydney for the National Athletics Championships under the tutelage of coach Mark Bannister. Andrew Bannister ran in the T36 400, 200 and 100 recording a PB in the 400 with a time of 74.37. Rising star Tristan Lewis-Black smashed his previous PB by 3.4 seconds in the T44 400m and also broke his 100m PB by 0.15 seconds. New member Chad Perris placed 4th in both the 100m and 200m improving on his previous best in the 100m by 0.04 seconds.

Rising star Connor Johnstone was also in action at the National Table Tennis Championships in Ballarat over the weekend putting in a solid performance. Connor won a swag of medals including bronze in both the single and doubles standing divisions. Connor also won 2 silver medals in the class 8 singles division and class 8-10/deaf teams division.

Anton Zappelli and Joe Davey represented WA at the National Shooting Championships in Brisbane with both athletes competing in the SH1 prone class. Anton shot a 589/600 whilst Joe shot a 578/600 a fantastic performance by both the guys. With the national coaches travelling to WA in early May (3rd-5th) if you are interested in trying shooting then contact the office for further info.

Our largest ever team of 8 athletes travelled to Echuca for the National Handcycling Series with some fantastic results achieved. Paralympic silver medallist Nigel Barley was dominant in the H3 category taking out the Road Race by 22 minutes to 2nd placed WCS athlete Richard Williams. Nigel also won the H3 Time Trial by 6 minutes with Richard placing 3rd on the shorter course. Neil McDougall finished in 6th place for both the time trial and road race.

In the H2 category Peter Allen finished 6th in a strong Time Trial field with fellow WCS athlete James Ormerod finishing 10th. The gruelling Road Race course saw Peter finish in 7th and James again in 10th. In the women's H2 category WA's sole female rider Louise Mofflin finished 2nd in both the time trial and road race.

WCS' had two competitors in the H1 division with Craig Parsons taking out both the time trial and road race by staggering margins. Fellow H1 competitor Scott Hewitt finished 4th in both events.

Congratulations to all athletes who competed over the last week and we look forward to keeping members up to date with athlete results over the coming weeks.

26-03-2013

WCS Appoints New CEO

Wheelchair Sports WA is extremely pleased to announce the appointment of Raymond Yong to the role of Chief Executive Officer.

Raymond brings a wealth of experience to the role, having previously worked in Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore for the antecedent firms of KPMG and Deloittes. His extensive career in financial services working for both an Australian and a foreign bank has included roles as Senior Manager Corporate Banking, State Manager for both banks in different states, Director of Strategy & Investments and Head of Risk. Raymond has also operated his own business consulting practice providing services to the small and mid-sized enterprise sector.

Raymond holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Western Australia, is a Certified Practising Accountant and is a Graduate member of the Australian Company of Directors. In his spare time, Raymond has previously Chaired and continues to serve on the Committee of Management of the Rottnest Channel Swim Association; host of the iconic Rottnest Channel swim crossing held in February each year.

On the personal front, Ray is an avid swimmer, loves bush walking, reading, movies, surfing (though he hasn’t done much of this lately!) and is married with three children; Ellie 22, Jeremy 19 and Miranda 13.

When asked about his appointment, Ray said “I feel privileged to be given the chance to lead an organisation which delivers services and creates opportunity for so many in our community. I will be doing a lot of listening and learning from our members, staff and our many stakeholders over the coming months. If I don’t get around to meeting each of you personally, please come and introduce yourself to me. I am keen to hear your stories and to learn how we can all continue to improve the activities of Wheelchair Sports WA”.

We are excited to welcome Ray to our association and look forward to helping him take the Wheelchair Sports WA community on the next stage of its already long journey.

25-03-2013

NHS Perth Results

WCS recently hosted the Perth round of the National Handcycling Series with 19 competitors from around Australia and New Zealand involved.

The Road Race was hotly contested with Nigel Barley (WA) and Grant Allen (SA) breaking away from the pack on the first lap of the 50 km race to set a blistering pace. A chase pack of 4 riders that included WA's Richard Williams kept the leaders under pressure through the first lap.

An unfortunate puncture for Grant Allen on the second lap gave Nigel Barley a huge lead from the chase pack as began Lap 3 with a two minute buffer to the next competitor. A puncture to Craig Parsons followed by some gearing issues meant he had to pull out of the race leaving fellow WA competitor Scott Hewitt to take out the H1 category.

In the competitive H3 category Nigel Barley tamed the gruelling Wandi course posting a great time of 1:30:28, Richard Williams made it a WA quinella in the H3 category with a time of 1:39:16. The H2 category was taken out by exciting prospect Alex Welsh (Vic) in 1:39:16 with Peter Allen the best performing WA athlete coming in 4th for the category.

For the women London 2012 gold medallist Carol Cooke (Vic) posted a blistering time of 1:10:37 for 34km and Louise Mofflin (WA) finished 2nd in the WH2 category with a time of 1:43.

Sunday saw Champion Lakes host the Time Trial event with riders starting on 1 minute intervals. Craig Parsons recovered from his puncture to take out the H1 class event with an impressive time of 41:04:90.

Katrina Porter recovered from illness to compete in the WH2/3 combined category and finished 3rd behind Louise Mofflin and NZ's Tiffiney Perry.

Alex Walsh was again impressive in the H2 category winning in a time of 34:10:70 but Nigel Barley once again reigned supreme posting the fastest time of the day at 30:06:60 over 20km avergaing just under 40km/h. Grant Allen again pushed Nigel with a fantastic time of 32:19:30 to claim 2nd in the H3 category.

A sincere thank you to all volunteers that helped out over the weekend and Peter Meyer of ATTA for his continued support of WCS, without your help the event simply would not have been possible.

21-03-2013

Summer Final Results

The Be Active State Summer Basketball Competition has drawn to a close for 2013.

The A grade finals were played on Monday 18th March with G-Monsters and Magpies contesting the final.

With key players Rob Pike and Kathleen O'Kelly-Kennedy unavailable Magpies struggled from the outset heading into the half time break trailing by 17 points. Brant Garvey top scored for the Magpies with 9 points and worked tirelessly at both ends of the court.

However Magpies couldn't match the scoring power of a G-Monsters team that featured Justin Eveson, Adam Deans and Josh Eveson with the 3 talls dominating the boards at both ends. Justin Eveson showed his undeniable class leading all scorers with 40 points that included 5 consecutive threes in the final half with Adam Deans also contributing with 18 points for the game.

In the playoff for 3rd position BOHICA took on the Black Ducks with the game set to be the last for Craig Bartlett at the helm of the junior side. The Black Ducks showed plenty of promise with Amber Merritt leading the scoring with 11 for the game and Stevie Shaw showing excellent hustle, but the experience of BOHICA was evident and Be Active Perth Wheelcats players Shaun Norris (27) and Sam Clark (15) were dominant.

Precision passing from BOHICA delighted those watching but the final score blew out to a 49 point margin. Unfortunately not the send off Bartlett would have hoped for but Wheelchair Sports WA would like to thank Craig for all his efforts over the past 6 years and wish him well with his growing family.

In the 5th/6th playoff Mighty Purple Dragons took on Sonny and Chair contesting a tight encounter that was decided in the final minute of the game. Amanda Nott (12) and Travis Hayto (16) both scored heavily for the Purple Dragons whilst Lual Amoly was impressive for Sonny and Chair with 11 points. Purple Dragons edged out Sonny and Chair for a 40-36 victory.

Tuesday saw the B grade finals with Stallions taking on Wheelers and Dealers first up in the playoff for 3rd. The game was tight with Stallions winning by 2 points and Simon Du top scoring with 6 points for Stallions whilst Jordan Overend led the scoring for Wheelers and Dealers.

The later final was a fantastic game with the Juniors winning by 3 points in overtime. Andrew Dewberry led all scorers with 11 points in a performance that showed his future potential. Stevie Shaw also led from the front with 9 for the game. Brute Force had an even scoring spread with Phil Vinci and Ian Newman top scoring with 8 points each.

Well done to all involved and thank you to the referees and Holmes family who operated the score bench, the winter comp will start in May.

26-11-2012

Ultimate Honour For Doc

Long-time Wheelchair Sports WA member, Des Doherty, or Doc as he is more affectionately known, had to fight back tears as he was awarded Life Membership to Wheelchair Sports WA after almost 20 years as one of the Association’s most treasured volunteers.

Receiving his award in front of a packed house at Wheelchair Sports WA’s Annual Sports Star of the Year awards on Saturday night, Doc was also the recipient of Wheelchair Sports Australia’s Lord Taverners Award. His outstanding contributions to junior disability sport at a national level made him only the fourth Western Australian to receive this prestigious award.

The eruption of cheers from members, athletes and VIP guests was indicative of the countless number of lives Doc has made a difference to in his time with the Association.

Doc was introduced to Wheelchair Sports WA in 1994 with son Shaun, who was born with Spina Bifida.

His passion from the very beginning was junior sport. Doc spent 15 years as a junior sports coach, has been a volunteer staff member at the Association’s junior recreation camp on 13 separate occasions and chaperoned teams of athletes to Junior National Games seven times.

Doc was awarded the Wheelchair Sports WA’s Volunteer of the Year award in 2007 and 2008 and could have won it on any number of other occasions.

Upon receiving his awards, Doc was clearly emotional reminiscing about one of the legends of Wheelchair Sports WA and international Paralympic sport, the late Frank Ponta.

“I just wish Frank was here to see this” he remarked when asked about his motivation to help junior athletes.

“I love that no matter who you are or how good you think you are or aren’t, everyone can have a go”

“I saw a very good friend of mine receive the Lord Taverners award a few years back and I thought to myself, now that is someone that deserves this award. For me to be recognised alongside him and some of the other previous winners of this award is extremely humbling”

25-11-2012

Joel is Leaving

As most people already know, it will come as no great shock, but after four and a half years I am moving on from Wheelchair Sports WA. Well, moving away actually as I will be moving to Sydney.

I am sincere when I say that I have absolutely loved my time at Wheelchair Sports WA (WSWA). I know it’s extremely clichéd and after almost 5 years working with WSWA you do become somewhat numb to it but… I have been, on a daily basis, inspired by WSWA and its members.

If I was to put down some of my highlights of my time, they might not be what you would expect. Of course it was amazing to see WSWA represented at the Paralympic Games in both Beijing and London. I have always loved watching the Be Active Perth Wheelcats and I’ve enjoyed all of the on and off field success of members. However, the highlights of my time at WSWA are about much more than winning or losing. They are some of the small, sometimes seemingly insignificant things that I will remember most.

I absolutely loved the week in Melbourne with the 40-strong team for the Australian Paralympic Youth Games in 2009. I remember on uniform presentation night, each athlete and staff member was presented with their team uniform and asked to introduce themselves and share what they’d hoped to achieve at the Games. Most people, giggled, laughed and nervously stuttered their way through. I could see Petri Gildenhuys, a young 15-year-old athlete, sitting nervously and dreading his name being called. When his name was called, he walked to the front, head down and took the microphone. He was so overcome by nerves and stage fright that he could not speak. He returned to his seat, dejected. He watched 30 fellow athletes and 10 staff receive their uniforms and speak to the group. Once everybody was finished and had their opportunity to speak, Petri decided there was something he needed to do. He walked back up the front and asked if he was able to try again. He nervously introduced himself and very quickly became stuck for words and so told the group that he liked dogs. It didn’t matter what he said or how he said it. For him to be so overwhelmed by fear, and then stand up and face it in front of almost 100 people took the utmost courage. That is a moment I will not easily forget.

There are countless reasons why people play sport and the benefits they receive from it. But at Wheelchair Sports, it seems to mean so much more. This was never more evident to me when Amber Merritt was told she wasn’t able to play at the Kevin Coombs Cup this year due to Gliders commitments in the lead up to the Paralympic Games. Nevertheless, she attended the uniform presentation night. She fought back tears as she stood before the group and spoke about what it meant for her to pull on that black and gold jersey, representing Western Australia with a group of her friends. Unlike Petri, Amber wasn’t fighting back tears because she was nervous or scared. Her tears were of disappointment that she couldn’t be there, side by side with her friends when they hit the court and at the same time of pride and happiness for her friends and team mates that had been selected in the team.

I will miss things like the bumper cars at the Christmas Party, holding on to Patrick or Bianca so they didn’t kill themselves (thank god we still have about 10 years until they are let loose on the road), getting my haircut by Amber Merritt at junior camp and suiting up in purple every Monday night to play basketball. I will, of course, miss the job, but above all else, I will miss the people. The people involved with WSWA are what set this Association apart from so many others. I have been surrounded by some of the most selfless people who volunteer on a regular basis and some of the most inspiring and talented athletes in the world. And I truly mean that.

I want to say thank you to Gary Lees and the Board for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this world and to everyone else for being so welcoming. The friends I’ve made here will last a lifetime and you can be sure that the next time you are in Sydney competing, I will be there in the stands supporting (or heckling).

My last day of work will be Wednesday January 16^th so please don’t be a stranger and make sure you drop in to say goodbye.

- Joel Mackenzie

18-11-2012

Sports Star Award Winners

The 17^th Annual Sports Star of the Year Awards was held at Patterson’s Stadium on Saturday 17^th November. The venue was filled to maximum capacity with over 200 guests as the association celebrated what was another fantastic year for Wheelchair Sports.

The first award for the night was presented to Gordon Cowper for his outstanding efforts in fundraising for the association.

Next up were the Super Series awards:

Field

3^rd- Josh Cavanagh

2^nd- Luther Frost-Barnes

1^st- Chris Beer

Swimming

3^rd- Ben Popham

2^nd- Nicole Scott

1^st- Carys Munks

Cycling

3^rd- Peter Allen

2^nd- Craig Parsons

1^st- Nigel Barley

Track

3^rd- Chris Minutillo

2^nd– Sian Glanney

1^st- Andrew Bannister

Amber Merritt won the Be Active Western Stars MVP for the second year in a row capping off a sensational year for the 19 year old. Amber led the league in scoring and was named High Point MVP in addition to earning a place in the All-Star 5.

Also for the second consecutive year Shaun Norris took out the Be Active Perth Wheelcats MVP award. Captaining the team for the first time Shaun led the team to a silver medal whilst individually he won the Mid Point MVP and selection in the NWBL All-Star 5.

The night also saw the 7th inductee to the Wheelchair Sports WA Hall of Fame. Long serving CEO and six-time Paralympian Bruce Wallrodt was honoured for his 20 years of sporting achievements. Bruce’s long list of achievements include four gold, two silver and two bronze Paralympic medals as well as nine world and six Australian records.

From 1989-90 Bruce held both WAIS and AIS scholarships. Bruce was also awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in 1992 for his outstanding contribution to disability sport.

Des “Doc” Doherty has been honoured as the 19^th life member of the association after more than 15 years of service to the organisation. Doc’s passion has always been junior sport and after joining with his son Shaun in 1994 Doc has volunteered at 13 National Junior Championships

Doc has previously won the Volunteer of the Year award twice in 2007-08 and was a very deserving winner of the Life membership award for 2012. In addition to this award Doc was also recognised nationally with the Lord Taverner’s Award.

Peter "Yogi"Houlis collected his second Volunteer of the Year award after his previous win in 2009. Yogi was a deserving winner for 2012 with his involvement including court presenting at all Stars and Wheelcats home games, organising the 2012 Quiz Night, assisting in the coordination of the Wheelchair Rugby competition and volunteering as a bus driver for the National Handcycling Series.

John Triscari picked up the Coach of the Year award after coaching the Be Active Western Stars to their 5th straight finals campaign and later coaching the Gliders to the gold medal match at the London Paralympics where they picked up a silver medal.

Team of the Year was taken out by the WA Handcycling Team who dominated this year's National Handcycling Championships combining for a total of 8 medals.

Michael Debenham capped off a superb 2012 winning the Breakthrough Athlete of the Year award. In his first year of Paralympic Football Michael was selected in the Pararoos team for tournaments in Abu Dhabi and the Ukraine after standing out for WA at the National Championships.

Amber Merrit picked up her second award of the night, winning the Junior Sports Star award following a stand out Paralympic campaign for the Gliders. Amber led the team in scoring despite coming off the bench and provided the match winning block for the Gliders to progress to the gold medal match.

Nigel Barley and Shaun Norris beat our fellow finalists Clare Nott and Brad Scott to share the coveted Sports Star of the Year award. After both dominating their respective national competitions Nigel brought home Australia's first ever handcycling medal at the Paralympics, a silver in the Time Trial. Shaun also brought home a silver medal from London, starring for the Rollers as they made the gold medal match.

Wheelchair Sports WA would like to congratulate all the award winners for 2012 and thank Pattersons Stadium for hosting the event.

31-10-2012

Junior Sports Camp

Most camp participants arrived to the accommodation Friday afternoon, eager to leave the hustle and bustle of Perth. As camp members began to arrive, rooms were set out and dinner needed to be prepared. With a couple of willing helpers in Andre, Levi and Tristan, I set out to a cook a mean BBQ, not really, just a stock standard sausage sizzle. After our nutritious meal we had a little bit of time to wind down for the night and socialise. As most people are aware it was a special time recently with the Paralympics – and in Paralympic Spirit a quiz night was organised. With Paralympics and Olympic questions testing the knowledge of participants, the statement ‘you learn something new every day’ was definitely evident. Mark Bannister was a true genius and the Over 20 table came away with the win but everyone left with a smile on their face and shared a few laughs.

It was a bright and early start for members of the camp on Saturday morning – fortunately for some there was air conditioning in their rooms so there wasn’t a high level of discomfort. With a hot breakfast prepared to start the morning it helped ease the stress of dealing with a million flies. Consumption of breakfast was a high priority as Saturday was a jam packed day; 4 sporting activities in Athletics Track and Field, Hand cycling, Swimming and Basketball was sure to test the energy levels of camp members.

At the completion of Saturday’s activities it was a time for everyone to sit back and relax and mingle. There were definitely a couple sore bodies and energy levels were depleted and with the Paralympics being held the next day everyone was looking forward to a good night’s rest.

The following morning Volunteers and Coaches were extremely chuffed to have a speciality coffee awaiting them on Sunday morning and with the daunting task of cooking breakfast for everyone most volunteers and coaches had their hands tied. With much appreciation camp members had cleaning up duties amidst the excitement of the Paralympics.

Teams were divided into Red and Blue with Coaches joining in as they couldn’t resist missing out on all of the fun. The Red Team took an early lead in the Athletics events with the Blue team running a susceptible relay race. As the Field events took place the Blue team was able to peg a couple of results back in their favour. The hand cycling event was extremely competitive and nearly even with the Red team taking the honours – with the Basketball event being the final event of the day all camp members were keen to launch a final assault on the trophy. Unfortunately for the Blue team they couldn’t get the marbles, winning a very close Basketball game, with the help of Jo and Nick, but ultimately the Red team won the inaugural ‘Sports Camp Cup’ for 2012.

This year’s camp was something special, with the launch of an inaugural Sports Camp expectations are already high to better in the following year. On behalf of Wheelchair Sports WA I would like to say a MASSIVE thank you to our amazing volunteers; Joanna Morris, Mark Bannister, Nick Radovich, Mathew Lovelock, Joel Mackenzie, Peter Allen and Paul Smith. A special mention must go to Mandy Grauze who worked extremely hard in making sure all camp members were looked after, and there was no definitely no chance in anyone getting sunburnt.

Once again I would like to say thank you to everyone who came to camp and to the Fairbridge Village staff for looking after us. I look forward to seeing you again next year and bettering this camp.

01-09-2012

Rollers Defeat Turkey in a Classic

The Australian Rollers have defeated a gallant Turkish team, 71 – 64 in one of the best games of wheelchair basketball ever seen at a Paralympic games.

Wheelchair Sports WA athletes Justin Eveson (17 points, 9 rebounds), Shaun Norris (17 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists), Brad Ness (11 rebounds) and Michael Hartnett (second exhibition of excellent lowpoint play in two days) all playing crucial roles in the win.

Largely unknown to Australian audiences, the Turks, who have risen to prominence over the past five years pushed their defending champions to their absolute limit.

They came out firing, shooting an incredible 61% from the field with only a superior free throw percentage and offensive rebound count allowing the Australians to take a 4 point advantage into half time.

With his biggest star in foul trouble in the third quarter, coach Ben Ettridge was forced to run several different combinations to keep the opposition at bay. However they all had one common feature, 1.0 point player Michael Hartnett.

Although not registering huge numbers, Hartnett’s chair skills and technical ability was superb and his endeavor typified the Australian spirit. He was constantly getting knocked over, only to get up and contest the next play with vigor.

Shaun Norris then showed why people call him the Wizard, when he pulled off the most spectacular play seen at the Paralympics thus far. Catching the ball off balance, Norris executed a 360 degree turn, absorbed contact and somehow managed to make the layup. Its sure to be a Youtube hit.

Just as the Rollers looked to be pulling away the Turks forced a series of turnovers that resulted in transition baskets.

Enter Justin Eveson. The big fella had a quiet game by his own galactic standards but late free throws and a lay up under pressure helped put the result beyond doubt.

The Rollers now turn their attention to European powerhouse Spain. Tip off is at 3.45am on Sunday morning.

For live streaming action check out:

www.abc.net.au/news/sport/paralympics/stream

www.paralympic.org (Smart Player)

- Chris Barty

27-08-2012

International Honour for Sauvage and Ponta

Wheelchair Sports WA is proud two of its members will be inducted into the IPC Visa Hall of Fame: nine time Paralympic gold medallist Louise Sauvage and wheelchair sports legend, and Sauvage's first coach, Frank Ponta.

Ahead of this morning's Opening Ceremony in London, the International Paralympic Committee announced Sauvage and Ponta would be among five former Paralympians added to the Hall of Fame.

Sauvage, who retired from wheelchair racing following the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, remains the fourth most successful international female track athlete of all time, winning 13 Paralympic medals in total and is the second most-decorated Paralympian in Australia.

Her overnight inclusion in the IPC Hall of Fame is the highlight in a string of accolades for the Paralympic track legend. Sauvage was the first woman to be inducted into the Australian Paralympic Committee’s Hall of Fame at its inauguration in 2011. She was also the first athlete with a disability added to the Australian Sport Hall of Fame.

Legendary Paralympian, Frank Ponta, who passed away last year, represented Australia at the Paralympics between 1960-1976, competing in several different sports from swimming, wheelchair basketball to pentathlon and wheelchair fencing.

Upon retirement, Ponta made the switch to coaching, producing the next generation of Paralympic superstars including Sauvage and swimmer Priya Cooper. He also launched the career of rising wheelchair track racer, Madison de Rozario, who will compete in London.

Ponta was the driving force behind junior wheelchair sports in Western Australia and along with Sauvage was an inaugural inductee into the Australian Paralympic Committee’s Hall of Fame in 2011.

Wheelchair Sports WA CEO Gary Lees applauded the induction of both Ponta and Sauvage to the Hall of Fame.

"Both Louise and Frank have both been pivotal to the growth of wheelchair sports in WA," says Mr Lees.

He says it's a credit to the long standing history and tradition of disability sport in Western Australia.

“Frank (Ponta) was pioneer, an incredible athlete in his day but his greatest contribution came in the way of his coaching and passion for our junior members."

"And now Louise is continuing his legacy, coaching Madison de Rozario, another athlete from Perth and one of our prime medal hopes in London."

“What a lot of people don’t realize is that the Paralympic movement in Australia started right here in Perth in 1954.”

14-08-2012

School Sport Championships

Following the 2012 School Sport Championships, the mother of one of our up and coming swimmers Ben Popham has written to Wheelchair Sports about how the week went and about Ben’s results:

52 swimmers, 2 divers, 9 staff and a few extra parents travelled from WA for the 8 day trip, meaning all the children got the opportunity to learn about being part of a team and supporting their teammates.

Children were split down into groups of 4 for their accommodation units, with further opportunities to get to know the rest of the team, and to learn a little independence with regard to meals (we weren’t eating out all the time!), getting up on time in the morning, and general organization and tidying up.

At the pool, Ben worked very hard and swam in 11 events. He won:

Silver in the Boys 10-12 50m Freestyle MC event.

Bronze in the Boys 10-12 200m Freestyle MC event.

Bronze in the Mixed 10-12 200 Freestyle Relay MC event

He was also a whisker of the Bronze in the Boys 10-12 100m Freestyle MC event, missing it by 0.015%!

All bar one of his times were PB’s, some of them quite substantively so.

However, whatever medals were won or times that were swum, one of the most important parts of the event was the learning experiences which were everywhere. To get the opportunity to learn the ropes of national competitions in such an environment has been extremely valuable to Ben as he grows up and moves through the levels of swimming. I’m sure this will continue to be the case in the future as well.

Thank you for the financial support provided by Wheelchair Sports.

- Jennifer Popham

Also on the trip was School Sport WA’s team captain Megan Saggers who picked up a gold medal, which if my sources are correct was team WA’s only individual gold medal for the meet. Stephanie Neville was also in the team and competed in the MC events. Stephanie is more used to playing Paralympic football so it was great to see her qualify and race as a part of the School Sport WA swim team.

09-08-2012

The Enforcers are Back

Wheelchair Rugby is back in Western Australia with the return of the mighty West Coast Enforcers. Aaron Camm, Nick Peter Scott Joyce and Zeb Gibson have been working hard for the last 18 months to put themselves into a position where they have had the opportunity to take the Enforcers back into the National Wheelchair Rugby League.

Some changes in the league in 2012 has meant a focus on development. Aaron, Nick and Zeb competed earlier this year as a part of the development series and that has led to a standalone National Championships this past weekend.

The boys combined with some NSW players including New Zealand international Curtis Palmer who would act as player/coach for the weekend.

Having never played as a team before, no one knew what to expect from the boys and I don’t think anyone could have predicted they would have been playing off for bronze and almost pinching it from a star studded Victorian team.

The Gold Coast Jetstar Titans were the team to beat all weekend and the Enforcers drew them in game one going down 60-32. Later that same day the boys went down to the Victorian Coldplast Thunder but there were signs that the team was improving, going down 46-55.

One day two of competition, despite trailing for the majority of the match, a massive second half effort saw the boys turn a 6 point deficit into a 4 point win against NSW. The boys went on to lose to South Australia that same day, but the damage had been done and they’d qualified for the Bronze medal playoff game where they would face Victoria again.

The boys were gallant and took it to Victoria all game. The final score was identical to their pool game (46-55) but the Enforcers were never really out of it.

We are extremely proud of the way these four boys have represented themselves at Wheelchair Sports WA over the past 18 months. All the hard work was justified last weekend and with a regular quality State competition every Thursday night, it wont be long before we start to see some more success from the Enforcers boys.

Thank you very much to Fabian Warney also who volunteered himself for the weekend as mechanic, manager and everything else in between.

29-07-2012

WA Paralympians 2012

Our WA Paralympians have been officially farewelled at a media event at the WA State Basketball Centre. 17 West Australians have been included in different Paralympic teams with 14 of those coming from Wheelchair Sports WA.

The 14 athletes selected from Wheelchair Sports WA are across five different sports and is the most representation we have ever had at a Paralympic Games.

Schedules and viewing times will be circulated to all WSWA members so that we can tune in and cheer on our athletes from the comfort of our couches during the early hours of the morning.

Below is a list of the athletes from WSWA that have been selected:

Justin Eveson, Brad Ness, Shaun Norris and Michal Hartnett: The four boys are all a part of the Rollers team that won gold in Beijing and will be looking to defend their title in London. Teams from around the world have clearly identified Australia as the team to beat in the men’s wheelchair basketball competition and they will have to be at their best every single day if they are going to stay on top of the wheelchair basketball world.

Clare Nott, Amber Merritt and Sarah Vinci: The three girls are a part of the Gliders with Amber and Sarah both making their Paralympic debut, while Clare returned from Beijing with a bronze medal with the Gliders. Recent performances against wheelchair basketball powerhouses Germany would suggest that improving on their 2008 bronze medal performance is not out of the question and they are as good a chance as any to return home with gold.

Madison de Rozario, Damien Bowen, Brad Scott and Sam Harding: This quartet is a part of the Australian Athletics team. Competing across a number of different disciplines, Sam Harding is the only one making his first Paralympic appearance. Brad Scott and Madison de Rozario both returned from Beijing with silver medals while Damien is in search of his first Paralympic medal. All four are genuine medal chances.

Darren Gardiner: The Bear, as he is more commonly known as, has a pair of Paralympic silver medals to his names from the Athens and Beijing Games. In what he has called his last Paralympic Games, the Bear will be looking to add a gold medal to his collection after coming so close in 2004 and 2008. His recent form is strong with him comfortably taking out the Australian National Championships with a lift of 228kgs. People in attendance said he did it easily and look for Darren to lift even heavier in London.

Nigel Barley: Nigel makes his Paralympic after coming so close in previous years. Nigel is a perennial National Handcycling Champion and has long been called the fastest man in Australia. How will this translate at a Paralympic Games? At the World Cup last month Nigel twice beat current World Champion Joel Jennott and is considered one of the top cyclists in the world. Cycling is a funny game though and anything can happen on the day but despite that, Nigel would have to be considered a genuine medal chance in London.

Katrina Porter: Katrina returns to the Paralympics after her dream was realised in Beijing, coming home with a world record and a gold medal in the 100m Backstroke. Katrina would have to still be considered a genuine medal chance again in London. She has already hinted at retirement from swimming post games and what a way it would be for her to go out by bringing home a swag of medals from London.

15-07-2012

Ben and Nang into PPP Squad

The 2012 Powerlifting National Championships were recently held in Brisbane on the 14^th July. The event saw three athletes from WA making the trip to compete with Nang Nguyen and Ben Wright both making their debut at a National Championships after bother recently switching over from basketball and ‘The Bear’ Darren Gardiner in his last hit out before the London Paralympics.

Nang Nguyen’s first attempt was a 95kg lift, which if successful would see Nang qualify to be made part of the Paralympic Preparation Program (PPP) and beat his current competition best by a massive 20kg. The bar was loaded and Nang lifted the weight with absolute ease, and was given the green light and his first successful lift. Nang had made the PPP squad, his goal for the competition. Nang’s second lift was 100kg, more than twice his body weight which he again did with ease. The bar was then loaded for Nang’s third attempt at 107kg which he did with relative ease, showing he still had some energy left in the tank. Following Nang’s third attempt, he was given the opportunity for a fourthand final lift and an attempt at a WA State Record for the 52kg class of a whopping 110kg. Nang successfully got the weight off his chest, but ¾ of the way up the weight proved too much and Nang was unable to successfully ‘lock out’ making the lift unsuccessful.

Ben Wright’s first lift was an attempt at 113kg which, if successful would see him lifting over 20kg more than his previous competition best of 92.5kg. Ben took care of his first lift with ease setting him in good stead for his following lifts. The bar was then loaded up to 120kg for lift number two and while attempting to unrack the weight, the bar slipped from Ben’s hands and out of the rack. If not for the Spiderman like reflexes of the spotters, Ben could have been seriously injured. With the bar safely back on the rack and time still on the clock, Ben recomposed himself and successfully lifted the weight. With two successful lifts Ben had a chance at lifting 125kg, a lift that if successful would see him make the PPP squad. After lifting the weight off the rack and pressing the weight with no worries, Ben’s lift was deemed unsuccessful after no pausing for long enough on his chest. Competition officials gave Ben a fourth lift to attempt to set the WA State Record for the 90kg class at 125kg. With his previous attempt in mind, Ben made sure he would not make the same mistake twice. He lifted the weight off the rack, making sure to pause it on his chest for an extended amount of time so as to not be caught out again, and pressed the weight successfully locking out. The lift was judged successful, awarding Ben a state record and a spot on the PPP squad.

Darren’s first lift attempt was 212kg showing why Bear is not only the strongest lifter in the country but a definite medal contender at this year’s Paralympic Games. Bear lifted the weight with what looked like complete ease setting him up for his second lift of 218kg. Once again Bear lifted the weight with no troubles, putting on a great show for all there to witness it. Bear’s third and final attempt was an absolutely massive 224kg. The bar was loaded and Bear let out his trademark growl which earned him the nickname. Bear managed to lift the huge weight successfully, seeing him lift the largest weight of the whole competition, a lift that would see Bear taking out first place for the competition and showing that he is definitely on track to try and better his previous Paralympic efforts and hopefully come home from London with a gold medal.

The final standings for the Competition saw 3^rd place taken out by Cameron Whittington from NSW, 2^nd Place went the Abebe Fekadu from QLD and 1^st place went to Darren Gardiner.

Congratulations to Darren on his win at the tournament and we wish him the best of luck as he puts the final touches on his London preparations. Big congratulations also to Ben and Nang who both lifted the required amounts to see them both accepted into the PPP squad. Both Ben and Nang have previously played for the Be Active Perth Wheelcats and recently made the switch over to the sport of powerlifting. Training out of the Muscle Pit in Cannington and the Western Force Gym in Mt Claremont, the boys have always showed natural ability and promise, but these results have helped prove to themselves, that they have what it takes to go further in the sport of powerlifting.

24-06-2012

Be Active Stars Win Bronze

The Be Active Western Stars have capped off another successful WNWBL season finishing with a Bronze medal following this year’s finals series.

The top four teams in this year’s league cold barely be split with the Stars finishing the regular season on equal points as the North Sydney Bears, with just percentage separating the two.

To progress through to the grand final the stars had to win on both Friday night and Saturday. The Sydney Uni Flames never really troubled the Stars on Friday night as the girls progressed easily through to the preliminary final. Everyone hit the scoreboard in their first game for the weekend as the Flames simply had no answer for the Star’s spread of scoring and no answers to Amber Merritt who finished the game with 33 points.

The girls knew they had to be at their best the following day when they faced the Bears in the preliminary final. The Bears had been disappointing the night before against Dandenong, but looked to make amends early, jumping to a 34-10 half time lead. The shell shocked Stars couldn’t seem to buy a bucket and turned the ball over too much to drop the game 64-36. Eager to bounce back the following day, the Stars were quick to put that game behind them, knowing they still had a job to do in the Bronze medal game.

It was all stars early racing to a 36-21 half time lead. With Amber Merritt in early foul trouble though the Flames were able to claw their way back into the game bringing the margin back to five points in the dying stages of the game. To our girls credit though, they were able to hold their nerve and come away with a nine point win and a bronze medal in this year’s WNWBL, marking the first time the Flames have missed out on a medal since the league’s inception.

Everyone again hit the scoreboard in the Bronze medal match, clearly a target being fouled 14 times during the game on her way to 34 points.

Congratulations to the Be Active Western Stars on another successful season.

Special congratulations also go to Amber Merritt who picked up individual awards for the League’s Leading Scorer, High Point MVP and place in the All-Star Five.

21-06-2012

Superfins Swim Club Gets Five Star Rating

Wheelchair Sports WA would like to congratulate Superfins Swim Club for achieving a five star status under the new Inclusive Club Standard Program. Three clubs from across Australia have been named as leaders in inclusion after being the first to achieve the five star rating.

Swimming Australia Ltd (SAL) launched the Inclusive Club Standard Program in December 2011 with the aim of increasing the standards of inclusive swimming in Australia, by fostering an accessible and enjoyable environment for people with a disability.

Over the course of the program there was a 16% increase in national registered membership of people with disability. Victoria’s Doncaster-Templestowe Amateur Swimming Club, Western Australia’s Superfins and Mount Anan Swimming Club in New South Wales, all scored 86% or above in the Program, giving them five star status and identifying them as leaders in inclusion.

As the Program develops it could also have a long term effect on the base of talent for the Paralympic pathway and with less than 75 days until the Paralympic Games in London and the announcement of the Australian Paralympic swimming team imminent, it is a timely reminder to clubs that inclusion is vital to the future of our sporting success.

A new area of focus addressed in this program looks at how clubs connect with the disability sector; Swimming Australia’s General Manager of Community Sport Adam Pine said it was important to facilitate communication between swimming clubs and other disability organisations.

“Less than 20% of clubs are actually making contact with disability organisations in their local community. Improvements in this area will encourage more people with disability to get involved in club swimming,” he said.

Superfins are based at Challenge Stadium and Lords and is the home to a number of Wheelchair Sports WA members, catering for everything from the recently launched Learn to Swim Program right through to National Squads. Head Coach Mathew Lovelock and President Jan Saunders should in particular be commended for all of their tireless efforts to promote and develop swimmers with a disability in Western Australia.

19-06-2012

Be Active Wheelcats Win Silver in NWBL

The Be Active Perth Wheelcats have won silver in the 2012 National Wheelchair Basketball League this past weekend in Shellharbour.

Despite dropping their first game of the weekend to eventual winners the Wollongong Rollerhawks a double chance saw the Wheelcats given the opportunity to still qualify for the Championship game and a shot at the clubs seventh National title.

The Wheelcats dominated general play for the majority of their first semi final but a four minute lapse in concentration resulted in a 71-62 loss. Wheelcats veteran Robert Pike contributed 21 points, 6 assists and 6 rebounds in his best performance of the year but it wasn’t enough as the Wheelcats would go on to face Dandenong in a preliminary final.

With their sights still well and truly on Wollongong the Wheelcats were surprised by a much improved Dandenong, leading but just one point at the first break.

From there it was one way traffic at the Cats turned 12 points up at the half and extended it out to 20 by three quarter time. The final score; Wheelcats 77, Dandenong 54.

Shaun Norris was outstanding all game, adding 32 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists in the win. Robbie Pike, Brant Garvey and Adam Deans all hit double figures in the game to set up a rematch with the Rollerhawks.

The following day, in front of a capacity crowd of an estimated 500 people, the Wollongong Rollerhawks and Be Active Perth Wheelcats hit the court for the grand final replay.

The second was as tight as the first with the Rollerhawks looking like leading by six at the half before a Luke Pople bomb from just inside halfway at the buzzer gifted the Rollerhawks a nine point buffer at the half.

The Wheelcats continued to battle and got off more shots than the Rollerhawks but couldn’t get them to drop while the Rollerhawks offense continued to tick over. Wollongong’s Shawn Russell was dominated inside while teammate Brett Stibners continued to hurt the Wheelcats from outside.

In the end the Wheelcats just didn’t have any answers for the Russell-Stibners combination. Brett Stibners kept the score table busy finishing with a triple-double (29 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists). Team mate Shawn Russell had a double-double (27 points and 15 rebounds) while Perth Captain Shaun Norris added 25 points to go along with his 11 rebounds and 7 assists.

Wheelcats captain Shaun Norris was awarded league’s mid-point MVP and a place in the all-star five alongside teammate Adam Deans.

22-05-2012

Quiz Night 2012 Best Ever

This year’s Quiz Night was bigger and better than ever before. With 45 tables and nearly 400 people, the night really was one to remember.

As guests entered the hall in their Green & Gold outfits, they were greeted by the portraits of
Wheelchair Sports WA’s very own athletes that would be proudly wearing the same colours at the London 2012 Paralympic Games later this year.

Yogi, our much loved and dedicated volunteer, was at his very best once again, kicking the night of with the YMCA, he got the crowd up and dancing creating a brilliant atmosphere, which only increased throughout the night.

Kerry Filkin, the host of all hosts and a permanent member of our Quiz Night team for the past few years took over from Yogi as she delivered the rounds to our Guests. Debbie’s pizzas were cooking, the drinks were flowing and everyone was in high spirits, enjoying the fabulous fundraising event.

We were overwhelmed with fantastic prizes this year, all of which had been generously donated by our members, sponsors, family and friends. Not only did we have 4 tables full of prizes for 1^st,2^nd,3^rd & 2^nd last, but we had spectacular spot prizes, raffle prizes & last but not least our magnificent Silent Auction, that raised an amazing amount of money.

The night really was a massive success and as Wheelchair Sports WA is a predominantly self funded organisation, nights like these really make a difference. So to everyone who helped make it possible, we would like to say a massive massive thank you to you all, whether you participated, donated, volunteered or helped out with the raffle, without any of you this night could not be the success it was.

We would like to make a special mention to Yogi for his outstanding DJ Efforts, Kerry Filkin for hosting a fantastic evening, Debbie & Wayne Robbins and their team Tina Dewberry, Mel Shaw, Lisa Deans, Connor Bloom, Esme Bowen, Doc & Rachel for running a fantastic bar and kitchen on the night. Last but not least Linda Morich for her continued support and help before, during & after the night.

17-05-2012

National Volunteers Week: David and Chris

If you’ve been following the Wheelchair Sports WA website or Facebook over the last six week you would have read a lot about the WA Paralympic Football Program and the very first WA Paralympic Football team. Wheelchair Sports WA is very excited to have been a part of this process but the real work horses of the program have been David Cantoni and Chris Barty.

David is a former Australian representative in Paralympic Football himself and was unfortunately classed out of the sport a few years ago. While disappointed, David turned his focus to coaching and working to try and establish a football program here in the west.

With numbers growing all the time and the entry our first state team, David’s work and knowledge of the sport has been acknowledged at a National Level with his appointment as an assistant to the Pararoos most recent international tournament in the Ukraine. This was David’s first trip away involved with the National program as a staff member and we all hope is not the last.

After switching his focus from wheelchair basketball to football in 2010, Chris Barty has been David’s right hand man right from day one. Chris and David both sat down in the early planning stages of the program and identified a clear vision for how they would like the program to run. Chris is in an unusual position as player/coach/mentor/administrator and National Squad member.

On the field Chris has impressed at a number of international events and indeed has a bright playing future ahead of him. Off the field Chris’s passion and enthusiasm for presenting opportunities for people (young and old) with Cerebral Palsy to play football has been second to none and helped ensure the continued growth and sustainability of the program.

The future of Paralympic Football is indeed in very good hands. With the support of Wheelchair Sports WA, Football West and the Australian Paralympic Committee David and Chris have turned a few kids playing football on a Saturday morning, into a professional program with an environment where players are nurtured and allowed to develop and take their football as far as they want.

Thank you to both the boys for the countless hours and efforts you have both put into the program. It is a credit to you both.

16-05-2012

National Volunteers Week: SPOKED

The next group of Volunteers we are profiling tell me every year that they have been hard done by not to win the Volunteer of the Year award. They say it ‘tongue in cheek’ of course, but they do have a strong case to put forward when it comes the time and effort the boys at SPOKED put in on a weekly basis.

Every Thursday night from 6:00pm – 6:30pm on 91.3 SportsFM DJ Yogi B, Aaron Camm and Sam Clark cover everything that is up to date and current around disability sport and Wheelchair Sports WA. They interview people just starting out in sport and their parents right through to Paralmypians and legends of Paralympic sport such as Louise Sauvage.

Yogi has previously won the Volunteer of the Year award for the work he did with the wheelchair rugby program as well as his regular DJ gig at major events and associated fundraising activities. If there was a team captain of SPOKED it would be Yogi. The plans out weeks in advance what he wants to cover on the show and regularly knows news and results before they make their way back to the Wheelchair Sports WA.

While there have been some changes to the SPOKED crew since the show first aired in 2010, Yogi is now join regularly by Aaron Camm and Sam Clark, both long time members of the Association and multiple sport athletes.

Sam, an Australian representative in Athletics has now been a part of the Be Active Perth Wheelcats since their inception. Sam not only gives his time to the radio show on a weekly basis but has acted as court announcer for National League games and you will regularly see him refereeing the social wheelchair basketball competition on a Tuesday night.

Aaron is a swimmer turned wheelchair rugby player who, like Sam, has on numerous occasions lent us his services as court announcer for National League games and you’ll regularly find Aaron out at major events interviewing athletes for the show.

If you haven’t listened to the show before, do yourself a favour and switch your radio to 91.3 at 6:00pm on a Thursday night. Alternatively you can listen to the podcasts which go up the Friday after each show by clicking the link below: http://www.sportfm.com.au/programs-podcasts/

The three boys have been together for well over a year now and really do a wonderful job. Thanks to the team at SPOKED for all of the work you do keeping everyone up to date. If they have yet to contact you for an interview, be ready, no one is off limits to the boys at SPOKED.

14-05-2012

National Volunteers Week: Craig and Jo

While you are sleeping in, watching the football or pottering leisurely around your garden on a Saturday, spare a thought for some of our most dedicated volunteers that are involved with our Junior Wheelchair Basketball Team in Craig Bartlett and Jo Morris.

Craig Bartlett has been at the helm of the junior team now for just over 12 months which has included a silver medal performance from the Black Ducks at the recent Kevin Coombs Cup. As the son in law of Wheelchair Sports WA’s current vice president Wayne Robins, some may say he married into the Wheelchair Sports WA family. He may not have known what he was getting himself into at the time, but has embraced Wheelchair Sports and all it has to offer.

Craig has volunteered at numerous junior camps, acted as team manager for the WA team at the Paralympic Youth Games in 2009, played in the State Wheelchair Basketball competition, assisted in the coaching of the junior team and now most recently taking on the top job with the junior basketball team. Following the Kevin Coombs Cup last month Craig has switched his focus to the development of wheelchair basketball as a whole and has some great initiatives that will be implemented in the coming months with the help of Jess, Joel the rest of his coaching staff.

Jo Morris has only come to Wheelchair Sports more recently, originally looking to gain some practical experience as a physio. As a former basketball player herself, Jo was very much thrown into the deep end appointed to be Craig’s assistant and team physio for the Black Ducks.

It’s almost been 12 months since Jo has begun volunteering for the Association and she has quickly found herself well loved by everybody at Wheelchair Sports WA. She has found a place for herself in the Mighty Purple Dragons on a Monday night and for the past few weeks (and next few weeks) has been working with the Little Dribblers program to prepare the kids for their curtain raiser prior to the Wheelcats vs Wollongong game on Sunday 27^th May.

Jo continues to look to improve her knowledge of wheelchair basketball and will start working with the Be Active Western Stars and Gliders coach John Triscari in the coming months to help develop herself even more.

This week is National Volunteers Week and on behalf of Wheelchair Sports WA and our Board, we would like to say thank you to Craig and Jo, and all of the volunteers that contribute significant amounts of time and energy into the Association and its programs on a regular basis. Often at times it can feel like a thankless job but our volunteers really are the strength and life blood of our beloved Association.

30-04-2012

April's the Month for Basketball

This month's calendar has been none stop with basketball, we've had the Be Active Western Stars heading to Sydney for Round 3 of the WNWBL, the long awaited Kevin Coombs Cup here in Perth & last but by no means least, the Be Active Perth Wheelcats took on Brisbane in their first home games for the year.

The Be Active Western Stars currently find them self 2nd on the WNWBL ladder despite only winning one game in round 3. They began the round with an unsettled start, as the plane was delayed, meaning the girls had to jump off the bus and straight on to the court, to face the Stacks Goudkamp Bears. Unfortunately the full day of travel was too much for the girls, going down to the Bears by 22 points.

After a disappointing 27 point loss to the Dandenong Rangers in their second game, the girls really brought it back in their final game against the Sydney Flames. The girls didn't have the best of starts losing Q1 10-2, however fought back in Q2 &Q3 and went into the last quarter trailing by 5 points. Q4 proved to be The Stars "finest hour" winning the final quarter 21-9 and taking the game by a 7 point margin! Fantastic work ladies.

Information and stats can be found be clicking here.

Despite a disappointing loss in the gold medal game against NSW, the Black Ducks played an exceptional tournament and really showed the rest of the country what WA was all about. For information on the week's events visit http://www.wheelchairsportswa.org.au/news/?article=188-black-ducks-take-the-silver-at-the-kevin-coombs-cup&month=04&year=2012

To finish off a busy week, The Be Active Perth Wheelcats kept their perfect season alive with a pair of wins over the Brisbane Spinning Bullets. The 43 and 41 point victories have consolidated the Be Active Perth Wheelcats spot on top of the NWBL Ladder as they were never really challenged by the Bullets. To find out more information on the Be Active Wheelcats games click here.

The Be Active Perth Wheelcats backed up their Brisbane series with a win on the road over the weekend to extend their streak to 10 consecutive wins find out more here.

24-04-2012

Black Ducks take the Silver at the Kevin Coombs Cup

After two years of waiting the Under 21s Kevin Coombs Championships was finally here, and the WA Black Ducks had their chance to shine again.

This Year's team was made up of 10 dedicated juniors, 5 Coaching Staff and an endless amount of friends and family supporting the team every step of the way.

Sadly due to a Gliders Camp Amber Merritt was unable to join the WA Black ducks in the fight to hold onto that championship cup, but with her motivational words of support she was beside them every step of the way, congratulating and encouraging each player to remember this opportunity and wear the black and gold jersey with pride.

WA Black Ducks

Georgia Inglis

Ryan Morich

Jake Kavanagh

Claude Moke

Stevie Shaw

Tyler Bunter

Robyn Lambird

Andy Dewberry

Chris Bonilla

Dan Palovich

Craig Bartlett (Head Coach)

Nick Radovich (Assistant Coach)

Kim Robbins (Assistant Coach)

Jo Morris (Physio)

Jessica Edwards (Team Manager)

WA Black Ducks played their first game of the tournament on Wednesday 18th April against NSW, unfortunately the game was a tough one and the black ducks fell short by 2 points. Captain Jake Kavanagh put this down to nerves as for some it was their very first tournament. Although, we couldn't come away with the win the young team put up a good fight and never gave up.

Game 2 and the ducks were up against Victoria; unfortunately we lost our youngest member of the team that day, Andy Dewberry, falling ill, meaning he was unable to play. The start of the game left a bit to be desired, meaning rotations were delayed to start with, however the guys picked up the pace and the whole team got there moment to shine, with the bench getting good minutes and Tyler and Chris scoring their first points in the black ducks uniform. Each player rose to the occasion in the Victoria game, which reflected in the final score, Black ducks 66 Victoria 31.

Game 3 and WA were set to play a full strength QLD team, their star players had flown in the previous night and were ready for our game, as the Black Ducks hadn't had the chance to eye up the full strength QLD team. Their game play was left up to the imagination of the Black Ducks, so all they could do was put in 100% and play the game the WA way, both teams played an exceptional game, and through hard work and determination the Black Ducks got up by 2 points, meaning we were set to play Vic in the semi finals later that day.

After a few hours rest WA Black Ducks hit the court, although the intensity had died down from the previous match the Black Ducks still but in a good game and all players got good minutes on the court, coming out on top 56 – 41.

The Following day was the Gold Medal Match and we were set to play NSW again, after learning from our previous games we thought we were well prepared to regain our win and take home that championship cup. However, NSW hit us hard in the 1st quarter and we just couldn't manage to break their press, going down 73-40.

After the devastating loss, everyone was disheartened and emotional, however the coaching team reminded the Ducks that the match wasn't a true reflection on their success, they were a strong and confident team with exceptional skills that should hold their heads high and be proud of what they had achieved.

As a team not only had they just won the Silver Medal at the Kevin Coombs cup but they had worked together, grown together, learnt together, won together and sadly lost together, but despite it all they came out a better team for it.

On behalf of Wheelchair Sports WA I'd like to say a massive well done and thank you to the Junior Team for all their hard work and determination, to Craig, Kim, Nick, Jo & all those who have helped the team train over the past few months, and last but not least a massive thank you to all the parents, friends and family, for all your time and support.

24-04-2012

All Heart: WA Paralympic Football Team at Nationals

From little things, big things grow. That's the message coming out of the WA Paralympic Football camp after the state team returned from their first ever national championships.

The event was held in Rockhampton, Queensland, from 12-16 of April and marked a historic occasion for football in Western Australia. Even though the team finished at the foot of the table, several major milestones were achieved.

After a respectable opening performance against the seasoned Queensland, WA recorded a 1-0 win against South Australia in what was described by Australian Head Coach Paul Brown as 'one of the best games ever seen at the nationals'.

Striker Chris Minutillo tucked the ball away in the bottom corner to get WA on the scoreboard. The boys in gold were then forced to defend staunchly for much of the second half as South Australia continually searched for an equalizer.

In the next match against Victoria, Michael Debenham scored early but a defensive error, followed by a late free kick from Victorian talisman Benn Roche meant that WA would lose narrowly (2-1).

Eventual champions New South Wales would account comfortably for the debutants, but WA didn't die wondering, continually pressing forward and playing some football that was not reflective of the scoreboard.

Success also came on an individual basis with Captain and former Wheelcat Chris Barty was awarded Goalkeeper of the Tournament and was named as the Best and Fairest player from Western Australia.

"It was an honour to be named goalkeeper of the tournament, I was pleased with my performance but to be honest I'm more proud of the team as a whole," he said.

"We were undermanned the whole tournament, but they guys never gave up, you can't ask for anything more. We surprised everybody with the quality of football we played and getting that win was a terrific reward for the guys."

"Michael Debenham has a massive engine on him and goes all day, whilst juniors Nick Prescott, Ben Tirabosco and Conrad Morris played with composure above their years and learnt a lot from the experience."

Barty also said that special mention had to go out to 42 year old Andrew 'Fergie' Staddle, who proved that age was no barrier.

"Fergie was great! You can't fault the guy for effort, he and Damo (McGay) were rocks at the back."

I'm already looking foward to next year, we'll all go back to our club teams and come back bigger and better."

The WA Paralympic Football program will take a short break before returning in mid-June. To keep up-to-date with all the latest, follow the team at www.facebook.com/waparalympicfootball

31-03-2012

Stars on Top at Halfway Point

The Be Active Western Stars have taken top spot on the WNWBL ladder after round 2 of season 2012. Travelling to Melbourne this past weekend to take on the Dandenong Rangers, QLD Minecraft Comets and North Sydney Bears, our beloved Stars won two out of their three games and take top spot going into round 3.

Game one of the weekend against the reigning champions and season favourites the Dandenong Rangers and our girls were far from outmatched. After getting jumped early, it was catch up basketball for the rest of the game for the Be Active Western Stars, but they did it in style, winning both the second and third quarters to reduce a 12 point quarter time margin to just 7 at the last change. Dandenong proved their class though running away with it in the last quarter to take the 17 point win. Amber Merritt continued to dominate the score sheet with 27 points with the help of Stars captain Clare Nott with 7 assists.

Game two against QLD and the Be Active Western Stars did this one easily, winning every quarter to run out 23 point winners. Every player hit the score sheet in an all around team display. Amber Merritt 27, Amanda Nott 13, Clare Burzynski 10, Sarah Vinci 8, Georgia Inglis 7 and Natalie Alexander with 2.

Game three against the North Sydney Bears and despite trailing 13-10 at quarter time, the Be Active Western Stars held the Bears to just 10 points for the rest of the game, including a 10-0 second quarter, Amber unstoppable with 32 points to go along with her 17 rebounds, Amanda Nott scored 10 of her own with 9 rebounds and captain Clare Nott bringing her team mates into the game with 9 assists.

Coach John Triscari could not be happier with the girls at the half way point of the season. All season he has continually praised the work ethic and commitment of the Stars. This was the year that everyone was going to have to step up and take their game to the next level.

'I'm just so proud of what the girls have been able to achieve so far this year' said Coach Triscari following the weekend's games.

The Be Active Western Stars are in action in Perth from June 1 - 3.

19-03-2012

National Handcycling Series Hits Perth

The National Handcycling Series hit Perth over the weekend with some of the fastest times of the summer posted by athletes. The annual event is the highlight on the handcycling calendar for our WA athletes and Wheelchair Sports WA and if you haven’t had a chance to watch these guys ride, make sure you come out and take a look in 2013. These guys are fast.

A 15km Time Trial on Saturday afternoon was followed by a 30km Road Race the following morning as a part of the 2012 Freeway Bike Hike.

Conditions were ideal for Time Trialing on Day one of the Series Round and Wheelchair Sports WA was lucky to have been able to enlist the help of some volunteer course marshals, amateur photographers and Peter Meyer from the Australian Time Trials Association (ATTA). Results from the Champion Lakes Time Trial are below:

MH1

Craig Parsons (WA) – 29:12 (av. Speed 30.82 km/hr)

MH2

Michael Taylor (VIC) – 24:17 (av. Speed 37.06 km/hr)

Peter Allen (WA) – 26:09 (av. Speed 34.40 km/hr)

Alex Welsh (VIC) – 27:10 (av. Speed 33.11 km/hr)

James Ormerod (WA) – 28:46 (av. Speed 31.28 km/hr)

Harley Quinlan (QLD) – 29:20 (av. Speed 30.67 km/hr)

Darron Shields (QLD) – 31:09 (av. Speed 28.88 km/hr)

WH2

Tiffiney Perry (NZL) – 32:12 (av. Speed 27.94 km/hr)

Louise Mofflin (WA) – 35:08 (av. Speed 25.61 km/hr)

MH3

Nigel Barley (WA) – 22:25 (av. Speed 40.14 km/hr)

Richard Williams (WA) – 29:12 (av. Speed 30.83 km/hr)

MH4

Stuart Tripp (VIC) – 23:09 (av. Speed 38.85 km/hr)

Backing up the following day meant an extremely early start for all of the athletes. The most encouraging thing to see at the Freeway Bike Hike was the support of the WA based handcyclists for the Road Race with a total of19 starting handcyclists. This was the biggest number of handcyclists ever to enter the Freeway Bike Hike.

To be included as a race in the Perth Round of the National Handcycling Series athlete were required to enter the 30km, Currambine to Perth Race. WA’s Nigel Barley and Queenslands Stuart Tripp made the journey down to Mandurah to tackle the 70km course and both posted average speeds in excess of 41km/hr.

The Road Race Results for the Perth Round of the National Handcycling Series were as follows:

H3

1.Richard Williams (WA)

H2

1.Michael Taylor (VIC)
2.Peter Allen (WA)
3.Alex Welsh (VIC)
4.Harley Quinlan (QLD)
5.James Ormerod (WA)
6.Darron Shields (QLD)
7.Jim Cairns (WA)
8.Geoff Hart (WA)

H1

1.Craig Parsons (WA)
2.Paul Sayer (WA)/Scott Hewitt (WA)

WH3

1.Tiffiney Perry (NZL
2.Louise Mofflin (WA)
3.Christine Kerr (WA)

Wheelchair Sports WA would like to sincerely thank all of the athletes that came from far and wide to be a part of the Perth round. We would also like to extend a sincere thank you to all of the volunteers that helped us make the round a possibility. Wayne Allen, Peter ‘Yogi’ Houlis, Jenni Banks, Peter Meyer and his team at ATTA, Brent Klesura and anybody else that I may have missed. The round would not have existed without your support and we sincerely thank you and look forward to expanding the round in 2013 with a potential third ride.

The WA team of; Nigel Barley, Peter Allen, Craig Parsons, James Ormerod, Louise Mofflin and Richard Williams have a few weeks off now to prepare themselves for an assault on National in Brisbane next month. Good luck team.

29-02-2012

Road to London: Darren Gardiner

On target for his fourth Paralympic Games, Powerlifter Darren Gardiner, says London 2012 will be his last. Nicknamed 'Bear', due to the roar he makes in pre-competition warm up, he's a great example of a power athlete who keeps it simple and gets results.

While ‘Bear’ goes into every competition with the mentality of, ‘whatever he can lift on the day is the best that could be done, I know everyone here at Wheelchair Sports WA will be hoping the two time silver medallist is rewarded for his many years of hard work and countless hours in the gym by bringing home a well deserved Paralympic gold medal.

After what could only be described as a disastrous 2010 where Darren did not compete in any event due to injury, his 2011 season was an amazing comeback, culminating in being named Wheelchair Sports WA’s Athlete of the Year.

Bear cleaned up at the ARAFURA Games in 2011 lifting and astonishing 230kg at the event, claiming gold in the Super-Heavy weight division as well as the overall gold for all body weights and marking his return to the international powerlifting stage.

Darren then headed overseas to the Para Games in Breda, Holland with great expectations, being in the best shape of his career. Unfortunately on arrival in Europe Darren was struck down by illness which spread through the Australian team. Despite this, Darren still managed a 227kg lift to secure a gold medal for the Super-Heavy Weight division and third place overall against all body weights.

More recently, Darren has finished 4th overall at the 4th Annual International Fazza in Dubai with lifts of 221kg and 226kgs. Darren's final lift of 228kg was rules a fould by two of the three referees whioch would have given him 3rd place overall.

Currently ranked 4th in the world, Darren plans to relocate to Brisbane in the months prior to the London Games to spend more one on one time with his coach Ray Epstein.

As the London Paralympics approach, check out Darren and his thoughts in the lead up to his very last Paralympic Games.

26-02-2012

Wheelcats on Top Early

As the London 2012 Paralympic Games approach, Be Active Perth Wheelcats Players Shaun Norris, Adam Deans and Kim Robins are using the 2012 National Wheelchair Basketball League as the perfect preparation to press their claims for a place in the Australian Wheelchair Basketball team.

Shaun tasted success with the Rollers in 2008 bringing home a Gold Medal from Beijing and is confident of Australia’s ability to defend their place as the number one ranked team in the world.

"I mean its tournament basketball and anything can happen, but you can only control what you do and we will be as prepared as we possibly can by the time that first game tips off" said Shaun Norris.

“The next six months for me are all about preparing my body for London and hopefully win another Championship with the Be Active Perth Wheelcats”

The Be Active Perth Wheelcats have sent a message to the rest of Australia this weekend by taking top spot on the National Wheelchair Basketball League Ladder after beating 2011 Champions the Wollongong Rollerhawks.

Based out of the Herb Graham Recreation Centre, the Wheelcats are the most successful team to ever play in the National Wheelchair Basketball League winning seven championships since 2002. In 2011 the Wollongong Rollerhawks broke the Wheelcats winning streak, beating the Perth team in the final to claim their first national title.

Without the services of Paralympians Justin Eveson, Brad Ness, Michael Hartnett and Clare Burzynski in 2012, the odds were stacked against the Wheelcats as Wollongong added three national players to their roster in the off season.

The 14 point win over the Wollongong team, to go along with 24 point win over Sydney and 32 point win over Dandenong is testament to the development work that goes on at Wheelchair Sports WA, headed up by Head Coach Kelvin Browner and Junior Coach Craig Bartlett.

‘The most impressive thing from the weekend’s results was the ability for us to be able to spread the load amongst the entire playing squad’ said coach Browner.

Full stats and game scores at www.nwblaus.com

The Be Active Perth Wheelcats open their home account on April 21^st. To find out when you can come and see the Be Active Perth Wheelcats in action, checkout www.wheelchairsportswa.org.au.

31-01-2012

Junior Camp 2012 set to be a Scorcher

This years Junior Camp was set to be a scorcher with temperatures soaring past 40 degrees, we were in for a hot one!! So with our sun cream and water bottles at the ready, we prepared for a weekend packed full of fun and adventure at the picturesque Point Walter Recreation Camp.

On Friday afternoon, camp members began to arrive, with bags bigger than themselves and enough snacks to feed an army, everyone settled in for the weekend.

After dinner we all meet in the conference room to tackle the Wheelchair Sports WA 2012 Junior Camp Quiz! The group was split up into five strangely named groups, as they battled it out to beat each other. With the surprise blindfold Pictionary and charades round, we managed to have a giggle at our not so great pieces of art and our surprisingly great acting skills. Three rounds down and two exciting bonus rounds later, we were all quizzed out, and headed off to bed to prepare for the day ahead.

With the mercury predicted to rise past 41 degrees on Saturday, and a morning packed full of water activities, we knew we had to be prepared for the heat.

After breakfast we all headed down to the river where we were joined by Gary Lees, Kim Ellwood and our newest board member Ross Glendinning.

The Point Walter Staff instructed us on the safety aspects of Raft Building and Paddling. Eager to get in the water and cool down, the juniors listened carefully, split into two groups and began their morning of activities. With some brave members and some very helpful individuals we all enjoyed a morning by the river.

After a hard push up the hill we headed back to camp to enjoy some lunch and an afternoon of free time. Tired and burnt out from the morning's activities everyone spent the afternoon by the pool, playing games, socialising and enjoying the freedom.

As the afternoon rolled by and everyone had turned into prunes, we got out the pool and headed to the canteen for some well earned dinner. The evening ahead was a relaxed one, while half of us sat in the cool air conned conference room (the favorite room on camp) watching a movie, the rest went for a night time swim.

After a good night's sleep and a few aching muscles, the kids packed up their things and headed to the canteen for their last breakfast on camp. With the water activities out of the way we headed to the other side of camp to be briefed on the flying fox and the all new abseiling wall.

As ever the flying fox was a great hit, with the kids hanging from their harnesses every way they could. We had some very brave jumpers, who plucked up the courage to face their fears and take the jump.

With the abseiling wall being a new activity most people were excited to have a go! With a pulley system powered by our volunteers and muscley members of the group, we hoisted most of the juniors to the top of the wall, where they took the drop with great bravery.

After the morning activities were finished, we headed back to our rooms to collect our final things and say our last good bye's, as parents came to collect everyone.

This year's camp was one to remember, everyone was so well behaved and a pleasure to look after. On behalf of Wheelchair Sports WA I would like to say a massive thank you to our amazing volunteers; Helen Herbert, Mandy Grauze, Lindsay Cumner, Amanda Simmons, Michelle Wilkinson and Mark Bannister, and the continuous support from the DCF without you none of this could be possible.

Once again I would like to say thank you to everyone who came to camp and to the Point Walter Staff for looking after us. I look forward to seeing you again next year.

To see photos from the camp please visit us on facebook at

http://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=oa.10150583683988586&;type=1

30-11-2011

Sports Awards 2011

Sports Star of the Year: All the Winners

The Esplanade Hotel in Fremantle played host to the Sports Star of the Year Awards for 2011. The red carpet was rolled out as we took the opportunity to celebrate the achievements of our inspirational sporting teams and athletes and say thankyou to our amazing volunteers, supporters and staff who all play significant roles in supporting our athletes and association in 2011.

The First awards to be presented for the night were the 2011 Super Series Awards which awards athletes who have made the biggest improvements in their sport for the past 12 months with trophies and prize money. The winners of the Super Series Awards for 2011 were:

Field

3rd Luther Frost-Barnes

2nd Natalie Alexander

1st Chris Beer

Swimming

3rd Alexa De Klerk

2nd Liam Smith

1st Megan Saggers

Cycling

3rd Louise Mofflin

2nd Nigel Barley

1st James Ormerod

Track

1st Andrew Bannister

Most Valuble Player's

The team MVP awards followed which awarded both the Be Active Western Stars and Be Active Perth Wheelcats most valuable players for season 2011. After being named as high-point MVP, leading point scorer for the Women's National Wheelchair Basketball League and all star 5 position, I don't think there were any surprises when Amber Merritt was named as the best for the Stars in season 2011. Amber's year also included dominant performances at the Women's U25 World Championships, playing an enormous role in guiding the Devils to a Silver medal at the inaugural tournament.

With a bundle of National Wheelchair Basketball League awards to his name this year, including selection in the all star 5, mid-point MVO and overall MVP, it was hard to go past Shaun Norris as the Be Active Perth Wheelcat's best for 2011. By Shaun Norris standards, his 2011 was not his best but he was still able to average over 24 points and 9 assists per game and was a deserving winner of the award.

Life Membership

The next major award for the evening was the presentation of the 2011 Life Membership award and there is no one more deserving of this award than this year's inductee, Wayne Robins. Despite sitting on the board and having the give final approval, the Board of WSWA was able to get Wayne's nomination and acceptance approved without his knowledge.

Wayne's time at WSWA spans more than 15 years and while he currently serves on the Board of WSWA as vice president, his achievements and contributions to the Association go far beyond that to include:

· Wheelchair Sports WA Junior Committee Chairman 2000-2009

· Volunteer of the Year for Wheelchair Sports WA 2000, 2001 and 2005

· Wheelchair Sports Australia Board Member 2004 – 2009

· WA representative on Wheelchair Sports Australia Junior Committee 2007 – 2009

· Volunteer for junior sports program, recreation and social events from 1995 – 2011

· Staff Escort for WA team at 1997 Junior National Games in Ballarat

· Team Manager, for WA team at 1999 Junior National Games in Perth, 2001 Brisbane, 2003 Adelaide, 2005 Sydney, 2007 Sydney and 2009 Melbourne.

· Team Manager, Junior National Wheelchair Basketball Championship in Ballarat 2002 and Sydney 2004.

VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR

There is no question that WSWA's passionate and dedicated volunteers are the lifeblood of the Association nothing the Wheelchair Sports does could be possible without them. As there are every year, there were some outstanding nominees for this award, but the selection committee voted Rod Hislop as the winner of the Volunteer of the Year for 2011. In the past 12 months Rod has given an enormous amount of time and energy to the Association, running workshops for wheelchair basketball referees to introduce new referees to the sport, supporting National initiatives in the sport of wheelchair basketball by offering as many as six visiting referees during the season accommodation and transport at no cost to either WSWA or any of the National Programs. Rod's efforts have seen number increase from as little as one wheelchair basketball referee to a pool of as many as eight referees by the end of season 2011, a handful of who have been fast tracked into National Programs. Congratulations and thank you Rod for all of your tireless work during 2011.

BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

The next award to be presented was the Breakthrough Athlete of the Year award, formerly the Rookie of the Year. The Breakthrough Athlete of the Year award is presented to the athlete who has made a significant advance in their sporting career in the past year, stepping it up to the next level on their way to achieving their ultimate goal. This again was another incredibly strong category with the winner being Chris Barty for the sport of Paralympic Football. Chris has recently switched sports from wheelchair basketball to paralympic football where in the past year he has been included into the Australian Pararoos squad and was extremely unlucky to miss out on selection for the 2011 World Cup. With no WA team at Nationals, Chris did the unthinkable in 2011 and pulled on the big V to play for Victoria, keeping a clean sheet in the 3rd place playoff game medal game to secure bronze. Chris and Paralympic Football coach David Cantoni have built a Paralympic Football program here in WA now to a point where, for the first time ever, WA will be represented at the 2012 National Paralympic Football Championships.

COACH AND JUNIOR SPORTS STAR OF THE YEAR

Coach of the Year was awarded in 2011 to Louise Sauvage who coaches our very own Madison De Rozario. Despite being based in Sydney, Louise has done an outstanding job with Madi and coaches through correspondence, training camps and regular trips across the country. Under the tutelage of Louise, Madison has gone from strength to strength in the past 12 months with her list of achievements including:

· 5th place finishes at IPC World Championships in 3 events

· 4th in the 800m racing up a class at the IAAF World Championship invitational only event

· 4 gold and 1 silver at National Championships 2011

· 8 Medals in Switzerland where she posted A-Qualifying times for the London Paralympics in 4 events

· 3 Open National Records

· Current Number 1 World Ranking for the Women's T53 800m

With her list of achievements then, it came as no surprise to most when Madison was named the WSWA Junior Athlete of the Year for 2011. Madison won the award ahead of Amber Merritt and Madeleine Scott who both had stellar years. With about 10 months to go before the London Games, Madison is looking at pre-selection for the Australian Team in January if she can perform at the Summer Down Under Series.

SPORTS STAR OF THE YEAR

The final award for the evening is the big one. The Sports Star of the Year award. Every year the selection panel has tremendous difficulty selecting the winner of this and all of the awards. Comparing achievements and athletes across a variety of sports is an unenviable task and this year was no exception with the voting for this award closer than ever. The three finalists were Nigel Barley (handcycling), Madison De Rozario (athletics) and Darren Gardiner (powerlifting) and after each of the five independent selection panel committee members voted, the three athletes could not be split. On a count back the three-way tie was narrowed down to a two-way tie with the joint winners for 2011 being Nigel Barley and Darren Gardiner.

Nigel began his year like he does most, claiming his 7th National Championship in both the Road Race and Time Trial disciplines of handcycling. From there Nigel competed in a series of World Cup events in the lead up to the 2011 UCI Paracycling World Championships:

The first World Cup event was in Sydney, where amazingly Nigel crashed in the Road Race but still managed to pull himself back onto the road and finish the race with a Bronze medal, finishing only 27 seconds behind the winner. Bouncing back the following day, Nigel went one better to claim silver in the time trial behind current and reigning world champion from France Joel Jeanott.

Nigel then went to Spain to compete in round two of the UCI World Cup where he finished 6th in both the Road Race and

Time Trial before travelling to Holland for the Paracycling World Championships in the latter parts of 2011. Nigel finished 6th in the Road Race again but amazingly just 3 seconds split the first seven riders. Backing up the following day in the Time Trial, Nigel again was close to medalling, finishing in 7th place and within a minute of the winner.

Nigel's performances throughout the year have him clearly ranked as the best handcyclist in the country and he has his sights firmly on selection for the London Paralympic Games.

Darren 'The Bear' Gardiner wins this award thanks to a stellar 2011 season, which saw him win every competition he entered. Darren started the year by again wining another Australian National Championship, before taking part in the 2011 ARAFURA Games in Darwin, which also doubled as the Oceania Powerlifting Championships. Lifting and astonishing 230kg at the event, Darren claimed gold in the Super-Heavy weight division as well as the overall gold for all body weights.

Darren then headed overseas to the Para Games in Breda, Holland with great expectations, being in the best shape of his career. Unfortunately on arrival in Europe Darren was struck down by illness which spread through the Australian team. Despite this, Darren still managing a 227kg lift to secure a gold medal for the Super-Heavy Weight division and third place overall against all body weights.

After what could only be described as a disastrous 2010, where Darren did not compete in any event due to injury, his 2011 season was an amazing comeback.

Thank you to Ashley Morrison for his efforts on stage as the host of the 2011 Sports Awards.

02-11-2011

Sports Awards Winners 2012

The 17^th Annual Sports Star of the Year Awards was held at Patterson’s Stadium on Saturday 17^th November. The venue was filled to maximum capacity with over 200 guests as the association celebrated what was another fantastic year for Wheelchair Sports.

The first award for the night was presented to Gordon Cowper for his outstanding efforts in fundraising for the association.

Next up were the Super Series awards:

Field

3^rd- Josh Cavanagh

2^nd- Luther Frost-Barnes

1^st- Chris Beer

Swimming

3^rd- Ben Popham

2^nd- Nicole Scott

1^st- Carys Munks

Cycling

3^rd- Peter Allen

2^nd- Craig Parsons

1^st- Nigel Barley

Track

3^rd- Chris Minutillo

2^nd– Sian Glanney

1^st- Mark Bannister

Amber Merritt won the Be Active Western Stars MVP for the second year in a row capping off a sensational year for the 19 year old. Amber led the league in scoring and was named High Point MVP in addition to earning a place in the All-Star 5.

Also for the second consecutive year Shaun Norris took out the Be Active Perth Wheelcats MVP award. Captaining the team for the first time Shaun led the team to a silver medal whilst individually he won the Mid Point MVP and selection in the NWBL All-Star 5.

The night also saw the 7th inductee to the Wheelchair Sports WA Hall of Fame. Long serving CEO and six-time Paralympian Bruce Wallrodt was honoured for his 20 years of sporting achievements. Bruce’s long list of achievements include four gold, two silver and two bronze Paralympic medals as well as nine world and six Australian records.

From 1989-90 Bruce held both WAIS and AIS scholarships. Bruce was also awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in 1992 for his outstanding contribution to disability sport.

Des “Doc” Doherty has been honoured as the 19^th life member of the association after more than 15 years of service to the organisation. Doc’s passion has always been junior sport and after joining with his son Shaun in 1994 Doc has volunteered at 13 National Junior Championships

Doc has previously won the Volunteer of the Year award twice in 2007-08 and was a very deserving winner of the Life membership award for 2012. In addition to this award Doc was also recognised nationally with the Lord Taverner’s Award.

Wheelchair Sports WA would like to congratulate all the award winners for 2012 and thank Pattersons Stadium for hosting the event.

02-09-2011

Road to London: Madison De Rozario

Friday 2nd September 2011

Wheelchair Sports WA’s, Madison De Rozario is preparing herself for an assault on the 2012 London Paralympics.

Madison first took up wheelchair racing in October 2006 and since then she has made it her main goal to represent Australia in the London Paralympics for 2012. Her dream was realised 4 years early however as at 14 years of age Madison competed for Australia at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, in which she won a silver medal for the 4x 100 team relay. Impressively, Madison also made the finals in the Women’s T54 100m at Beijing to rank her among the world’s elite.

Now 17, Madison has already set A-Qualifying times in the 100m, 200m, 400m and will hopefully add relays to her schedule for the London Paralympics. Her current status in the world has her ranked 4^th in the Women’s 100m, 3^rd in the 200m and 4^th in the 400m, so she is well poised to bring home her first individual Paralympic medal.

Madison’s last 2 years since returning from major surgery has been littered with gold. At the 2010 IWAS World Junior Games in Switzerland she won gold medals from six events and broke junior world records in the 100m, 200m and 800m.

Earlier this year, Madison De Rozario, broke the ten year Australian under 20’s record in the 800m with a record time of 2:00.76. Madison has brought home five gold medals from the five events she entered at the 2011 NSW State Championships. She also brought home a swag of medals from the Swiss Nationals earlier this year and has in the past 2 years won 10 medals at Australian National Championships.

In 2008 Madison was named the Junior Sports Star of the Year, which she says is her one of the greatest honours ever bestowed upon her. An award she also won in 2010. Madison currently holds 24 Australian, two Oceania and three Underage World records and we will all be watching with excitement when she hits the track in London in a year’s time.

You can now follow Madi on Twitter as we are inside one year until the London Paralympics. Simply click the link: http://twitter.com/#!/madiderozario and follow all her progress. Or you can check out her website at, www.madid.com.au and catch up on all the latest news and results for Madison as well as purchase exclusive Madi D merchandise.

27-07-2011

Wheelcats Perfect Start to the Season

The Be Active Perth Wheelcats have started their 2011 campaign in a winning fashion. The team, who will be looking for their sixth consecutive National Wheelchair Basketball League (NWBL) Championship this years is a perfect 3 wins from 3 games after following up a 100-81 home victory against last year’s grand finalists the Wollongong Rollerhawks with a clean sweep of their Dandenong series.

Exactly 7 days following their season opener at Herb Graham the Be Active Perth Wheelcats hit the floor in Dandenong to record a 60 point win on Saturday, only to be backed up by a 47 point win in Sunday’s game.

For photos from the weekend visit: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.10150229095448586

A 52-21 point first half set up the win for the Wheelcats on the Saturday night with the whole travelling team managing to hit the score sheet. Justin Eveson (27 points, 17 rebounds, 9 assists) led the way with Shaun Norris (24 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists) not far behind him. Back from his recent season in Barcelona, Kim Robins impressed with 20 points, shooting at 82% while superstar of the future Nick Radovich chimed in with 17 points of his own.

The Cats again go off to a flying start on Sunday with a 57-30 first half before taking their foot off the pedal to cruise to a 47 point win. Justin Eveson was again just 1 assists shy of a triple double with 38 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists. Kim Robins again was damaging on the scoreboard with 25 points.

After a week off now the top of the ladder Be Active Perth Wheelcats return to Herb Graham this weekend for a 2 game series against the Adelaide Thunder. Fans of the Wheelcats don’t forget to join number 1 ticket holder Ernie Dingo and join the Be Active Wheelcats Supporters Club for 2011.

You can now join Wheelchair Sports WA on Facebook, Youtube and Twitter. Simply follow the links below and follow all of the latest news and results from the world of Wheelchair Sports WA.

06-07-2011

Stars in Second at Halfway Point

After dropping just 1 game during the opening round of the Women’s National Wheelchair Basketball League (WNWBL) in Dandenong, the Be Active Western Stars were keen to put on a good show in front of their home crowd this past weekend in round 2 of the WNWBL.

The Girls cruised through their opening three fixtures against the North Sydney Bears, Sydney Uni Flames and Queensland Comets before fronting up to league leaders the Dandenong Rangers for the final game of the round. Despite the Dandenong consisting of 6 current Australian Gliders players the Be Active Western Stars really pushed the Rangers hard to eventually go down by 8 points in an arm wrestle. In the end Dandenong just had too many scoring options for the Stars to handle.

The results are encouraging for Stars fans with Amber Merritt demonstrating all weekend why she has been called the next big thing in women’s wheelchair basketball. The 18 year old scored at an average of 23 points per game over the weekend to continue to lead the league in scoring. Amber also averaged a massive 17 rebounds per game to really assert herself as one of the dominant players in the WNWBL.

The two able bodied Stars in the line up helped provide some high point support with Sonja Mohnen scoring just over 9 points and 7 rebounds per game and Amanda Nott also chipping in to average 7 points and 7 rebounds per game for the weekend.

Clare Burzynski led front the front all weekend shouldering the bulk of the workload, carrying the ball to average 8 assists per game which doesn’t include the space and gaps she was able to create for the high pointers. Clare, along with Sarah Vinci, Georgia Inglis and Natalie Alexander were all able to pick opposition defences apart, allowing the likes of Amber, Sonja and Amanda to roll inside the keyway and take relatively unchallenged shots.

It would also be remiss of me not to mention Mandy Bonavita. So often a cool head under pressure, Mandy’s leadership amongst the group is one of the reasons the women’s program here in Western Australia is in such good shape. The development of players like Sarah Vinci, Georgia Inglis, Natalie Alexander and Amber Merritt over the past 12 months has been really impressive and a credit to coach John Triscari and the leadership of senior players Mandy Bonavita and Clare Burzynski. Wheelchair basketball fans in Perth have plenty to look forward to in the coming years.

The Be Active Western Stars currently sit in outright second, a clear 2 games ahead of the third placed North Sydney Bears. The girls travel to Brisbane in August for round 3 of the WNWBL and another crack at league leaders the Dandenong Rangers.

Wheelchair Sports WA would like to thank the Department of Sport and Recreation for their support through the hosting National Events Program. The State Government through the Department of Sport and Recreation and Lotterywest is a major supporter of the Wheelchair Sports WA and the Women's National Wheelchair Basketball League in Western Australia. Sport and recreation builds stronger, healthier, happier and safer communities.

All the photos will be available in the coming days on Wheelchair Sports WA's Facebook page so click below and become a fan.

16-06-2011