Posts tagged ‘Wheelchair basketball’
Searching for Gold
On the Eve of the Paralympics opening ceremony, Britain’s team have been given a target of 103 medals at the games. The target has been set by the government’s funding body UK Sport and was based on data from all 18 of the Paralympic sports that they have funded. The collective range that they compiled was for Team GB to achieve between 95-145 medals.
This may not sound that unreasonable as GB have finished second on the medal tally in the past three games. They expect a return of 40-50 medals in Swimming, 15-23 in Para-cycling and 8-10 in Para-Equestrian dressage.
Britain’s Paralympic campaign has been backed by GBP49million, so they should be high achievers when the games begin.
Interesting in the build up very few British papers have highlighted any Australian athletes as ones to look out for. In fact in Wheelchair basketball where the Australian Rollers are the current Gold medalists, they have stated that the USA and Canada are favourites with Team GB also expected to medal. No doubt the Rollers will use that as motivation and can rise to the occasion and go back to back!
Heat on Fire
The Alcohol Think again Perth Heat really are becoming the front runner nationally when it comes to Baseball, and maybe one of the leading teams in Western Australian sport.
The Heat are looking for back to back Australian Baseball League titles and not many other teams in WA have achieved that in recent years, the WA Pearls (Volleyball with 3) and the Perth Wheelcats (Wheelchair Basketball with 6) are two.
With their victory over the Brisbane Bandits the Heat are just one win away from securing the number one seed position going into the finals series later this month.
They take on the second placed Canberra Cavalry this week.
Congratulations to all concerned, playing, coaching and administration staff on getting the team to this stage, fingers crossed you can go all the way, again!
Tonight on Not the Footy Show – 13 Jan 2010
Not the Footy Show is back after a short break and we’re looking forward to another magnificent sporting year ahead of us.
We started off the year by taking winners to our last competition to an exclusive preview of “Invictus” the movie which is due to be released 21st January. This powerful story set around the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa is one of the most downloaded films on the internet. After watching it on Monday night we can understand why and highly recommend it.
In 2010 we are confident that we will see many more Western Australian triumphs. Join us every Wednesday on Not the Footy Show as we continue to cover them and many more from a wide variety of sports.
Sailing
Sir Robin Knox-Johnston was in WA over Christmas, and we caught up with the man who was the first to sail solo non-stop around the world.
Football
Former Perth Glory coach Mich D’avray was back from South Africa, so we sat down and asked him what the mood was like as the World Cup approaches, and also his thoughts on his old club.
Wheelchair basketball
Sam Clark was vice Captain of the victorious Perth Wheelcats last year and he will join us to tell us what it means for the team to win the WA Sports Federation’s team of the year award. The first time athletes with a disability have won such an award.
Kwinana Motorplex
It’s the busiest time of the year for motor sport fans down at Kwinana Motorplex. Peter Pike will join us to bring us up to speed with all the upcoming events all of which can be booked online on their website.
Super sedans
From the Super Sedans we will be catching up with Murray Iwanow who is having a great season and he will let us know what is in the offing race-wise for him.
Softball
The State Under 19 softball championships are being hosted in Perth starting on Sunday and High Performance Manager Kere Johanson will join us to preview this event and also tell us how the Western Flames are performing in the National Women’s League.
Simply the Best – Not categorized.
Steve Hooker deservedly won the Western Australian Institute of Sport (WAIS) Athlete of the Year award on Friday evening for his remarkable performance in the pole vault at the World Championships earlier in the year.
Justin Eveson from Wheelchair basketball won the Athlete with a disability of the year award, and ruffled a few feathers when he accepted his award, stating to the packed house that as honoured as he was to win, the athletes with disabilities would love to be judged in the same category as the overall athletes of the year award nominees.
To back this up, and not to take anything away from cyclist Luke Durbridge’s success in winning the junior athlete of the year award it was very sad not to see Madison de Rozario included in the finalists for her remarkable efforts. After having spent six months on her back having rods inserted in her spine she participated Australian Paralympic Youth Games and won 5 gold medals in the six events she entered. The one in which she won silver was the 800m which was held just 30 minutes after she had won gold in the 5000m.
Currently the WAIS Athlete of the Year Award is based on athletic performance in open unrestricted competition. This means that athletes with a disability are not eligible. To take part in Paralympic sport you must have a disability, and therefore have restrictions, hence you are ineligible.
All other State Institutes of Sport (as well as the AIS) or Academies of Sport have integrated and inclusive awards, where athletes with a disability (AWD’s) vie for recognition against able-bodied athletes, based purely on their athletic performance.
On many occasions the Athletes with a Disability have actually won the award and some examples of this in 2008 are:
Heath Francis – AIS Joint Winner of Athlete of the Year
Evan O’Hanlon – AIS Junior Athlete of the Year
Matthew Cowdrey – SASI – Male Athlete of the Year
Dylan Alcott – VIS Junior Athlete of the Year
Kurt Fearnley – NSWIS International Athlete of the Year
It is hoped that WAIS will review their criteria to make it all inclusive, and the fact that Steve Lawrence, Executive Director of WAIS sought out Justin on the night and acknowledged that this needed to be looked at, is a very positive move.
After all these athletes train just has hard as able-bodied athletes, and are just as skilled as able-bodied athletes, so there should be no reason why they cannot win an award against able-bodied athletes based purely on their results.
Head down to Herb Graham Recreation Centre and watch the Perth Wheelcats in action and you will witness not only the wonderful skills of Justin Eveson, one of the best wheelchair basketballers in the World, but the other talent on show, and you will be amazed at their athleticism.
As Justin made quite clear on the night being a finalist in the open award would mean more to him than winning an award limited to athletes with a disability.
To be judged on even terms would also raise the profile of these athletes and their sports to encourage more to participate in sport. Which has to benefit all concerned doesn’t it?
Tonight on Not the Footy Show – 21 Oct 2009
Western Australia keeps on churning out amazing sporting achievements and once again we plan to share some of those with you tonight, as well as previewing two upcoming golf events and reviewing the Handball national championships.
We will also be looking back on James Weight’s achievement of kite surfing across the Bass Strait.
Wheelchair basketball
They just keep rolling along, the Australian Rollers, the Australian Wheelchair Basketball team. The current Olympic gold medallists have just gone through the Asia Oceania Championships undefeated to qualify for the 2010 World Championships in the United Kingdom, tonight we catch up with Justin Eveson to hear how the tournament progressed.
Handball
The Handball national Championships were in Perth at the weekend for the first time ever. Tonight we catch up with former Sweden representative and President of Handball WA, Dan Svensson to hear how WA fared and how the tournament went.
Rugby Sevens
Cheryl Soon is not only Captain of the inaugural Women’s Rugby sevens world Champions but she is a Western Australian, who went to Copenhagen to state the case for Rugby Sevens inclusion in the Olympics. She was obviously very persuasive, as it has been accepted, and will share with us the secret of her and her team’s success.
Golf
Golf is another sport that has just been given Olympic inclusion and tonight we catch up with Wayne Smith, but more to talk about the Handa Open Cup starting this Friday at South Perth Golf Club, and the Handa Cup which starts next week at Nedlands.
Gymnastics
Lauren Mitchell arrived back yesterday from the World Gymnastics Championships with two individual silver medals. We will catch up with her coach Liz Chekovitch to hear what this means for Lauren and for WAIS and whether we can start dreaming of a medal in London in 2012.
Basketball
The Perth Lynx have started the season slowly but their defeat against the Adelaide Lightning at the weekend showed they are on the right track. Coach Joe McKay will join us tonight to talk about how they can continue to improve.
Kitesurfing
Now Kite surfing looks a lot of fun, but would it be fun to get stuck in the middle of the Bass Strait if the wind dropped? James Weight pushed that thought to the back of his mind, and managed to kite surf across the strait and tonight joins us to tell us about his trip. Or is achievement a more appropriate word?
Tonight on Not the Footy Show – 16 Sep 2009
Tonight’s show has a strong focus on Western Australian success, as we focus on success already achieved by some great athletes, in the Perth Wheelcats and newly crowned Muay Thai World Champion Caley Lewis.
Congratulations Caley and all at WA Wheelchair Sports for your fantastic achievements. We also focus on those aiming for success, when we talk to Perth Glory Women’s coach John Gibson and Perth Glory coach Dave Mitchell, as well as remarkable siblings Luke and Emily Bunting.
Muay Thai
A week ago local girl Caley Lewis won the 56kg Muay Thai World title. We spoke to Caley soon after she won her Australian title last year, and look forward to talking about future goals now she has reached the zenith of her sport.
Wheelchair basketball
The Perth Wheelcats have gone where possibly no Australian state team has ever gone before. Following their victory in the final of National Wheelchair Basketball League they came home with their fourth consecutive national title, a fantastic effort by all concerned. Tonight we will talk to super coach Ben Ettridge who will hopefully share the secret of his success with us.
Squash
The Bunting name may not be that familiar now but in squash circles it is a name that is becoming very well known. Brother and sister Luke and Emily Bunting are both two of WA’s finest in their age groups and are off to Sydney to take part in the national championships. Tonight we talk to both about their goals and whether they help each other achieve success.
Women’s Football
John Gibson took on the post of head coach for Women’s football at WAIS and with that has come the responsibility of coaching the Perth Glory Women’s team in the W League. Last season the youngest team in the tournament improved as the season progressed, we will find out what his goals are for the coming season.
Football
Dave Mitchell was sure that Perth Glory had popped billionaire Clive Palmer’s bubble after an outstanding first half display, but once again they conceded in the dying minutes to undo that good work. Tonight he will tell us if he has any hair left to tear out as they prepare to take on Brisbane Roar.
Rugby Union
The State Rugby final will take place on Sunday and tonight we will talk to Emirates Western Force academy player and Palmyra number 8 Felipe Manu on his teams preparation for the big day.
Tonight on Not the Footy Show – 09 Sep 2009
Another week and another show as we enter our third year on air. Some people said we would not last three months.
Thank you to all our regular listeners, our local, national and international sports stars who make the show possible, and all those who have helped present the show, Darren, Kody, Clint, Dan, and Michael. A special mention too for John Lee who has been a part of virtually ever show for three years.
Continue Reading September 9, 2009 at 12:00 pm Leave a comment
Tonight on Not the Footy Show – 12 Aug 2009
Another week another show and once again we plan to serve up the most diverse range of sports that you will find on radio here in Perth.
Kite surfing
Tony Loxton will take us up, up and away when he joins us to talk Kite surfing and report on the recent course he organised in Bali.
Wheelchair basketball
The Perth Wheelcats are aiming for their fourth consecutive Wheelchair basketball national title, and a key player will be Justin Eveson, who a week ago was awarded the Sandy Blythe medal as the 2008 International player of the year. Tonight he will join us to weigh up the Wheelcats chances.
Swimming
Lachlan Searle was at the Swimming world Championships in Rome and is currently attending the short course championships. He will look back on Rome and those suits and gaze into his crystal ball as to where swimming is headed.
Softball
Kere Johanson has just been appointed High Performance Coach for Softball WA and was assistant coach at the recent World Championships that Australia won beating New Zealand in the final. As a Kiwi he will share his mixed feelings during that final and look at WA’s part in the victory.
Football
Talking of New Zealand Perth Glory did not get off the best of starts last week but they head to the land of the long white cloud this weekend hoping to bag three points. Coach Dave Mitchell will tell us his plans and bring us up to speed with his ever-growing injury list.
Hockey
Rick Charlesworth has announced his squad for the Kookaburras upcoming world Cup qualifier and there are a few WA players selected. One is Ross Meadows and he will join us again to talk about the recent four nations tournament and the up coming game.
Ice hockey
Ric Del Basso was part of the Perth All Stars who took on the Melbourne Ice in a double header at Cockburn Ice Arena at the weekend. This was a great event for Ice hockey in Perth and showcased the talent we have here against one of the top teams in the country. Ric will tell us how he felt the All Stars fared, and hopefully discuss some of the refereeing decisions!
Rollers Claim Gold at World Challange
As they did at the Olympics the Australian Rollers overcame Canada 77-48 to win the Rollers World Challenge at Sydney Olympic park at the weekend.
The Australians’ also had two players named to the tournament All-Star Five; forward Justin Eveson and guard Michael Hartnett. Other players picked were Japan’s Reo Fujimoto and guard Shingo Fujii, and Bronze medallist Great Britain’s Captain Jon Pollock.
Eveson’s had a great night also picking up the prestigious 2008 Sandy Blythe Medal for International Wheelchair Player of the Year for his efforts in leading the Rollers at the Paralympic Games in Beijing.
Rollers Captain Brad Ness led all scorers in the final with 21 points while Nick Taylor added 14 points in just his fourth game for Australia and Eveson bagged 13 points and grabbed a game high nine rebounds.
Coach Ben Ettridge who took over a year out from the Olympics lost the World Championship final, his first loss, and has since led the Rollers on an unprecedented run of success. It would be nice to see his efforts rewarded at some stage.
In the Bronze Medal Game Great Britain overpowered Japan 76-58 led by Pollock with 26 points.
