Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team

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Australia
IWBF Ranking2nd
IWBF zone
National federationBasketball Australia
CoachDavid Gould since 2016[1]
Nickname(s)Gliders
Paralympic Games
Appearances7
MedalsMed 1.png: Med 2.png:3 Med 3.png:1
World Championships
MedalsMed 1.png: Med 2.png: Med 3.png:3
Medal record
Paralympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2000 Sydney Women's wheelchair basketball
Silver medal – second place 2004 Athens Women's wheelchair basketball
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Beijing Women's wheelchair basketball
Silver medal – second place 2012 London Women's wheelchair basketball
World Wheelchair Basketball Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1994 Women
Bronze medal – third place 1998 Women
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Women
Silver medal – second place 2007 Women
Gold medal – first place 2008 Women
Gold medal – first place 2009 Women
Gold medal – first place 2010 Women
Silver medal – second place 2011 Women
Gold medal – first place 2012 Women
Gold medal – first place 2013 Women
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Women
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Women's wheelchair

The Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team is the women's wheelchair basketball side that represents Australia in international competitions. The team is known as the Gliders. The team hasn't won a gold medal for Australia since it began competing at the 1992 Summer Paralympics, however it has won either the silver or bronze medal since the 2000 Summer Paralympics held in Sydney. Gliders finished 6th at the 2014 Women's World Wheelchair Basketball Championship but did not qualify for the 2016 Summer Paralympics.[2]

History[]

Peter Corr, Head Coach of the Australian women's wheelchair basketball team, the Gliders, celebrates at 1996 Atlanta Paralympics

Women's wheelchair basketball was first played at the 1968 Summer Paralympics in Tel Aviv, but Australia did not have a team that competed until 1992 in Barcelona.[3]

The 1996 Summer Paralympics were the first Paralympics basketball tournament to feature the three-wheeled wheelchair. Most of the women on the Australian team opted to use the traditional four-wheeled wheelchair.[4]

Competition history[]

Prior to the start of the 1996 Paralympics, Australia was ranked third in the world after their bronze medal at the 1994 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship, behind first placed Canada and United States.[5][6] In lead up preparations for the games, the team toured Canada.[7] Australia's women's team beat the American team at the Paralympics in pool play. This was viewed as extremely significant by Australian women's wheelchair basketball fans and the Australian Paralympic Federation because the game was invented in America. Also, it was the first time that the Australian women had defeated the Americans. The match had even more significance because Australia needed to win it in order to stay in contention for a medal. Australia was down 21–16 at halftime. Australia went up with seven minutes left in the second half. The match finished with a score of 31–27 in Australia's favour. American was their team's start performer and she caused a number of problems for Australia's defence. During the game, several players were knocked out of their wheelchairs, including Australia's .[5] The Americans challenged the win, protesting because they believed the Australians were not wearing matching uniforms.[8] Australia beat Brazil 67–8, beat the USA 31–27 and lost to Germany 34–26 in pool play.[4] They lost to Canada in the semi-finals, going down 31–36. They played the Americans in the bronze medal match, losing 30–41.[5] The team's top scorer in the competition was Liesl Tesch.[5]

Gliders playing the United States at the 1992 Barcelona Paralympics

In 1998, the team again won a bronze medal at the World Championships.[9] In April and May 1999, the team was invited by the and the to compete in a tournament in Japan to celebrate twenty-five years of wheelchair basketball in that country. The Australian team won every game they competed in, including three test matches against the Japanese team. The last test was played before Japan's royalty, and Australia won 61–25. The team had an official team dinner with Emperor Akihito of Japan during this tour.[9]

The team won silver medals at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney and the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, with a bronze medal at the 2002 World Championships. Prior to the start of the 2008 Paralympics, the team was ranked fourth in the world. They received this rank by beating Japan and in the qualifying tournament for the games.[10]

In 2008, the team competed in the . They earned a silver medal, only losing to the in the final. The Gliders lost to the United States 20–52. After the Osaka Cup, the team competed in the , where they won three matches and lost one against . The team then competed in the , where they finished third. They then went to the United States and competed in the North America Cup, where they finished fourth. The team then went back to China where they played five matches against China, where they went undefeated.[10]

The Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team at the 2012 Summer Paralympics consisted of twelve included nine veterans with 15 Paralympic Games between them: Bridie Kean, Amanda Carter, Sarah Stewart, Tina McKenzie, Kylie Gauci, Katie Hill, Cobi Crispin, Clare Nott and Shelley Chaplin; and three newcomers: Amber Merritt, Sarah Vinci and Leanne Del Toso. The Gliders, who had won silver in the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney and the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, but had never won gold, finished at the top of their pool in the group stage of the competition with victories over Brazil, Great Britain and the Netherlands. They then went on to win in the quarter final against Mexico and the semi final against the United States, only to lose to Germany in the final.

Major tournament record[]

Performance in Paralympic Games[]

Performance in Gold Cup / World Championships[]

  • 1990 - 6th
  • 1994 – Bronze medal Paralympics.svg Bronze
  • 1998 – Bronze medal Paralympics.svg Bronze
  • 2002 – Bronze medal Paralympics.svg Bronze
  • 2006 – 4th
  • 2010 – 4th
  • 2014 – 6th
  • 2018 – 9th

Past Paralympic Games rosters[]

1992 Paralympic Games[]

1996 Paralympic Games[]

2000 Paralympic Games[]

Australian Women's Basketball Silver Medal Presentation at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics

2004 Paralympic Games[]

2008 Paralympic Games[]

Media Guide : London 2012 Paralympic Games (PDF). Sydney: Australian Paralympic Committee. 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2014.</ref>

2016 Paralympic Games[]

Gliders failed to qualify after finishing second to China at the 2015 Asia Oceania Zone Qualifying Tournament.[2]

2020 Paralympic Games[]

Detailed Results – Wheelchair basketball at the 2020 Summer Paralympics


Past World Championship Rosters[]

1990 Gold Cup[]

1994 Gold Cup[]

1998Gold Cup[]

2002 Gold Cup[]

2006 Gold Cup[]

2010 World Championships[]

  • Team Members – Melanie Domaschenz (1.0), Cobi Crispin (4.0), Bridie Kean (4.0), Amber Merritt (4.5), Tina McKenzie (c) (3.0), Leisl Tesch (4.0), Clare Burzynski (1.0), Kylie Gauci (2.0), Sarah Stewart (3.0), Katie Hill (3.0), Leanne Del Toso (4.0), Shelley Chaplin (3.5) ; Coaches – John Triscari (Head Coach), Ben Osborne (Assistant Coach), Matt Dunstan (Assistant Coach) ; Officials – Marian Stewart (Manager), Miranda Wallis (Physiotherapist)[19]

2014 World Championships[]

Australian Gliders at the 2014 Women's World Wheelchair Basketball Championship in Toronto
  • Team Members – Shelley Chaplin (3.5), Cobi Crispin (4.0), Shelley Cronau (3.0), Leanne Del Toso (3.5), Kylie Gauci (2.0), Bridie Kean (4.0), Amber Merritt(4.5), Clare Nott (1.0), Kathleen O'Kelly-Kennedy (4.0), Sarah Stewart (3.0), (1.0), Sarah Vinci (1.0); Coaches – Tom Kyle (Head Coach), David Gould (Assistant Coach), Troy Sachs (Assistant Coach)[20]

2018 World Championships[]

  • Team Members - Shelley Chaplin (3.5), Cobi Crispin, Shelley Cronau (3.0), Hannah Dodd (1.0), Leanne Del Toso (3.5), Kylie Gauci (2.0), Annabelle Lindsay(4.5), Georgia Munro-Cook (4.5), Clare Nott (1.0), Amber Merritt(4.5), Ella Sabljak, Sarah Vinci (1.0) ; Coaches David Gould (Head Coach),Stephen Charlton (Assistant Coach), Craig Campbell (Assistant/Technical Coach) ; Officials - Anna de Araugo (Physiotherapist), Peta Forsyth (Physiologist), Cathy Lambert (Team Manager)[21]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Tom Kyle new Australian Gliders Head Coach". Basketball Australia News, 31 May 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Heartbreak and Elation for Gliders and Rollers at AOZ qualifying tournament". Basketball Australia. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  3. ^ Australian Paralympic Committee 2008, p. 52
  4. ^ a b Overington 1996a, p. 22
  5. ^ a b c d Overington 1996a, p. 21
  6. ^ "World Championships – Results". International Wheelchair Basketball Federation. Archived from the original on 9 July 2014.
  7. ^ a b Webster 1996, p. 6
  8. ^ Webster 1996, p. 8
  9. ^ a b Australian Paralympic Committee 1999, p. 16
  10. ^ a b Australian Paralympic Committee 2008, p. 53
  11. ^ Australian Team Members Profile Handbook. Sydney: Australian Paralympic Federation. 1992.
  12. ^ "Paralympic Games History – Summer | APC Corporate". Paralympic.org.au. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  13. ^ Australian Media Guide :2000 Paralympic Games (PDF). Sydney: Australian Paralympic Committee. 2000. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 March 2016.
  14. ^ Media Guide – Athens 2004 (PDF). Sydney: Australian Paralympic Committee. 2004.[permanent dead link]
  15. ^ Media Guide Beijing 2008 (PDF). Sydney: Australian Paralympic Committee. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 December 2015.
  16. ^ Media Guide Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games (PDF). Sydney: Paralympics Australia. 2021.
  17. ^ "Gold Cup / World Championships (Women) 1990 - 2010" (PDF). Wheelchair Can Jump. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  18. ^ Annual Report 2006. Basketball Australia. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  19. ^ "Gliders World Championship team named". Basketball Australia website. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  20. ^ "2014 Women's Wheelchair Basketball World Championship Media Guide" (PDF). Wheelchair Basketball Canada. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 November 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  21. ^ "Gliders set for redemption at 2018 IWBF World Championships". Basketball Australia website. Retrieved 20 August 2018.

Bibliography[]

  • Australian Paralympic Committee (September 1999). "Basketball – Wheelchair Women". Annual Report – 1999. Sydney, Australia: Australian Paralympic Committee.
  • Australian Paralympic Committee (2008). "Basketball (Wheelchair)". Media Guide Beijing 2008. Sydney, New South Wales: Australian Paralympic Committee.
  • Australian Paralympic Federation (November 1992). "History in Madrid". LINK. Sydney, New South Wales: Australian Paralympic Federation.
  • Overington, Caroline (1996a). "Basketballers beat the US at their own game". Golden Days of Atlanta : Xth Paralympic Games Atlanta, Georgia, August 15–25, 1996. Sydney: Australian Paralympic Federation: 21–23. OCLC 222120061.
  • Webster, Jim (1996). "Success for superteam". Golden Days of Atlanta : Xth Paralympic Games Atlanta, Georgia, August 15–25, 1996. Sydney: Australian Paralympic Federation: 6–8. OCLC 222120061.

External links[]

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