Working group looks to drive growth of wheelchair basketball

With rising interest in basketball in Australia, Disability Sport Australia (DSA) and Basketball Australia are taking the opportunity to build the discipline of wheelchair basketball throughout the country.

To drive this comprehensive review of wheelchair basketball in Australia, DSA and Basketball Australia have formed a joint working group - consisting of Jenni Cole, Nick Taylor, Matt Wells, Lorraine Landon and Libby Woods - with the objectives to review and provide recommendations for the improvement of the management and governance of the sport, for the improvements in local and national competitions, including athlete identification and pathways, and regarding the membership of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF), including feedback from the IWBF on what they are seeking from the Australian member.

Keen to ensure that wheelchair athletes get continued support, DSA Chief Executive Jenni Cole said that she was looking forward to establishing a new era and having more international competitions in Australia.

Cole explains "our wheelchair basketballers are amongst the best in the world on a consistent basis.

"We have helped to build a pathway over many years and now we have the opportunity to see that flourish by working together and supporting the athletes who are striving every day to be the best they can."

Passionate about promoting all aspects of the sport, Basketball Australia Chief Executive Jerril Rechter advises "wheelchair basketball has been a part of our sport for as long as I can remember.

"There are more and more opportunities to promote this area of the game and together with DSA, we want to ensure our best athletes get the opportunity to represent their country on home soil. With the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics just around the corner, now is the time for us to put these fabulous athletes on display."

Broad stakeholder consultation is a critical part of this review, and as a first step administrators and participants across the sport will soon receive an invitation to complete a survey on the way in which Wheelchair Basketball should be administered and promoted to ensure a strong future.

Being distributed today, the Wheelchair Basketball Survey will remain open for two weeks.

Following this, the responses will be used to help drive changes designed to ensure the best possible future for Wheelchair Basketball and those that participate in it.