Australian Athletes with a Disability

The Australian Athletes with a Disability Annual General Meeting will be held in Sydney on Saturday 23 October 2004.

Paralympic Games

The 2004 Paralympic Games will be aired on SBS Television from 18 - 29 September. The coverage includes: the Opening Ceremony LIVE and replayed in prime time, the Closing Ceremony and daily one hour highlights packages with LIVE cross interviews in Toyota World Sport. The SBS Paralympic presentation team will be joined by Paralympians Greg Smith, Karni Liddell, Priya Cooper and Michael Milton.

Olympic Games

Eliza Stankovic has pushed herself to a silver medal in the women's 800m wheelchair exhibition race at the Athens Olympic Games. In a closely fought race Stankovic was narrowly beaten for the gold by Canadian Chantal Petitclerc (winning time 1.53.66 minutes).

Louise Sauvage finished in the bronze medal position and Australia's other representative Christie Dawes came in seventh.

In the men's 1500m race Australian athlete Kurt Fearnley fought a tough race to finish fifth after leading for most of the distance.

SPORTS NEWS

Basketball

- National Wheelchair Basketball League

The West Sydney Razorbacks have defeated the Wentworthville Leagues Wheelkings by 93-70 in the grand final of the National Wheelchair Basketball League (NWBL) competition to claim this year's premiership crown.
The Razorbacks barely scraped into the playoffs after narrowly defeating the Wheelkings in the final game of the regular season and completed a fairy-tale run, winning the title from fourth spot on the competition ladder.
Capping off a stellar season, Finals Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) Troy Sachs from the West Sydney Razorbacks was further recognized, receiving the NWBL Highest Point Scorer Trophy and being named the League's MVP in the high point classification category.
The overall NWBL MVP and mid point classification category award was won by Shaun Norris from the Perth Wheelcats who will make his Paralympic debut for the Australian Rollers in Athens.
The low points classification category MVP was presented to David Selby from the Sydney Wheelkings. Selby will make his Paralympic return in Athens after missing Sydney 2000 due to injury.
The three league MVPs were joined in the All Star Five by Dandenong Jayco Rangers duo Shaun Groenewegen (Sydney 2000 Paralympian) and Andrew Flavell, who will also make his Paralympic debut in Athens. Dandenong Jayco Rangers coach Greg Warnecke was also recognized for his team's performance by being awarded Coach of the Year honours.
Championship game referees Sharon Arnold, Barry Spicer and Gabe Caligiuri were also recognized for their efforts. Each will be heading to Athens to officiate, with Arnold and Spicer refereeing wheelchair basketball and Caligiuri officiating in wheelchair rugby.
Further details can be found on the NWBL website http://nwbl.sports.org.au/

- NRMA Insurance National League
The Hills Hornets of NSW have won their third NRMA Insurance National League title in a row after defeating the Knox Raiders of Victoria 71-51 in the final of the Women's National Wheelchair Basketball League.

Season Awards were presented to:
Most Valuable Player:	Liesl Tesch Hills Hornets
Best New Talent:	Emily Tobin Queenslanders
Highest Scorer:	Alison Mosely Queenslanders
All Star Five:	Liesl Tesch Hills Hornets Jenni Pattison North's Bears Tina McKenzie Knox Raiders Kylie Gauci Hills Hornets Sarah Stewart North's Bears

- Avon National Club Championships

Entries are still being accepted for the 2004 Avon National Club Championships to be held 30- 31 October 2004 at the Knox Basketball Stadium, Melbourne. For further information contact AAWD.

- World Under 23 Championships

Wheelchair Sports Australia has appointed Barry Barker as the Manager of the Australian team to compete at the World Under 23 Wheelchair Basketball Championships in 2005. Last month Wheelchair Sports Australia appointed Alan Cox and Ben Ettridge as the Coach and Assistant Coach respectively.

Boccia

Official results of the 2004 Boccia National Championships have been announced:

BC1 Singles 1st Liam Sanders (NZ) 2nd Stephen McKenna (Qld) 3rd Barry Fear (NSW)		BC2 Singles 1st Maurice Toon (NZ) 2nd Ross Flood (NZ) 3rd Jeremy Morris (NZ)
BC3 Singles 1st Greg Jackson (NZ) 2nd Anthea Hurst (NZ) 3rd Henk Dykstra (NZ)		BC4/Open Singles 1st Barbara Mackay (WA) 2nd Joe Jackson (Qld) 3rd Richie Goodacre (Qld)
BC1/BC2 Teams 1st New Zealand 2nd Victoria 3rd Queensland		BC3 Pairs 1st New Zealand 2nd Queensland 1 3rd New South Wales 1
BC4/Open Teams 1st Queensland 3 2nd Combined States 3rd Queensland 2
Champion State - BC1/BC2/BC3 VICTORIA		Champion State - BC4/Open WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Sportsmanship Award Magdalene Paschali (NSW)		President's Award for Most Improved Fiona Lyons (Qld)
Trans Tasman Cup BC1/BC2 Teams: New Zealand Pairs: New Zealand

Cue Sports

Final preparations are under way for the Cue Sports National Championships to be held September 3rd - 5th 2004 in Victoria. Good luck to all competitors!

Lawn Bowls

Wheelchair Sports Australia is currently calling for nominations from athletes wishing to participate in the Asia-Oceania Lawn Bowls Challenge between Australia and Korea from 3rd - 7th October 2004 hosted by Wheelchair Sports South Australia. Contact AAWD for further information.

Soccer

The National CP Soccer Championships will be held on 12-14 November at the Sydney Academy of Sport, Narrabeen. This event is the inaugural National Championship for players with Cerebral Palsy. The aim of the event is to provide those players who have been training hard all year round with a National Championships. Contact AAWD for further information.

Wheelchair Rugby

The National Wheelchair Rugby League (NWRL) have held their final round to conclude its fifty game season 12-15 August. Held at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre, the League's top two teams South Australia and New South Wales battled it out in the final game for the League Championship. A full strength NSW were just too strong for S.A winning the game 56-49.

Final placings were as follows:
	First New South Wales Second South Australia Third Western Australia Fourth Victoria Fifth Queensland

Season awards went to:
	Best New Talent Greg Smith NSW Class .5 Ryan Scott S.A. Class 1.0 Gerry Braddon NSW Class 1.5 Scott Vitale QLD Class 2.0 Bryce Alman VIC Class 2.5 Curtis Palmer NSW Class 3.0 George Hucks SA Class 3.5 Brad Dubberley NSW MVP Ryley Batt NSW

Catch up with all the Wheelchair rugby action by logging onto rugby.sports.org.au

September Calendar of Events

3-5	Cue Sports	Nationals Melbourne, Victoria
11-12	Tennis South Pacific Round Open	Nowra, NSW
17-28	Multi-sport Paralympic Games	Athens, Greece
29	Road Adelaide City to Bay	Adelaide, South Australia

Correct at time of print.