Home Newsletter 2011 November - December 2011

November - December 2011

Australian Athletes With a Disability

The Staff and Board of Australian Athletes with a Disability would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

The AAWD office will be closed from Friday 23 December 2011 and will re-open at 9.00am Monday 9 January 2012. If there are any urgent enquiries during that time please call the office line and leave a message. We will get back to you as soon as possible.

New Streamlined Future for AAWD

AAWD is pleased to announce its new organisational structure. Following a recent review of membership, AAWD and its members agreed to amalgamate their national operations and form a combined national organisation. This decision is a momentous occasion for AAWD and its members. AAWD has now extended its membership to the members of its current members, being Australian Sports Organisation for the Disabled (ASOD), Cerebral Palsy Australian Sports and Recreation Federation (CPASRF) and Wheelchair Sports Australia (WSA). The new structure will allow for simpler corporate governance, streamlining and better use of available resources. AAWD will become one national voice for its members. The merging of traditions and operations into a single common pool of experience, awareness and purpose will also enable real progress in the evolution of sport for people with disabilities. The AAWD Board will also look to increase its number of board members to broaden its skill set and provide greater resources to support the AAWD business.

AAWD Website

If you haven’t already, please visit our website where you will find an array of information including the latest sports news, event details, sports information and useful links to other National Sports Organisations and State Sports Organisations for people with a Disability. The AAWD bi-monthly Newsletter will now be distributed through the website providing disability sporting news and updates from around Australia. To ensure you receive your free newsletter, make sure you click the ‘subscribe’ button on our home page.

When you complete the subscription form, you will also notice a request for information regarding participation. Please take a few minutes to complete the form and help us collect participation data for disability sports in Australia. This important information enables AAWD to monitor the growth of disability sport and can play a part in attracting greater support.

Log on at www.sports.org.au and stay tuned for further updates.

AWARDS

2011 ASC Media Awards

The winners of the 2011 ASC Media Awards were announced at a gala presentation at Melbourne Cricket Ground on November 29, 2011.

Congratulations to all winners and finalists. For a full list of winners and finalists please visit http://www.ausport.gov.au/news/releases/story_465485_masters_wins_lifetime_achievement_award

2012 London paralympics

Don Perriman has been named as Chief Classifier. Matt Wells and Philip Haines have been named as referees, by the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation for the 2012 London Paralympic Games.

Wheelchair Basketball

2012 Asia Oceania Zone Championships

The Australian Women’s wheelchair basketball team (Gliders) and the Australian Men’s wheelchair basketball team (Rollers) have secured their spot in the 2012 London Paralympics with a top two finish at the IWBF Asia Oceania Wheelchair Basketball Championships, which doubled as the 2012 London Paralympic qualifiers.

Teams from Chinese Taipei, Iraq, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea competed in the Men’s division and China, Japan and South Korea in the Women’s division, at the week-long tournament to secure the remaining spots for the 2012 London Paralympic Games.

Gliders defeated China in the Finals with a close finish of 45 – 44 while the Rollers defeated Japan 69 – 48.

Helen Rosenberg, Australian wheelchair basketball official, gained IWBF International Referee accreditation at the Asia-Oceania Zone Championships.

WNWBL

In 2012, the MineCraft Comets will be back for a second season of the WNWBL and will compete against 2011 Champions Victoria Dandenong Rangers, along with the Sydney University Flames, Stacks GoudKamp Bears and The Be Active Western Stars.

Teams will play five minor rounds with the season tipping off on 16-18 March at Sydney University Sports and Aquatic Centre. Round Two 30 March – 1 April at Dandenong Basketball Stadium, Round Three 13-15 April at the North Sydney Indoor Sports Centre, Round Four 4-6 May at the Logan Metro Indoor Sports Centre, Round Five 1-3 June at the Herb Graham Recreation Centre. The 2012 WNWBL Finals will be held 22-24 June at the Dandenong Basketball Stadium.

For more information on the WNWBL, fixtures, FIBA live stats and results from the 2011 season visit http://www.wnwbl.basketball.net.au/

NWBL

In 2012, six teams will battle it out for the National Championships including 2011 Champions Wollongong Roller Hawks, Adelaide Thunder, The Be Active Perth Wheelcats, RSL Queensland Spinning Bullets, Sydney Uni WheelKings and Victoria Dandenong Rangers.

The season will tip off with all teams travelling to Dandenong for Round One, being played as a cluster round 24-26 February 2011.

Teams will begin the Home and Away season with Round Two 10-11 March 2012.

For fixtures, results and latest news on the NWBL please visit http://www.nwblaus.com

Boccia

For more information on Boccia in all states please visit www.boccia.com.au or call 0401 999 822.

Cerebral Palsy Football 7-A-Side

If you are interested in finding out more about CP Football please email David Campbell  ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) or phone 0413 713 368 after business hours.

Volleyball

1^st Ambank Beach Volleyball Masters

Teams from Asia and Europe competed in the first WOVD Beach Volleyball event, Ambank Beach Volleyball Masters, 25-28 October, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Australia Team comprised of Coach Bill McHoul (VIC), and athletes Jason Potts (Captain – SA), Brett Holcombe (VIC) and Nick Coburn (VIC).

The Australian team came 7^th after drawing Poland (eventual winners) and Germany (silver medal) in their pool matches.

The Australian team also completed a pre-tournament training camp in Singapore 21-24 October before travelling to Malaysia.

You can follow the Australian Standing Beach Volleyball Team on Facebook by visiting https://www.facebook.com/pages/Aus-Standing-Beach-Volleyball/273609332673353?sk=info

For more detailed information, about sitting standing or deaf volleyball go to the Volleyball CONNECT page on the AVF website http://avf.org.au/index.php?id=802.

Lawn Bowls

2012 Lawn Bowls Multi Disability National Championships

The 2012 Lawn Bowls Multi-Disability National Championships will be held 4 – 8 June 2012, at the Raymond Terrace Bowling Club, Port Stephens, NSW.

For further information on Lawn Bowls in your state please visit

http://www.sports.org.au/component/content/article/55.html and follow the links to your state.

Wheelchair Rugby

2012 Asia Oceania Championships

The Australian Steelers solidified their place at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, after finishing first at the 2011 Asia-Oceania Championships, which doubled as the 2012 London Paralympic qualifier.

Australia took out the title of Asia-Oceania Champions with a 59 - 41 victory over Japan in the finals and finished the Championships undefeated. Japan’s 47 - 45 win over New Zealand in the semi-final round was enough to qualify for London 2012.

Australia and Japan join the United States, Canada, Sweden, Belgium, and host country Great Britain who have already qualified.

NWRL

At the 2011 Wheelchair Rugby Workshop hosted by Wheelchair Sports Australia, the decision was made to focus on development and player participation for the 2012 National Wheelchair Rugby League.

In 2012, the League will change to become a development series (National Wheelchair Rugby Series - NWRS) to allow greater player participation and development opportunities. We are once again very excited about the upcoming season and are looking forward to a great year.

The 2012 NWRS will incorporate two stand alone tournaments and one National Wheelchair Rugby Championships.

For further information on the 2012 NWRS please visit www.nwrl.sportingpulse.net

Referees

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

If anyone is interested in becoming a referee, please contact your state Wheelchair Sports office or Wheelchair Sports Australia ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )