Paralympic medallists looking to rebuild women’s wheelchair basketball

Source : ABC NEWS

Making the Paralympic women’s wheelchair basketball team in 2012 was one of the proudest and hardest journeys of Leanne Del Toso’s life.

Between injury and illness, she said it was a fight just to be good enough for the squad, but it was worth it when she felt the silver medal around her neck.

“London feels like a lifetime ago, but it was one of the most incredible experiences,” the 44-year-old told ABC Sport.

“I was really lucky that I got to enjoy every moment [and] that we were a highly successful team.”

The squad, known as the Gliders, has a rich history in the sport.

Since their debut at the Games in 1992, they have been one of the top teams in the world, winning four Paralympic medals.

But since those London Games, women’s wheelchair basketball in Australia has faced an uphill battle; the team missed qualification for Rio and Paris.

Del Toso was part of the team that missed out on Rio in 2016, and as devastating as that was, it seemed to signal a series of ongoing issues for the sport.

Del Toso believes women’s wheelchair basketball dropped off the Australian delegation’s priority list with the onset of the pandemic.

“The priority for women’s wheelchair basketball maybe wasn’t there,” she said.

And she still believes this is the case.

Del Toso is concerned the sport won’t have enough support for the Gliders to qualify for the upcoming Brisbane Games.

“My goal is that we’re there, front and centre. And that we’re capable of medalling,” Del Toso said.

“It would destroy our program when it comes to 2032, if we don’t feature.”

A lack of encouragement and an empty pipeline 

Current Glider and postdoctoral researcher Georgia Munro-Cook shares a similar sentiment.

She believes failing to qualify for Paris highlighted the difficulties the sport is facing, with the number one problem a lack of a grassroots pipeline for women coming in.

While she acknowledged that both the men’s and women’s teams have had problems accessing training venues, sessions, and equipment, women and girls face the additional prospect of being held back from sport in general.

It’s a numbers game, with more men participating in the sport than women, at an elite level the men’s team has a more robust talent pool to select from.

“Women in general aren’t encouraged to play much sport, and I think that’s especially true for women with disability,” Munro-Cook said.

“A more long-term issue is that often at the junior level, women are having to play with men. They’re not able to then develop themselves.”

Working towards a solution with the Play On project

Del Toso has a desire to see more women and girls participating in wheelchair basketball.

It began after she looked for a way back into the sport after giving birth to her son.

Having competed in the National League since 2007, she was shocked to find, since the pandemic, that Victoria didn’t have a team anymore.

Del Toso found only a handful of grassroots opportunities specifically for disabled women and girls to play, sparking the idea to create her own program with former teammate and current Glider Shelley Matheson.

Together they have faced several issues to get the Play On project off the ground, including the same lack of access to equipment and venues as Munro-Cook mentions, as well as difficulties sourcing funding.

“We had to work really hard to say we’re here, we’re not going anywhere,” Del Toso said.

Juggling life and professional para sport

Concerns around funding encompasses many Para sports, including wheelchair basketball.

From Del Toso and Matheson’s Play On program to women playing in the National League, women and girls struggle to financially sustain their participation.

Beyond moving to Europe, where players can be paid to compete, Munro-Cook said many women playing wheelchair basketball must work or study and find balancing life with competitive sport hard.

“There’s kind of an expectation that you’re training like you’re a professional athlete, but we obviously don’t have the economic incentives to be doing that,” she said.

Add children to the mix and it becomes even harder for mothers like Del Toso and Matheson to find that balance.

Matheson describes coming back to sport after giving birth like “riding a bike,” but despite feeling supported by Basketball Australia and her teammates, it was still personally difficult to manage her commitments.

“Being a mum is number one for me, but having to reduce the amount of time and effort I put into basketball is really challenging,” the 40-year-old said.

In a statement, Basketball Australia said it is “committed to the long-term growth and success of women’s wheelchair basketball”.

It also said: “We recognise the challenges that exist in participation, development, and high-performance outcomes, and are proactively working closely with stakeholders including the Australian Sports Commission, Paralympics Australia, and the National Institute Network to strengthen our wheelchair programs.”

‘It should be about equality’

Del Toso understands what’s at stake for the sport, to see it thrive, she said athletes need to be nurtured and recognised for the talent they have.

“I know what the sport gave to me, and I just want to give that back to any female who wants to play wheelchair basketball,” she said.

“It shouldn’t be about funding, it shouldn’t be about access, it should be about equality.”

It’s an uphill battle that Del Toso believes in, as does Munro-Cook, who said programs like Play On are “fantastic” and needed across the country.

All three women also want to see a shift in leadership, with a pipeline to coaching for disabled women just as important as a pipeline for players.

“A key to the greatest future and being successful is having disabled women, people who know the program in and out, making decisions about where this program is going,” Matheson said.

“We need to see more women coaching at all levels. I would love to see a disabled woman coaching Australia one day.”

Making inroads with the Play On project

The Play On program now has more than 30 women participating each week, ranging from young girls to seniors in their sixties. Del Toso believes they have some future wheelchair basketball superstars in the mix.

What makes the program so unique is that it has been created by, created for, and is run by women with disabilities who have an inherent passion for the sport. A passion Del Toso and Matheson hope to share.

Since beginning the program, the group has gained access to a community grant, which has allowed them to purchase some equipment, like competition wheelchairs.

Wheelchair Basketball Australia has also announced that three new women’s teams will be welcomed into the National League this year, including from Victoria.

Del Toso said they want to make sure that women and girls can compete, just for fun, or to take it to the highest level.

“It’s really important that women with disability can connect socially and have a safe place to belong,” she said.

“I feel like it’s a great space for women to be empowered, to then go off and be the best version of themselves.”