The Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association was the peak body for sport, recreation and fitness for people with a physical disability or

vision impairment Visual or vision impairment (VI or VIP) is the partial or total inability of visual perception. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment, visual impairment may cause the individual difficul ...

in the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n state of

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. In January 2024, all the staff, assets and liabilities of the association were to be transitioned to Spinal Life Australia, with the words 'Sporting Wheelies' only retained as a business name. The

not-for-profit A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a Legal Entity, legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives. While not-for-profit organizations and Nonprofit organ ...

organisation's mission was 'to enhance the lives of people with a disability through community engagement and education, sport and healthy activity', and was changed after 2019 to 'Engage, empower and develop people with a disability to live a more healthy, active and fulfilled life of their choosing'. It supported people with a range of disabilities including

acquired brain injury Acquired brain injury (ABI) is brain damage caused by events after birth, rather than as part of a genetic or congenital disorder such as fetal alcohol syndrome, perinatal illness or perinatal hypoxia. ABI can result in cognitive, physical, e ...

amputation Amputation is the removal of a Limb (anatomy), limb or other body part by Physical trauma, trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as cancer, malign ...

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, spasticity, stiff muscles, Paresis, weak muscles, and tremors. There may b ...

multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...

muscular dystrophy Muscular dystrophies (MD) are a genetically and clinically heterogeneous group of rare neuromuscular diseases that cause progressive weakness and breakdown of skeletal muscles over time. The disorders differ as to which muscles are primarily affe ...

spina bifida Spina bifida (SB; ; Latin for 'split spine') is a birth defect in which there is incomplete closing of the vertebral column, spine and the meninges, membranes around the spinal cord during embryonic development, early development in pregnancy. T ...

spinal cord injury A spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that causes temporary or permanent changes in its function. It is a destructive neurological and pathological state that causes major motor, sensory and autonomic dysfunctions. Symptoms of ...

, other

neuromuscular A neuromuscular junction (or myoneural junction) is a chemical synapse between a motor neuron and a muscle fiber. It allows the motor neuron to transmit a signal to the muscle fiber, causing muscle contraction. Muscles require innervation to ...

and

orthopaedic Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternative spelling orthopaedics) is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...

conditions, and

(partial or total vision loss). The organisation's sports programs and services encouraged participation from social level through to elite competition such as the

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disability, disabilities. There are Winter Paralympic Games, Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 ...

. The organisation's headquarters was in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, about September 2020, moving from 60 Edmondstone Road, Bowen Hills, to 30 Dover Street, Albion. There were offices in

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

, Mackay and

Central Queensland Central Queensland is an imprecisely-defined geographical division of Queensland ( a state in Australia) that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton. The region extends from the Cap ...

. The now Brisbane-only business moved on 5 September 2023 to 2 Kilroe Street, Milton.

Former governance

Under the association's constitution, the general control and management of the administration of Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association was by a board of six. An advisory council of Queensland business and community leaders met on a regular basis to advise and assist the Board in the development and implementation of association policies. Five-time Paralympian and coach Ray Epstein was the chief executive officer of the association from 1998 to December 2016.

History

The association has its origins in the 1960s as a small sports club within the Paraplegic Welfare Association in Queensland. Sport for people with spinal cord injuries was gaining popularity following the first

in Rome in 1960, and the 'Queensland Sports and Social Club for the Disabled' played an active role in promoting disability sport and raising funds for Queensland athletes selected for national and international competitions. In 1977, the club became a registered charity in its own right as the

Paraplegic Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek () "half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neura ...

and

Quadriplegic Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is defined as the dysfunction or loss of Motor control, motor and/or Sense, sensory function in the Cervical vertebrae, cervical area of the spinal cord. A loss of motor function can present as either weak ...

Sport Association of Queensland. By the following year, the association had extended its programs and services to include people with physical disabilities other than spinal cord injuries. The decision was made to change to the new name to reflect the association's broader mission and capitalise on the popular term 'sporting wheelies' to describe wheelchair athletes. The association worked with national bodies such as the Sport Australia and the

Paralympics Australia Paralympics Australia (PA) previously called the Australian Paralympic Committee (APC) (1998–2019) is the National Paralympic Committee in Australia for the Paralympic Games movement. It oversees the preparation and management of Australian tea ...

. In January 2024, Spinal Life Australia absorbed the association, Spinal Life Association starting out as that 1960s Paraplegic Welfare Association.

Notable Paralympians

* Ashley Adams * Rene Ahrens * Greg Ball * Brendan Burkett * Lyn Coleman * Cameron de Burgh * Stephen Eaton * Amanda Fraser * Darren Gardiner * Marayke Jonkers * Adrian King * Warren Lawton * Karni Liddell * Alison Mosely *

Mike Nugent Michael Nugent (born March 2, 1982) is an American former professional American football, football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes football, Ohio State Buckeye ...

* Christopher Scott * Brooke Stockham *

Darren Thrupp Darren Brian Thrupp, OAM (born 6 December 1966) is an Australian Paralympic athlete competing mainly in category T37 sprint events. He has won nine medals at six Paralympics. Biography Thrupp was born in the Queensland town of Kilcoy. He acq ...

* Geoff Trappett * Rachael Watson Association members inducted into the Queensland Wheelchair Basketball Hall of Fame have included Robert McIntyre (1996), Rene Ahrens (1996), Beryl Ahrens (1996), Kevin Bishop (1996), Fred Nitz (1996),

(1996), Mathew Le Busque (2001), and Adrian King (2003).

Services

Member services previously included financial support to participate in representative sporting events and training camps; junior development squads for young athletes; social sporting competitions; subsidised recreational activities; and fitness and rehabilitation services through its Brisbane gym. The business then embraced the Australian Government's

National Disability Insurance Scheme The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a scheme of the Australian Government that funds reasonable and necessary supports associated with significant and permanent disability for people under 65 years old. The scheme was first int ...

. The organisation worked with partners in disability services, the public sector and sporting bodies to promote inclusion and increase participation of people with a disability in sport and active recreation.

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.sportingwheelies.org.au/ Organisations based in Queensland Cerebral palsy organizations Sports organizations established in 1977 Sports organizations disestablished in 2024