Good News – May, 2024

[Image ID - White text reads “Good News - May 2024” on a green background overlaid on top of an image of 5 participants in front of a banner.]

Hello and welcome back to Disability Sports Australia’s (DSA) Good News roundup.

Good News has turned one! At DSA, we love discovering the wonderful things people are doing for the active disability space. One year ago, we started this series spotlight these stories. We love seeing our inbox full of good news stories that people want to share. We hope this next year is full of more good things in the sector.   

Do you have a story you want us to tell?  

Please send the story and your contact details to marketing@sports.org.au 

Australian National Para Badminton Championships

The Australian National Para Badminton Championships 2024 were held this month at the Altona Badminton Centre. Players attended from around the nation, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea. Across three days, the tournament hosted multiple events, with mixed doubles on the Friday, and the teams event on the Sunday.  

Badminton Australia (BA) awarded Nang Nguyen with the first ever BA Sports Person Award for Leadership, Sportsmanship and Inclusion. This award will be handed out every year following the Para Badminton Championships.  

Following the completion of this tournament, some players continued on to participate in a Development Camp hosted at the Paralympics Australia venue in Tullamarine. This camp allowed participants to learn new skills or movements and work on developing their skills amongst the sport.  

To see the results of the tournament, click here.

[Image ID - 4 participants in fluorescent yellow shirts and 1 participant in a blue jumper huddled around a blue poster with white text. The poster features the Badminton Australia logo, followed by text reading, “National Championships.” Below this are the Badminton Australia website, and the hashtag “Let’s Play!” to use on social media.]

Image credit: Badminton Australia

Para Sport Survey

The Understanding Barriers to Entry and Progression in the Paralympic Pathway Survey hosted by the Australian Sports Commission and Paralympics Australia has recently closed. This survey was opened to gain perspectives of both athletes and other role holders, with the aim to reduce all inequity surrounding opportunities for para-athletes to showcase their talents. 

Chris Bond, Australian Wheelchair Rugby captain and member of the AIS Athlete Advisory Committee, stated that pathways and development of Para sport in Australia needs a lot of work, and encouraged past and current para-athletes to give their say on the subject.

“I would encourage all current and past athletes to give 15 minutes towards helping shape the next generation by filling out this survey,” Bond said.  

Rachael Watson, two-time Paralympic gold medallist, agreed with Bond’s statement, saying that it is critical for a wide range of voices. 

This survey concluded on May 12, 2024, and was part of 60 priority projects developed and implemented for the High Performance 2032+ Sport Strategy.  

Read about the survey here.

Scottish Open for Golfers with a Disability

On May 9th and 10th, the first ever Scottish Open for Golfers with Disability was held in Peebles. 44 golfers with disabilities from Great Britain, Ireland and Australia competed.

Over both days, competitors took to 36 holes, gaining points over both rounds. There were 3 categories to be played, scratch, handicap and Stableford.

The winner of the overall event was Australian, Wayne Perske, with a total of 143 points. He received 68 points in round 1, and 75 points in round 2. The runners up, Gordon McLay and Cassidy Steffens, tied for second place with 146 points each.  

“I had to keep thinking how privileged I was to play this event,” Perske stated. “That helped me get through. I played well on day one and like most golfers in this situation you have good and bad days.”

After a surgery to assist with Perske’s scoliosis went wrong, he was told by a surgeon he would never play golf again. Due to this diagnosis, Perske was determined to play again in all abilities events, and altered his swing to ensure he could play with minimal pain. As a result, Perske sees his win in Scotland as his most satisfying throughout his career. 

Read about Perske’s win here.

[Image ID - 5 golfers standing together all holding glass trophies from Scottish Golf, with Wayne Perske in the middle holding a cup trophy.]

Image credit: Golf Australia

Team BRIT - Disability Motorsport

Team BRIT are the United Kingdom’s only all-disabled racing team, where they compete in several different racing championships. They allow drivers of any experience to compete by using a mixture of hand controls and pedals.  

Noah Cosby and Asha Silva both compete as teammates in the Britcar Trophy Championship, with a current ranking of 6th place. Cosby is paralysed from the base of his ribs down and relies on hand controls to control the vehicle. His teammate, Asha Silva, has been diagnosed with autism and ADHD, which allows her to hyperfocus whilst driving. 

Paul Fullick is another one of Team BRIT’s drivers, who has had a leg amputation after a motorcycle accident. After his amputation, he reached out to Team BRIT, and they got him into a car which assisted in his rehabilitation from his accident. 

The drivers have felt that motorsport is the only sport that is truly equal for all abilities. Once they are in the car, other teams don’t see any disabilities, and there is nothing stopping them from being the fastest on the track. Eventually, the team want to drive in the 24-hour Le Mans endurance race, where they can continue to prove that there is nothing stopping them being the fastest performing car.  

Read about the team here.

First-ever Para Triathlon Mixed Relay World Championships 

World Triathlon announced the debut of the World Triathlon Para Mixed Relay Championships will be held on October 20, 2024. This comes after two years of the test event at the World Triathlon Championship Finals.  

As a test event, the Para Mixed Relay debuted in 2022 at Abu Dhabi. The goal for this event is to have the new format incorporated into events across all levels, including the Paralympic Games.  

After the success of the Olympic Mixed Relay event in the Tokyo 2020 games, the Para Triathlon Mixed Relay will uphold similar principles. The teams, consisting of 4 para-athletes, will complete a 125-150 metre swim, a 3.5-4km bike ride, and a 0.8-1km run. 

Along with the debut of this event, the World Triathlon Executive Board has approved to give recognition to athletes with intellectual impairments. The 2024 World Triathlon Multisport Championships in Townsville will also be awarding separate medals to athletes with intellectual impairments, even if it is not considered under the Para triathlon classification system.

Read the full announcement here.

[Image ID - A group of para-triathlon participants celebrating in front of a blue archway with white text after the World Triathlon Championship Finals in Abu Dhabi, 2022. The text reads “Abu Dhabi. World Triathlon Championship Finals Abu Dhabi 2022.” In the foreground, there are multiple people taking photographs of the participants.

Image credit: Inside The Games

That is our latest Good News wrapped up! 

We are sure to have missed something. If you have a story that you want us to share, please let us know! 

You can send the news to: marketing@sports.org.au