Crunch Time for Rollers and Gliders

Published On: 13 August 2015

Sarah Vinci (left) and Clare Nott will both help the Gliders attempt qualification for the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games

Australia’s quest to qualify its men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball teams for next year’s Rio Paralympic Games has come into sharper focus after both sides finalised their 12 player rosters for the Asia-Oceania qualifiers in October.

Both the men’s Rollers and women’s Gliders squads contain a healthy selection of WAIS scholarship talent, with both sides looking to build on the silver medal winning feats of London in 2012.

The Rollers will welcome WA Paralympians; Justin Eveson, Shaun Norris and Brad Ness, whilst world championship winner Adam Deans will join the squad, coached by Western Australian Ben Ettridge.

The Gliders’ camp will be bolstered by returning Paralympians; Sarah Vinci, Clare Nott and Amber Merritt, with emerging talent Georgia Inglis included in Tom Kyle’s squad.

The Rollers are expected to book their Rio spot, with three nations earning qualification from the AOZ tournament. The task for the Gliders however, is notably more difficult, with only one country able to progress, and the tournament featuring hosts Japan and regional power China, with both nations looking to thwart Australia’s path to Brazil.

With Merritt, Inglis and Vinci joined by another two members of the Australian U25 side that won gold at the World Championships earlier this year, coach Kyle has opted to install two stalwarts as the group’s leaders for the tournament running from October 7-18.

“I am very excited by the selection of Shelley (Chaplin) and Kylie (Gauci) as our leaders,” he said. “Both of them have worked extremely hard to improve their professional approach and commitment to the Gliders.All the girls respect them and are willing to march into battle with them.”

The Rollers will embark on team building tour to Brazil in the lead up to qualifiers, with coach Ben Ettridge emphasising that the hard work starts now.

“The past three years have been about development of individuals and the depth of the Rollers program. We are now heading into the end of the Paralympiad. Its business time,” Ettridge remarked.