Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team
Encyclopedia
| Australian national women's wheelchair basketball team | |
| Association: | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s): | Gliders |
| Coach: | |
| Captain: | |
| Most Caps: | |
| Top Scorer: | |
| Ranking: | |
| Paralympic Games Appearances: | |
| Paralympic Medals: |  :1  :2  :0 |
| World Championship Appearances: | |
| World Championship Medals: | : : : |
History
Women's wheelchair basketball was first played at the 1968 Summer Paralympics1968 Summer Paralympics
The 1968 Summer Paralympics were the third Paralympic Games to be held. Organised under the guidance of the International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation , they were known as the 17th International Stoke Mandeville Games at the time...
in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, but Australia did not have a team that competed until 1992 in Barcelona
1992 Summer Paralympics
The 1992 Summer Paralympics were the ninth Paralympic Games to be held. They were held in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.- Sports :The games consisted of 487 events spread over fifteen sports. Powerlifting and weightlifting were considered to be a single sport...
.
The 1996 Summer Paralympics
1996 Summer Paralympics
The 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, USA were held from 16 August to 25 August. It was the first Paralympics to get mass media sponsorship, and had a budget of USD $81 million....
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.
Competition
The team won Australia's first gold medal at the 1992 Summer Paralympics1992 Summer Paralympics
The 1992 Summer Paralympics were the ninth Paralympic Games to be held. They were held in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.- Sports :The games consisted of 487 events spread over fifteen sports. Powerlifting and weightlifting were considered to be a single sport...
in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
. The undefeated in tournament team beat Greece in the final 53-21.
Prior to the start of the 1996 Paralympics, Australia was ranked third in the world. In lead up preparations for the games, the team toured Canada. 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 Sharon Herbst 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 Melissa Ferrett. The Americans challenged the win, protesting because they believed the Australians were not wearing matching uniforms. Australia beat Brazil 67–8, beat the USA 31–27 and lost to Germany 34–26 in pool play. They lost to Canada in the semi-finals, going down 31–36. They played the Americans in the bronze medal match, losing 30–41. The team's top scorer in the competition was Liesl Tesch
Liesl Tesch
Liesl Tesch is an Australian wheelchair basketball player. She has represented her country at five Paralympic Games, winning three total medals. She has made numerous appearances for her country at other wheelchair basketball events. Tesch also competed in the sport as a professional. She has...
.
In 1998, the team won a bronze medal at the World Wheelchair Basketball Championships. In April and May 1999, the team was invited by the Kinki Wheelchair Basketball Association and the Japanese Wheelchair Basketball Federationto 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
Akihito
is the current , the 125th emperor of his line according to Japan's traditional order of succession. He acceded to the throne in 1989.-Name:In Japan, the emperor is never referred to by his given name, but rather is referred to as "His Imperial Majesty the Emperor" which may be shortened to . In...
during this tour.
The team won silver medals at the 2000 Summer Paralympics
2000 Summer Paralympics
The 2000 Paralympic Games were held in Sydney, Australia, from 18 October to 29 October. The eleventh Summer Paralympic Games, an estimated 3800 athletes took part in the Sydney programme. They commenced with the opening ceremony on 18 October 2000...
in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and the 2004 Summer Paralympics
2004 Summer Paralympics
The 2004 Summer Paralympics were held in Athens, Greece, from September 17 to September 28. The twelfth Paralympic Games, an estimated 4,000 athletes took part in the Athens programme, with ages ranging from 11 to 66. Paralympic events had already taken place during the 2004 Summer Olympics as...
in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. Prior to the start of the 2008 Paralympics, the team was ranked fourth in the world. They received this rank by beating Japan and New Zealand in the qualifying tournament for the games.
In 2008, the team competed in the Osaka Cup. They earned a silver medal, only losing to the United States in the final. The Gliders lost to the United States 20-52. After the Osaka Cup, the team competed in the Goodluck Beijing Test Event, where they won three matches and lost one against China. The team then competed in the Joseph F. Lyttle World Basketball Challenge, where they finished third. They then went to the United States and competed in the North America Cup
North America Cup
The North America Cup is an annual harness racing event for 3-year-old standardbred pacing horses which is held at Mohawk Raceway in Campbellville, Ontario, Canada. From 1984-1993, the event was held at Greenwood Raceway and from 1994-2006, the North America Cup was held at Woodbine Entertainment...
, where they finished fourth. The team then went back to China where they played five matches against China, where they went undefeated.
Players
Liesl TeschLiesl Tesch
Liesl Tesch is an Australian wheelchair basketball player. She has represented her country at five Paralympic Games, winning three total medals. She has made numerous appearances for her country at other wheelchair basketball events. Tesch also competed in the sport as a professional. She has...
competed in the 1998 World Wheelchair Basketball Championships. This helped Tesch be named to the World All-Star Five for the second year in a row.In 2008, she competed in her fifth Paralympic games, having competed on every squad Australia had at the games to date.
Between 1992 and 2008, 27 players have competed for the Australian women's national wheelchair basketball team in the Paralympics. At the 2008 Summer Paralympics
2008 Summer Paralympics
The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games, the thirteenth Paralympics, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to September 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao....
, six players, half of the team, were competing in their first Paralympic Games.
The 1996 Paralympic team was captained by Donna Ritchie
Donna Ritchie
Donna Ritchie is a wheelchair basketball player from Australia. She was part of the silver medal winning Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team at the 2000 Summer Paralympics.-References:...
.