Australia national wheelchair rugby team
| Australia AU | |
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| IWRF Ranking | |
|---|---|
| Coach | Brad Dubberley |
| Paralympic Games | |
| Appearances | 5 |
| Medals |  Silver: 2000 Summer Paralympics Silver: 2008 Summer Paralympics Gold: 2012 Summer Paralympics |
| World Championships | |
| Appearances | |
| Medals | |
| Appearances | |
| Medals |
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Wheelchair rugby is a sport with national representation at the Paralympic games. The Australian Team is known as the 'Steelers'.[1]
Australia has competed at every Paralympics Games since the sport gained full Paralympic Medal status at the 2000 Summer Paralympics.[2] The Steelers also competed in the 1996 Summer Paralympics where wheelchair rugby was a demonstration sport.[3] The 'Steelers' defeated Canada at the 2012 London Games to win its first gold medal.[4]
The sport is not included at the Special Olympics or the Deaflympics.[5]
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The game [edit]
The sport is one of the few contact sports available for wheelchair sport athletes and was originally known as "Murderball".[2] It was developed in Canada during the 1970s and made its way to Australia in 1981.[6]
The sport uses a volleyball for the ball and combines elements of basketball, soccer and ice hockey. The game is played on a basketball sized court.[7] Each team has four players on the court at any one time.[2] It has drawn large crowds at events such as the Paralympics.
Athlete classifications [edit]
Wheelchair Rugby is open to athletes with quadriplegia.[8] Athletes competing in wheelchair rugby are classified according to their ability. Players are classified using a points system starting at 0.5 for athletes with the least ability through to 3.5 for athletes with the most ability.[8]
A team can have four players on the court but must not exceed 8 classification points (the combined total of the player's individual classifications).[8]
Paralympic Games [edit]
Performances 1996-2012 [edit]
1996 Atlanta [edit]
Australia represented by:
Men – Brett Boylan, Gary Croker, Andrew Greenaway, Rodney Hamilton, David Jacka, Peter Lock, Steve Porter, Baden Whitehead
Coach – Darryl Wingard
. Wheelchair rugby was a demonstration sport at the 1996 Summer Paralympics. George Hucks was a member of the Australian team. During a practice in Atlanta prior to the start of the games, Hucks broke his kneecap. Hucks, from South Australia, was the team's best player. This was a major loss for the team. Hucks was flown home and another player was flown into Australia to replace him. Australia did not win a single match in wheelchair rugby. They lost to New Zealand 23–39, to Great Britain 33–34, to Canada 24–39, to the USA 18–31 and to Sweden 25–29.[9]
2000 Sydney [edit]
Australia represented by:
Men – Bryce Alman, Brett Boylan, Cliff Clarke, Gary Croker, Brad Dubberley, Nazim Erdem, Peter Harding, George Hucks, Tom Kennedy, Craig Parsons, Steve Porter, Patrick Ryan
Coaches - Terry Vinyard (Head), Glenn Stephens, Nicholas Bailey Officials – Kim Elwood (Manager), David Bonavita, Wendy Poole
The team won the silver medal after losing to the World and Paralympic champions, United States by one point in the final.[10][11][12]
2004 Athens [edit]
Australia represented by:
Men - Bryce Alman, Ryley Batt, Grant Boxall, Brett Boylan, Brad Dubberley, Nazim Erdem, George Hucks, George Kersnovske, Steve Porter, Steve Ryan, Patrick Ryan, Ryan Scott, Scott Vitale
Coaches - Terry Vinyard (Head), Glenn Stephens Officials - Kim Ellwood (Manager), Robert Doidge, Maria Spiller
[10]
Australia finished 5th in the tournament.
2008 Beijing [edit]
Australia represented by:
Men - Bryce Alman, Ryley Batt, Grant Boxall, Shane Brand, Cameron Carr, Nazim Erdem, George Hucks, Steve Porter, Ryan Scott, Greg Smith, Scott Vitale
Coach - Brad Dubberley (Head Coach) Officials - Kim Ellwood (Section Manager), Rob Doidge, Noni Shelton, Angela Mansell [10]
Three of the team made their Paralympic debut and Steve Porter attended his fourth Games. The Sttelers won the silver medal losing to the United States 53-44 in the final.[13]
2012 London [edit]
Eleven Australians were named in the Steelers for the London Paralympic Games. The team announcement included six players who would be making their first Paralympic Games appearance:[14]
| Australian Team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portrait | Number | Name | Class | Age |
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1 | Ben Newton | 3.0 | 24 |
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2 | Nazim Erdem | 0.5 | 42 |
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3 | Ryley Batt | 3.5 | 23 |
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4 | Josh Hose | 3.0 | 25 |
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7 | Jason Lees | 1.0 | 35 |
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8 | Cody Meakin | 2.5 | 22 |
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9 | Greg Smith | 2.0 | 45 |
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10 | Chris Bond | 3.5 | 26 |
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11 | Ryan Scott (Co-captain) | 0.5 | 30 |
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13 | Cameron Carr (Co-captain) | 2.0 | 35 |
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15 | Andrew Harrison | 3.0 | 25 |
Support staff – Administration – Paul Kiteley (Section Manager) ; Coach – Brad Dubberley (Head); Technical Support – Chevvy Cooper ; Personal Care Assistant – Angela Mansell ; Physiotherapist – Simon Mole [3]
Results [edit]
The Australian team went through the five day tournament undefeated, and won the gold medal.[15]
- Group stage
| Qualified for the semifinals | |
| Eliminated |
|
Team
|
Pld | W | D | L | G | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Australia (AUS) |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 182 | 142 | +40 | 6 |
 Canada (CAN) |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 163 | 166 | –3 | 4 |
 Sweden (SWE) |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 151 | 155 | –4 | 2 |
 Belgium (BEL) |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 135 | 168 | –33 | 0 |
| 5 September 2012 19:00 |
Australia |
64 – 52 | Canada |
Basketball Arena Attendance: 5,539 Referee: Darren Roberts (USA), Dave Woods (GBR) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batt 37 Bond 10 Team 4 Carr 3 Harrison 3 Smith 2 Newton 1 Hose 1 Lees 1 Meakin 1 Scott 1 |
Report | Lavoie 9 Hirschfield 8 Crone 7 Madell 7 Hickling 6 Whitehead 5 Willsie 4 Dagenais 2 Chan 2 Simard 2 |
| 6 September 2012 14:00 |
Sweden |
47 – 60 | Australia |
Basketball Arena Attendance: 5,622 Referee: Pierre-Alexandre Brière (CAN), Alexander Schreiner (GER) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uhlmann 9 Norlin 8 Kulle 7 Hjelt 7 Collin 6 Team 4 Sandberg 3 Jansson 2 Wahlberg 1 |
Report | Batt 30 Bond 14 Team 4 Carr 3 Newton 2 Smith 2 Harrison 2 Hose 1 Lees 1 Meakin 1 |
| 7 September 2012 10:00 |
Australia |
58 – 43 | Belgium |
Basketball Arena Attendance: 2,822 Referee: Motoko Izumiya (JPN), Chris van de Riet (NED) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batt 29 Carr 11 Bond 9 Smith 4 Hose 1 Lees 1 Meakin 1 Harrison 1 Team 1 |
Report | Mertens 14 Genyn 11 Verhaegen 5 Hendrix 4 Team 4 Budeners 3 Vanacker 2 |
- Semi-finals
| 8 September 2012 14:00 |
Australia |
59 – 45 |  Japan |
Basketball Arena Attendance: 5,333 Referee: Mitch Carr (USA), Darren Roberts (USA) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batt 27 Bond 14 Smith 6 Scott 2 Lees 2 Meakin 2 Newton 1 Carr 1 Harrison 1 Team 3 |
Report | Ikezakli 24 Nakazato 7 Kanno 6 Shimakawa 4 Sato 2 Team 2 |
- Gold Medal Match
| 9 September 2012 14:15 |
Canada |
51 – 66 | Australia |
Basketball Arena Attendance: 9,048 Referee: Darren Roberts (USA), Chris van de Riet (NED) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madell 11 Hickling 7 Whitehead 7 Murao 6 Chan 5 Willsie 4 Simard 3 Lavoie 2 Dagenais 1 Hirschfield 1 Team 4 |
Report | Batt 37 Bond 15 Carr 4 Smith 2 Scott 1 Lees 1 Meakin 1 Newton 1 Harrison 1 Team 3 |
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ "Australian steelers team named for London 2012". Wheelchair Sports Australia. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- ^ a b c "Wheelchair Rugby". Wheelchair Sports Australia. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- ^ a b Media Guide : London 2012 Paralympic Games. Sydney: Australian Paralympic Committee. 2012.
- ^ "Steelers down Canada to win gold". ABC Online. 10 September. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
- ^ Depauw, K. P., & Gavron, S. J. (2005). Disability sport. (p. 141) Lower Mitcham, South Australia: Human Kinetics Publishers.
- ^ "Murderball - a great tale of wheelchair rugby". The Roar. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- ^ Depauw, K. P., & Gavron, S. J. (2005). Disability sport. (p. 152) Lower Mitcham, South Australia: Human Kinetics Publishers.
- ^ a b c "Wheelchair rugby". Australian Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- ^ Golden days of Atlanta : Xth Paralympic Games Atlanta, Georgia, August 15–25, 1996. Sydney: Australian Paralympic Federation. 1996.
- ^ a b c Australian Media Guide : 2000 Paralympic Games. Sydney: Australian Paralympic Committee. 2000.
- ^ Annual Report 2000. Sydney: Australian Paralympic Committee. 2000.
- ^ "Australian 2000 Paralympic Team". Pandora WSebsite. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
- ^ Australian Paralympic Committee Annual Report (PDF). 2007-2008 http://www.paralympic.org.au/sites/default/files/2007-2008%20APC%20Annual%20Report.pdf
|url=missing title (help). Retrieved 13 June 2012. - ^ "Aussie Wheelchair Rugby team announced for London". Australian Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- ^ "Batt stars as Australia win gold". Official site of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. 9 September 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
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