Basketball Australia is excited to celebrate International Day of People with Disability, an initiative acknowledged across the world on the 3rd of December every year. This year's theme is, ‘Amplifying the leadership of persons with disabilities for an inclusive and sustainable future.’ This calls us all to action to promote the roles and work of leaders with disability in our lives and the communities around us.
IDPwD creates a collective celebration from Australian government, schools, organisations, community groups, businesses and individuals to acknowledge the journey and future for disability communities across Australia.
1 in 5 Australians have a lived experience of disability, over 5.5 million people in our country alone. And we all have a role to play.
Basketball and sport play a unique role in the support and inclusion of all community members.
Australia’s wheelchair teams, the Rollers and Gliders have provided the foundation for some of the country’s greatest athletes and disability advocates. The Rollers debuted at the 1968 Summer Paralympics and the Gliders in 1992 and over that period champions and leaders have featured in the green and gold.
For IDPwD in 2024, Basketball Australia are amplifying the leadership of people with disability in these programs, highlighting a story with four people at different stages of their basketball journey.
This story uncovers the unique relationship between junior wheelchair basketball player Harriet Caldwell and Australian Glider Shelley Matheson. Caldwell is an exciting young prospect being led through her basketball journey by Matheson who has represented Australia on the international stage for almost two decades. Matheson boasts knowledge and success having competed at five World Championships and winning three Paralympic medals and demonstrates fierce leadership in wheelchair basketball in Australia.
The story also focuses on the introduction of a development squad training session, led by wheelchair basketball royalty in former Rollers coach and NWBL player Jeremy Synot and former Glider Leanne Del Toso. Together, they lead the Wednesday Women’s Development Program, providing a space for learning and growth for female wheelchair basketballers in Melbourne.
There are wheelchair basketball programs in every State & Territory. For more information on pathways click here.
For more information on the Wednesday Women’s Development Program scan the QR code below for more details.
