Sport | wheelchair basketball |
---|---|
Founded | 2000 |
No. of teams | 6 |
Country | Australia |
Most recent champion(s) | Sydney Uni Flames |
Most titles | Hills Hornets/Sydney Uni Flames (10) |
Official website | wheelchairleagues.basketball |
The Australia Women's National Wheelchair Basketball League (WNWBL) is a women's semi-professional wheelchair basketball league in Australia.
The league currently has six teams:
The Sydney University Flames, as the Hills Hornets, were one of the league's original teams, and the most successful, winning the championship nine years in a row from 2002 to 2010. Seven-time Paralympian Liesl Tesch was one of the team's founding members, who was named the first overall MVP in 2000, and played for the team in 2017. The team became the Sydney University Flames in 2010, [1] and won the league championship in 2019. [2]
The Sydney Metro Blues were also one the league's original teams, as the North Sydney Bears. As such, they won the league championship in 2001. They subsequently became the Goudcamp Gladiators, and then the Sachs Goudcamp Bears in 2011. [3] They assumed their current identity of the Sydney Metro Blues in 2016, [4] and won the league championship in 2017. [5]
Another of the original teams, the Kilsyth Cobras began as the Victorian Wheelies in 2000. They subsequently became the Dandenong Rangers, and won the league championship in 2011 and 2012 with players including Amanda Carter and Shelley Chaplin. In 2015, the team became affiliated with the Kilsyth Cobras, a club that also fields teams in the men’s and women’s sections of the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL), the Victorian Youth Championship Competition (VYC), the Victorian Junior Basketball League (VJBL) and the National Wheelchair Basketball League (NWBL). The Kilsyth Cobras went through the 2015 season undefeated, posting a 16–0 record that still stands, and claimed the league championship. [6]
The Perth Wheelcats (Formerly Be Active Western Stars) joined the league in 2006. The team quickly became a force in the competition, supplying three players (Amber Merritt, Sarah Vinci and Clare Nott) to the Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team at the 2012 Summer Paralympics, plus the coach, John Triscari. The Stars won league championships in 2013 and 2016, and Merritt was the 4.0 MVP and highest point scorer for nine years running from 2011 to 2019. [7] [8] [9]
The Queensland Comets (formerly the Minecraft Comets) became the league's fifth team in 2011. [10] They won the league championship in 2014 and 2018. [11] [12]
The Red Dust Lady Heelers became the league's sixth team in 2017, following the track of the Red Dust Heelers, who joined the NWBL three years before. The Red Dust Heelers program grew out of the 2012 Outback Academy Australia. In its inaugural year in the competition, it was fortunate to have players like Deanna Smith, Kathleen O'Kelly-Kennedy, Clare Nott and Georgia Inglis. [13]
Year | Team | Reference |
---|---|---|
2000 | Victorian Wheelies | [3] |
2001 | North Sydney Bears | [3] |
2002 | Hills Hornets | [3] |
2003 | Hills Hornets | [3] |
2004 | Hills Hornets | [3] |
2005 | Hills Hornets | [3] |
2006 | Hills Hornets | [3] |
2007 | Hills Hornets | [3] |
2008 | Hills Hornets | [3] |
2009 | Hills Hornets | [3] |
2010 | Sydney University Flames | [3] |
2011 | Victorian Dandenong Rangers | [3] |
2012 | Victorian Dandenong Rangers | [3] |
2013 | Be Active Western Stars | [3] |
2014 | Minecraft Comets | [11] |
2015 | Kilsyth Cobras | [14] [15] |
2016 | Be Active Western Stars | [16] |
2017 | Sydney Metro Blues | [5] |
2018 | Queensland Comets | [8] |
2019 | Sydney University Flames | [2] |
Year | Player | Team | Reference |
---|---|---|---|
2009 | Clare Burzynski | Western Stars | [17] |
2010 | Clare Burzynski | Western Stars | [17] |
2011 | Clare Burzynski | Be Active Western Stars | [17] |
2012 | Amanda Carter | Dandenong Rangers | [17] |
2013 | Clare Nott | Be Active Western Stars | [17] |
2014 | Ella Sabljak | Minecraft Comets | [18] |
2015 | Clare Nott | Kilsyth Cobras | [15] |
2016 | Sarah Vinci | Be Active Western Stars | [4] |
2017 | Sarah Vinci | Be Active Western Stars | [5] |
2018 | Hannah Dodd | Sydney Uni Flames | [8] |
2019 | Hannah Dodd | Sydney Uni Flames | [19] |
Year | Player | Team | Reference |
---|---|---|---|
2009 | Kylie Gauci | Goudcamp Gladiators | [20] |
2010 | Kylie Gauci | Goudcamp Gladiators | [20] |
2011 | Kylie Gauci | Sachs Goudcamp Bears | [20] |
2012 | Kylie Gauci | Sachs Goudcamp Bears | [20] |
2013 | Kylie Gauci | Sachs Goudcamp Bears | [20] |
2014 | Kylie Gauci | Sachs Goudcamp Bears | [18] |
2015 | Kylie Gauci | Sachs Goudcamp Bears | [15] |
2016 | Kylie Gauci | Sydney Metro Blues | [4] |
2017 | Hannah Dodd | Sydney University Flames | [5] |
2018 | Kylie Gauci | Sydney Metro Blues | [8] |
2019 | Georgia Inglis | Perth Wheelcats | [21] |
Year | Player | Team | Reference |
---|---|---|---|
2009 | Sarah Stewart | Hills Hornets | [22] |
2010 | Sarah Stewart | Sydney University Flames | [22] |
2011 | Shelley Chaplin | Dandenong Rangers | [22] |
2012 | Shelley Chaplin | Dandenong Rangers | [22] |
2013 | Sarah Stewart | Sydney University Flames | [22] |
2014 | Sarah Stewart | Sydney University Flames | [18] |
2015 | Leanne Del Toso | Kilsyth Cobras | [15] |
2016 | Sarah Stewart | Sydney University Flames | [4] |
2017 | Sarah Stewart | Sydney University Flames | [5] |
2018 | Leanne Del Toso | Kilsyth Cobras | [8] |
2019 | Leanne Del Toso | Kilsyth Cobras | [23] |
Year | Player | Team | Reference |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | Liesl Tesch | Sydney Uni Flames | [24] |
2011 | Amber Merritt | Be Active Western Stars | [24] |
2012 | Amber Merritt | Be Active Western Stars | [24] |
2013 | Amber Merritt | Be Active Western Stars | [24] |
2014 | Amber Merritt | Be Active Western Stars | [18] |
2015 | Amber Merritt | Be Active Western Stars | [15] |
2016 | Amber Merritt | Be Active Western Stars | [4] |
2017 | Amber Merritt | Be Active Western Stars | [5] |
2018 | Amber Merritt | Be Active Western Stars | [8] |
2019 | Amber Merritt | Perth Wheelcats | [9] |
Year | Player | Team | Reference |
---|---|---|---|
2009 | Katie Hill | Hills Hornets | [25] |
2010 | Liesl Tesch | Sydney Uni Flames | [25] |
2011 | Shelley Chaplin | Victoria Dandenong Rangers | [25] |
2012 | Cobi Crispin | Victoria Dandenong | [25] |
2013 | Mari Amimoto | Stacks Goudkamp Bears | [25] |
Year | Player | Team | Reference |
---|---|---|---|
2000 | Liesl Tesch | Hills Hornets | [26] |
2001 | Liesl Tesch | Hills Hornets | [26] |
2002 | Alison Mosely | Queensland Storm | [26] |
2003 | Kylie Gauci | Hills Hornets | [26] |
2004 | Liesl Tesch | Hills Hornets | [26] |
2005 | Shelley Chaplin | Knox Ford Raiders | [26] |
2006 | Alison Mosely | Queensland Comets | [26] |
2007 | Kylie Gauci | Goudcamp Gladiators | [26] |
2008 | Kylie Gauci | Goudcamp Gladiators | [26] |
2009 | Kylie Gauci | Goudcamp Gladiators | [26] |
2010 | Kylie Gauci | Goudcamp Gladiators | [26] |
2011 | Kylie Gauci | Sachs Goudcamp Bears | [26] |
2012 | Kylie Gauci | Sachs Goudcamp Bears | [26] |
2013 | Kylie Gauci | Sachs Goudcamp Bears | [26] |
2014 | Kylie Gauci | Sachs Goudcamp Bears | [18] |
2015 | Clare Nott | Kilsyth Cobras | [15] |
2016 | Sarah Stewart | Sydney University Flames | [4] |
2018 | Cobi Crispin | Queensland Comets | [8] |
2019 | Annabelle Lindsay | Sydney Uni Flames | [27] |
Year | Player | Team | Reference |
---|---|---|---|
2000 | Liesl Tesch | Hills Hornets | [28] |
Paula Coughlan | Victorian Wheelies | [28] | |
Alison Mosely | Northern Premiers | [28] | |
Lisa O'Nion | North Sydney Bears | [28] | |
Coralie Crossley | Adelaide Storm | [28] | |
2001 | Liesl Tesch | Hills Hornets | [28] |
Alison Mosely | Northern Premiers | [28] | |
Lisa O'Nion | North Sydney Bears | [28] | |
Juilianne Adams | Victorian Wheelies | [28] | |
Kylie Gauci | Hills Hornets | [28] | |
2002 | Alison Mosely | Queensland Storm | [28] |
Lisa O'Nion | North Sydney Bears | [28] | |
Juilianne Adams | Victorian Wheelies | [28] | |
Kylie Gauci | Hills Hornets | [28] | |
Paula Coughlan | Victorian Wheelies | [28] | |
2003 | Kylie Gauci | Hills Hornets | [28] |
Alison Mosely | Queensland Storm | [28] | |
Juilianne Adams | Victorian Wheelies | [28] | |
Lisa O'Nion | North Sydney Bears | [28] | |
Liesl Tesch | Hills Hornets | [28] | |
2004 | Liesl Tesch | Hills Hornets | [28] |
Jenny Pattison | North's Bears | [28] | |
Tina Mckenzie | Knox Raiders | [28] | |
Kylie Gauci | Hills Hornets | [28] | |
Sarah Stewart | North's Bears | [28] | |
2005 | Shelley Chaplin | Knox Ford Raiders | [28] |
Alison Mosely | Queensland Storm | [28] | |
Kylie Gauci | Hills Hornets | [28] | |
Jane Sachs | North's Bears | [28] | |
Melanie Hall | Queensland Storm | [28] | |
2006 | Alison Mosely | Queensland Comets | [28] |
Jenny Nichols | North's Bears | [28] | |
Tina Mckenzie | Knox Raiders | [28] | |
Kylie Gauci | North's Bears | [28] | |
Mandy Bonavita | Western Stars | [28] | |
2007 | Liesl Tesch | Hills Hornets | [28] |
Nu Nguyen-Thi | Western Stars | [28] | |
Tina Mckenzie | Knox Raiders | [28] | |
Katie Hill | Hills Hornets | [28] | |
Kylie Gauci | North's Bears | [28] | |
2008 | Amanda Carter | Dandenong Rangers | [28] |
Kylie Gauci | Goudkamp Gladiators | [28] | |
Sarah Stewart | Hills Hornets | [28] | |
Cobi Crispin | Western Stars | [28] | |
Liesl Tesch | Hills Hornets | [28] | |
2009 | Clare Burzynski | Western Stars | [28] |
Kylie Gauci | Goudkamp Gladiators | [28] | |
Sarah Stewart | Hills Hornets | [28] | |
Cobi Crispin | Western Stars | [28] | |
Liesl Tesch | Hills Hornets | [28] | |
2010 | Clare Burzynski | Western Stars | [28] |
Kylie Gauci | Goudkamp Gladiators | [28] | |
Sarah Stewart | Sydney Uni Flames | [28] | |
Cobi Crispin | Western Stars | [28] | |
Liesl Tesch | Sydney Uni Flames | [28] | |
2011 | Clare Burzynski | Western Stars | [28] |
Kylie Gauci | Goudkamp Gladiators | [28] | |
Shelley Chaplin | Dandenong Rangers | [28] | |
Amber Merritt | Western Stars | [28] | |
Cobi Crispin | Dandenong Rangers | [28] | |
2012 | Amanda Carter | Dandenong Rangers | [28] |
Kylie Gauci | Stacks Goudkamp Bears | [28] | |
Shelley Chaplin | Dandenong Rangers | [28] | |
Amber Merritt | Western Stars | [28] | |
Sarah Stewart | Sydney Uni Flames | [28] | |
2013 | Clare Nott | Be Active Western Stars | [28] |
Kylie Gauci | Stacks Goudkamp Bears | [28] | |
Sarah Stewart | Sydney Uni Flames | [28] | |
Amber Merritt | Western Stars | [28] | |
Cobi Crispin | Victoria | [28] | |
2014 | Ella Sabljak | Minecraft Comets | [18] |
Kylie Gauci | Stacks Goudkamp Bears | [18] | |
Sarah Stewart | Sydney Uni Flames | [18] | |
Amber Merritt | Western Stars | [18] | |
Georgia Inglis | Western Stars | [18] | |
2015 | Clare Nott | Kilsyth Cobras | [15] |
Kylie Gauci | Stacks Goudkamp Bears | [15] | |
Leanne Del Toso | Kilsyth Cobras | [15] | |
Amber Merritt | Be Active Western Stars | [15] | |
Sarah Vinci | Be Active Western Stars | [15] | |
2016 | Sarah Vinci | Be Active Western Stars | [4] |
Kylie Gauci | Sydney Metro Blues | [4] | |
Sarah Stewart | Sydney Uni Flames | [4] | |
Amber Merritt | Be Active Western Stars | [4] | |
Bridie Kean | Sydney Metro Blues | [4] | |
2017 | Sarah Vinci | Be Active Western Stars | [5] |
Hannah Dodd | Sydney Uni Flames | [5] | |
Sarah Stewart | Sydney Uni Flames | [5] | |
Amber Merritt | Be Active Western Stars | [5] | |
Georgia Munro-Cook | Sydney Metro Blues | [5] | |
2018 | Hannah Dodd | Sydney Uni Flames | [8] |
Kylie Gauci | Sydney Metro Blues | [8] | |
Leanne Del Tosos | Kilsyth Kobras | [8] | |
Amber Merritt | Be Active Western Stars | [8] | |
Cobi Crispin | Queensland Comets | [8] | |
2019 | Hannah Dodd | Sydney Uni Flames | [29] |
Georgia Inglis | Perth Wheelcats | [29] | |
Leanne Del Tosos | Kilsyth Kobras | [29] | |
Amber Merritt | Perth Wheelcats | [29] | |
Sarah Vinci | Perth Wheelcats | [29] |
Voted by the coaches and referees
Year | Player | Team | Reference |
---|---|---|---|
2001 | Emily Jansen | Victorian Wheelies | [30] |
2002 | Sarah Stewart | North Sydney Bears | [30] |
2003 | Jenny Pattison | North's Bears | [30] |
2004 | Emily Tobin | Queenslanders | [30] |
2005 | Clare Burzynski | Queensland Storm | [30] |
2006 | Sharnie Grazules | Hills Hornets | [30] |
2007 | Leanne Del Toso | Knox Raiders | [30] |
2008 | Amber Merritt | Western Stars | [30] |
2009 | Anne Marie Howarth | Goupkamp Gladiators | [30] |
2010 | Shelley Cronau | Sydney University Flames | [30] |
2011 | Natalie Hodges | Minecraft Comets | [30] |
2012 | Jasmine Clark | Minecraft Comets | [30] |
2013 | Ellie Cole | Victoria | [30] |
2014 | Laura Bassegio | Victoria | [18] |
2015 | Zeena Suavaga | Sachs Goudkamp Bears | [15] |
2016 | Annabelle Lindsay | Sydney University Flames | [4] |
2017 | Teisha Shadwell | Kilsyth Cobras | [5] |
Voted by the captain of each team. [18]
Year | Player | Team | Reference |
---|---|---|---|
2000 | Liesl Tesch | Hills Hornets | [31] |
2001 | Alison Mosely | North Sydney Bears | [31] |
2002 | Alison Mosely | Queensland Storm | [31] |
2003 | Kylie Gauci | Hills Hornets | [31] |
2004 | Alison Mosely | Queenslanders | [31] |
2005 | Jenny Nichols | North's Bears | [31] |
2006 | Alison Mosely | Queensland Comets | [31] |
2007 | Liesl Tesch | Hills Hornets | [31] |
2008 | Liesl Tesch | Hills Hornets | [31] |
2009 | Cobi Crispin | Perth Western Stars | [31] |
2010 | Sarah Stewart | Sydney University Flames | [31] |
2011 | Amber Merritt | Be Active Western Stars | [31] |
2012 | Amber Merritt | Be Active Western Stars | [31] |
2013 | Amber Merritt | Be Active Western Stars | [31] |
2014 | Amber Merritt | Be Active Western Stars | [18] |
2015 | Amber Merritt | Be Active Western Stars | [15] |
2016 | Amber Merritt | Be Active Western Stars | [4] |
2017 | Amber Merritt | Be Active Western Stars | [5] |
2018 | Amber Merritt | Be Active Western Stars | [8] |
2019 | Amber Merritt | Perth Wheelcats | [32] |
Shelley Chaplin is an Australian 3.5-point player wheelchair basketball player. She participated in the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, where she won a silver medal; in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, where she won a bronze medal, and the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, where she won a second silver medal, a win she dedicated to her lifelong friend Shannon.
Kylie Gauci is an Australian Paralympic 2-point wheelchair basketball player. She participated in the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, where she won a silver medal; in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, where she won a bronze medal, and the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, where she won a second silver medal. Gauci represented Australia at the 2002, 2006 and 2010 World Championships, and was named to the World All Star 5 at the World Championships in Amsterdam in 2006. She has played over 180 international games.
Clare Nott is an Australian 1.0 point wheelchair basketball player who plays for the Kilsyth Cobras in the Women's national Wheelchair Basketball League (WNWBL) and for the Red Dust Heelers in the mixed National Wheelchair basketball League (NWBL). She participated in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, where she won a bronze medal, and the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, where she won a silver medal.
Katie Hill is an Australian 3.0 point wheelchair basketball player. She participated in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, where she won a bronze medal, and the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, where she won a silver medal. She has over 100 international caps playing for Australia.
Tina McKenzie is an Australian wheelchair basketball player. She participated in the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, where she won a silver medal; in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, where she won a bronze medal; and the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, where she won a second silver medal. After becoming an incomplete paraplegic as a result of a fall from a building in 1994, she took up wheelchair tennis and later wheelchair basketball. She joined the Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team, known as the Gliders, in 1999, and played her first international match at the 2002 World Wheelchair Basketball Championship in Japan. She has over 100 international caps.
Sarah Stewart is a 3.0 point wheelchair basketball player from Australia. She participated in the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, where she won a silver medal; in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, where she won a bronze medal; and the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, where she won a second silver medal.
Amanda Carter is an Australian Paralympic wheelchair basketball player. Diagnosed with transverse myelitis at the age of 24, she began playing wheelchair basketball in 1991 and participated in the Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team, the Gliders, at three Paralympics from 1992 to 2000. An injury in 2000 forced her to withdraw from the sport, but she came back to the national team in 2009, and was a member of the team that represented Australia and won silver at the 2012 London Paralympics.
Gerard "Gerry" Benjamin Hewson, OAM is an Australian former Paralympic wheelchair basketballer. He has coached wheelchair basketball on the national and international level in Australia. Gerry is now studying horticulture at TAFE and is the producer of Gerard Benjamin honey from Cedar Brush Creek.
Leanne Del Toso is a 3.5 point wheelchair basketball player who represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, where she won a silver medal. Diagnosed with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy at the age of nineteen, Del Toso started playing wheelchair basketball in 2006. Playing in the local Victorian competition, she was named the league's most valuable player in 2007. That year started playing for the Knox Ford Raiders in the Women's National Wheelchair Basketball League (WNWBL). The following year, she was named the team's Players' Player and Most Valuable Player (MVP).
Amber Merritt is a 4.5-point wheelchair basketball player who plays forward. She represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, where she won a silver medal and at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo.
Georgia Inglis is a 2.5 point Australian wheelchair basketball player. She was part of the Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team at the Osaka Cup in Japan in February 2013, and at the Asia-Oceania Zone Qualifiers in Bangkok in November 2013. She played with the Perth Western Stars team that won the Women's National Wheelchair basketball League (WNWBL) championship title in 2013.
Deanna Smith is an Australian former professional basketball player. She is best known for her time spent in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL), but has also spent time in England, Portugal, Russia and Italy. She has also played wheelchair basketball with the Women's National Wheelchair Basketball League (WNWBL). She was the first player to play in both the WNBL and WNWBL.
Georgia Bishop-Cash is a swimmer and 4.0 point Australian wheelchair basketball player. She made her international debut with the Australian U25 team at the 2015 Women's U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Beijing, winning silver. She was part of the Minecraft Comets team that won the Women's National Wheelchair Basketball League (WNWBL) championship title in 2014 and 2018, and were named the Queensland Sporting Wheelies Team of the Year for 2014. In May 2019, she was part of the Devils team that won silver at the 2019 Women's U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Suphanburi, Thailand.
Joshua Allison is a 1.0 point wheelchair basketball player from Australia. He played basketball for the Kilsyth Cobras and the Sherbroke Suns before suffering a serious accident in 2011. He began playing wheelchair basketball in 2013, and was selected for the national team in 2014. That year he was part of the team that won the 2014 Incheon World Wheelchair Basketball Championship. In 2016, he represented Australia the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Isabel Martin is a 1.0 point Australian wheelchair basketball player. She made her international debut with the Australian women's national wheelchair basketball team at the Osaka Cup in February 2016. In May 2019, she was part of the Australian U25 team that won silver at the 2019 Women's U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Suphanburi, Thailand. She represented Australia at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo and the 2022 Wheelchair Basketball World Championships in Dubai.
Bree Mellberg is an Australian diver and 3 point wheelchair basketball player. A national junior champion, she represented Australia at the FINA world junior diving championships in September 2008. After switching to wheelchair basketball, she made her international debut with the Australian women's national wheelchair basketball team at the Osaka Cup in February 2017. She represented Australia at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo.
Annabelle Lindsay is a 4.5 point Australian wheelchair basketball player. She made her international debut with the Australian women's national wheelchair basketball team at the Osaka Cup in February 2017. In May 2019, she was part of the U25 National team that won silver at the 2019 Women's U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Suphanburi, Thailand.
Courtney Anne Ryan is a 2.0 point American wheelchair basketball player who played with the national team at the 2014 Women's World Wheelchair Basketball Championship in Toronto in 2014. In 2017, she played for the Sydney Metro Blues in the Women's National Wheelchair Basketball League in Australia.
Georgia Munro-Cook is an Australian 4.5 point wheelchair basketball player. She represented Australia at the She represented Australia at the 2018 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Hamburg, the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, and the 2022 Wheelchair Basketball World Championships in Dubai.
Teisha Shadwell is an Australian 4.5 point wheelchair basketball player. In May 2019, she was part of the Australian Devils U25 team that won silver at the 2019 Women's U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Suphanburi, Thailand.