The Australian Rollers and Gliders have finalised their teams of 12 to compete at the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation’s (IWBF) World Championships next month in Dubai. With the Rollers and Gliders both featuring incredible Victorian talent.
Tipping off on Friday 9 June and running through until Tuesday 20 June, the World Championships will see 300 elite international wheelchair basketballer, representing 16 men’s and 12 women’s teams, battle it out over the twelve-day competition.
The Rollers will feature experience Victorian campaigners and recent Tokyo Paralympians Tristan Knowles and Jannik Blair.
While a number of Aussie Gliders have already debuted for Australia, there are eight athletes who will compete at a World Championships for the first time. Two of them being Victorian athletes Laura Davoli and Isabel Martin.
Gliders Head Coach and Victorian Craig Campbell said he was looking forward to the championships, especially since they had been postponed from 2022.
“As a team we can’t wait to compete against the best in the world and see what we can produce, and it’s exciting to see a number of players make their World Champs debut – it’s been a long time coming since the event was postponed from last year,” he said.
“With that extra time, we’ve been able to refine our preparation by undertaking camps at the AIS and playing more games against international teams in the lead up, which is always crucial to finalising structures and plans.
“We know we’re going up against opponents with a lot of experience so for us, we’ll be making sure every single push is with intent and the Aussie spirit is as strong as you’d expect when pulling on that green and gold jersey.”
Sitting in Group B, the Gliders will need to beat some serious competition if they are to progress to the finals, coming up against Brazil, Canada, Spain, China and Great Britain in the group phase.
The Rollers are positioned in Group A and face Brazil, Italy and hosts UAE in the first stage.
For more information on the (IWBF) World Championships including the schedule and live streaming information, click here.
Rollers World Championship Team:
Jannik Blair - Victorian
Andrew Dewberry
Tristan Knowles - Victorian
Bill Latham
Eithen Leard
Clarence McCarthy-Grogan
Shaun Norris
Tom O’Neill-Thorne
Frank Pinder
Kim Robins
Shawn Russell
Samuel White
Coaches & Staff
Craig Friday – Head Coach
Grant Mizens – Head Assistant
Brad Ness – Assistant Coach
Shane Furness – Technical Assistant
Gliders World Championship Team:
Lucinda Bueti
Jess Cronje
Laura Davoli - Victorian
Annabelle Dennis
Hannah Dodd
Breanna Fisk
Georgia Inglis
Maryanne Latu
Isabel Martin - Victorian
Amber Merritt
Georgia Munro-Cook
Sarah Vinci
Coaches & Staff
Craig Campbell – Head Coach - Victorian
Tina McKenzie – Head Assistant
Lauren Robinson – Assistant Coach - Victorian
Warren Brown – Technical Assistant - Victorian
