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Soaring participation rates among women in wheelchair basketball have prompted the establishment of the first female-only development camp, offering the nation’s best prospects the chance to fast-track their progress, potentially to Paralympic level.
The four-day Women Pathways Development Camp started at the Australian Institute of Sport on Sunday after the Frank Ponta Cup, a four-day congregation of Australia’s top young male wheelchair basketball talent.
The two gatherings of a combined nearly 50 players also drew 30 of the nation’s best emerging coaches, as well as referees and classifiers, for a sequence of training and development workshops. The coach development part of the camp was funded by AIS Performance Pathways.
“Following the increase in the number of women playing our game across Australia, the standalone Women Pathways Camp is another great opportunity for athletes to be inspired to play wheelchair basketball, however, wherever and whenever they choose without being judged,” Australian Gliders head coach Craig Campbell said.
“For some athletes this is an opportunity to continue to develop and for others this may be their first push towards being a Glider at Brisbane 2032.”
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The women-only focus is part of a two-year initiative to accelerate the progress of talented female players through training, mentorship and support services. Tokyo 2020 Gliders representatives Taishar Ovens, Jessica Cronje and Isabel Martin are among the players involved, alongside Devils U25 national team players including Victoria Simpson and Breanna Fisk.
The Women Pathways Camp followed the Frank Ponta Cup, named in honour of the inaugural Paralympics Australia Hall of Fame inductee, who was instrumental in starting wheelchair basketball in Australia.
The Cup consisted of two days of learning and two days of competition that NSW player Jarrod Emeny described as “an amazing opportunity to develop the fundamentals of our game while also having the opportunity to put them into action in games with new players and teammates”.
“Learning to be a team working together to win games, after only just meeting each other, was really fun,” Emeny said.
“Winning the tournament was the icing on the cake, but the smiles on my teammates’ faces and the reward for our hard work was an incredible experience. I’ve learnt a lot from this tournament and made some lifelong friends for sure’’.
The eight-day program was also a chance to run workshops and courses, including classification education. Four educators worked with the group, which included 12 new classifiers.
Basketball Australia Coach Development Manager Janna Mizens said. “This year’s Pathways Camps have expanded to not only provide development opportunities for athletes across the nation, but also to include education and development for coaches, referees and classifiers.
“Thirty coaches, representing each state, have been taking part in an in-depth curriculum with classroom and on-court practical sessions to equip themselves to inspire and empower the next generation of young wheelchair basketball athletes.”
By: David Sygall, Paralympics Australia
Posted: 7 December 2022
