Wheelchair Basketball Week

The IPC have annouced this week to be Wheelchair Basketball week in their 20-week sport series on Twitter. Their account is @Paralympic. One of their posts included a short video about wheelchair basketball. View it below:

The footage is taken from the 2008 Beijing Paralympics and the Gliders obviously forgot that games are filmed and televised. What were we thinking?? The 5 person clap on court with a big zoom in on my big laugh is a touch embarrassing but hey any attention/publicity is good attention/publicity right?? Erg!

I found the following video after watching the above video. Good on ya Kylie! I'm assuming it was taken before the Beijing Paralympics. Unfortunately we didn't get the gold there (we won the bronze) but fingers crossed the Gliders get the gold in London!

In other news: my house didn't lose power and nothing has blown away. Taj was a bit wet and shaken when we got home. We are still expecting a few more storms in Perth so hopefully there will be no more damage during those ones. On Sunday, my husband and I had to do a lot of driving around the Fremantle to Canningvale area and we saw A LOT of fallen trees and branches on the road. One poor bloke had a branch through his car windscreen.

Taken from the Bureau of Meteorology website

Lastly, I made it into the Wheelchair Sports WA Wheelies Mail (both my names did!)! Thank you for your support guys :)

Flash and Thunder are currently at the $500 mark for raising money for Wheelchair Sports WA. Any support would be greatly appreciated! 100% tax deductible donations can be done HERE. And you can read their training blog HERE. I can hear my husband tapping away on his laptop, so expect a new training blog soon! September is approaching!

Photo by Emily Dimozantos - Life in Motion

My uni lecturer would have hated the lack of "flow" in today's post. I jumped from one topic to another quite dramatically - but meh - this doesn't count towards my degree :) Speaking of which: one more semester to go!!

- 79 days to go til London Paralympics!

WNWBL and Gliders in Perth

The weekend starting Friday the 1st of June 2012 saw my state women's wheelchair basketball team host the next round of WNWBL. The stadium was decorated with pink streamers and posters and the Western Stars had organised a pretty sweet box of pink goodies to raffle over the weekend. I was ready to go with my pink and black shatter OPI nail polish!

The first game against the Sydney Uni Flames started late due to the Flames being late to the stadium. Which is actually a bit lucky because I myself was running a bit late (at least late in terms of when the coach wanted me to be there) because I was having a few adventures in Welshpool and Cannington with my brother in law that took longer than expected (he got his Learner's permit!).

The Stars started off a bit slow but we sorted our stuff out and won the game with ease. Everyone on my team got on the scoreboard which is a great effort. We won 57 to 42. I personally got 8 points which is actually an amount I am pleased with. As a "low pointer" our main role isn't shooting and because the Western Stars don't have someone suited to carrying the ball, I have stepped up to be in that role. It is a challenge because a ball carrier has to be agile while protecting the ball at the same time, and part of my disability includes having very little balance. Therefore when I'm knocked I will "flop" to the side. So carrying the ball around defence as a "low pointer" is actually very hard to do. I rely on my team mates to make space and become passing options. I much prefer to be able to pass the ball up the court rather than weave around defence while dribbling the ball.

Photos by Emily Dimozantos (this one and the other one above right)

On a side note: a great video to watch has recently been released by the Australian Paralympic Committee. Dylan Alcott is a "low pointer" for the Australian Men's team (the Rollers).

Getting back to the WNWBL - on Saturday we played against the Queensland Comets who are a good pressing team. We managed to get through their defences and we beat them 45 to 31. I didn't get on the score board this game but I also only attempted twice. I didn't even get that many assists but my fellow "low pointers" know that this is because the "high pointers" want more rebounding stats so they miss their first shot attempt and then make their next one. My sister in law (able bodied women are allowed to play in the WNWBL bur we are only allowed on on court) top scored for the game with 19 points - a fantastic job!

Our last game was against the Dandenong Rangers who we haven't been able to beat yet. It was a very close game and we were even in the lead a few times during the game! Unfortunately we didn't get the win but the score was only 44 to 49. The coach getting a tech foul for talking on the sideline and LDT hitting 2/2 FT afterwards didn't help.So if that didn't happen and either myself or one of the other stars hit 2 more shots then we could have won!

I would like to quickly take this opportunity to thank Matt Norris and his wonderful team at RAM Wheelchairs for making such an awesome basketball wheelchair. The extra hours put into it has made it the best sports chair I've ever had. It is currently in its raw titanium form - but watch this space for when it is painted and has its pimped up Green and Yellow spoked Spinergy's.

I shared this Lorna Jane photo on my facebook wall after the game for my team mates:

The game against the Rangers was a massive progress from our last game against them. Fingers crossed we will get to play them in the grand final and we will have yet another progress. A winning progress!

That night I couldn't curl up on the couch and just watch tv. I had an exam to study for (monday was a public holiday but the uni was still open). I had taken my uni text book away with me to Germany and Manchester but no study was done. It is the last thing I wanted to do when I had to concentrate on my National team duties. So yet again I was cramming last minute.

The next morning I managed to write 9 pages in under 2 hours and I am quite happy with the content of those 9 pages as well. Fingers crossed!

Still no rest for the wicked though - I had a Gliders camp to pack for! The 16 squad members stayed on in Perth to be part of the 3 day camp held at Herb Graham Rec Centre, Mirrabooka (the same venue where the Stars train and where we held the WNWBL round). I packed up my car with the clothes our team manager told me to pack (plus some) as well as what my husband described as "half the pantry". It wasn't really half the pantry. Just what I needed in order to make the Gliders cup cakes while at the Clarion Suites in Mullaloo.

WSWA opened the stadium so we could train in the evening on Monday. We then had dinner at Hilary's Boat Harbour. The next day we had two training sessions and the following day we had our final training session. Wednesday afternoon (after helping my fellow Gliders to the airport) I was able to just RELAX! It was a stressful Gliders camp for all (staff included) - but more about that on a different day!

- 83 days til the London Paralympics!

Gliders in Manchester 3

26 May 2012 

Grand final day!!

I went shopping for the first time since being away with the Gliders. SV and I found the jewellery shop selling Thomas Sabo so I could buy a new charm. They are cheaper in this part of the world compared to buying them in Australia. My newest addition is a cute little Sabo Doll :)

Because it took ages to choose which charms we wanted and the lady took her time at the cash register we had to basically sprint (as much as two wheelchair bound girls can sprint across english streets) back to the hotel to make our team meeting on time.

We left for our game early so we could watch the bronze medal game between GB and USA. It was a close game but USA got the win.

USA v GB

Grand final nails - green and gold shatter

We had a great game against the Germans but unfortunately we didn't get the win. It was a very exciting close game - the leader changes several times. We were only down by 3 points when the score board decided to not work at 1:03 minutes to go. When they finally rigged up an alternate score board and shot clock the game started again and we resorted to end game tactics. Unfortunately it didn't go our way. We had an amazing defensive game but 0/8 free throws and a few missed easy baskets let us down.

We were in good spirits after the game though - we were happy with our efforts this tournament. While we waited for the bus to game, the walkers of our team created a new game: Amputee cricket - with an empty water bottle as the ball and prosthetics as the bats. It was very funny! We even got a few staff members involved and a random englishman.

 

At night we were able to relax at the bar on lower ground floor and the Gliders Player's Player was awarded jointly to CC and SS. My custody of C-Money (orange toy cat below) was very short after winning her by being Player's Player of the Frankfurt tournament (I kept the gold clutch though).

Player's Player is something that is awarded after each tournament. After each game during that tournament, each Glider votes for three Glider's who they thought contributed the best to the game. 3 votes to your first preference, 2 votes to your second preference, 1 vote to your third preference. It doesn't neccessarily have to be someone who got heaps of minutes and played really well - we can vote for someone who was very supporting on the bench or someone who did their role very well during their time on court. I have won it a few times over the years I have been playing basketball. It is a very humbling thing to be awarded - to know that your fellow teammates appreciate what you do for the team.

27 May 2012 

Travel day!

We don't have to leave the hotel til 3.30pm so in a bit I will start packing and then head out for a wander around Manchester city.

It has been a fantastic tournament but I am ready to go back home for lots of cuddles from my two boys :)



- 94 days til London Paralympics!

Gliders in Manchester 2

23 May 2012

Hydration: 17

Feeling a bit better today. I stayed in my room as much as possible, only coming out for compulsory team get togethers like meetings, food and training. I wasn't 100% going into the game but when the game started, the rush you get of playing basketball kicked in and although I was sniffing back bubbles, I think I played pretty well. Got a steal which always feels pretty good as a low. I shot like a dog though. Our team shooting percentage was a bit embarrassing which is why we lost. Our other stats were actually pretty decent compared to Germany but unfortunately the most important stat is what let us down.

24 May 2012

Hydration: 18

Today we got the win against the Great Britain girls though we still played pretty ugly. We know we can do so much better than what we are currently doing at this tournament. All the teams seem to be having lower shooting percentages. Is it the court? The bright lights that heat up the stadium? The brand new fully pumped GL6's? The ring / backboard? A combination of all of those? Who knows. I remember similar comments occuring during the last time we were here. No matter what, we are athletes who should learn to adapt to different environments, so we can only blame ourselves really.

During warm up I got a bit excited to see NOTT on the scoreboard.  They changed it to BURZYNSKI for the game but not before I was able to take a photo using DG's phone (I will try get that off him at some stage).

25 May 2012 - Happy birthday Dean "Thunder" Underwood and Amanda Nott!

Hydration: 11

I can definitely feel the difference this kind of tournament is having on my body. Compared to the tournament in Germany where we smashed out 4 intense games in 2 days - this tournament has lots of rest opportunities by having only one game a day. I am not feeling fatigued at all and my sickness feels like its starting to go away (though still blowing bubbles every now and then - not nice).

Today we had a morning training session and we worked on the thing that has been letting us down in the games. Uncontested shots. So we did lots of layups, bounce stops and and various shoots around the key.

Lunch was a treat from BA - pizza at an Italian restaurant in Manchester. We then had a small amount of time where we were able to wander the shops before heading back to the hotel which was only a short push away. We then did whatever we wanted in the hotel. Some Gliders may have napped. Other Gliders tried getting other teams involved in our new music video (hopefully this actually gets published - its currently in production but time is of essence!).

 

We then had a 7pm game against the US. In Germany we beat them so we wanted to beat them again. We did! It felt great :) I personally was proud of the way I played, 7 points in an international game is a bit of a warm fuzzy for myself. The team did really really well - we played tough defence and we were hitting some clutch shots after working some smart offence.

Tomorrow we are in the grand final - guaranteed medal = smiles all round!!

- 95 days til the London Paralympics!!

Gliders in Germany / Manchester

20 May 2012

Hydration: 15

Today was the first day since being in Germany that I actually woke up to an alarm. I didn't wake up at all during the night so I was surprised to get a semi-decent score on my hydration test. Breakfast was at 6.35am so we could make our bus to the stadium for our 9am game versus the USA team.

We haven't played the USA in a few years so we weren't sure what to expect. They won the major tournaments in 2008 and 2010 so we were expecting them to be tough opponents. The Gliders came out tough and beat them quite convincingly. One quarter the USA got donuts (ZERO!) shots in. We were feeling pretty awesome after this game.

Because we had lost the first two games it didnt matter that we had won the game against the US. We were still only playing for third. So after only a few hours rest we were playing in the play off for third against Netherlands. We lost. Like I mentioned in a previous post - no matter what excuse we had (tiredness), it was a matter of the ball not going in the hole enough times.

We weren't very happy after that game but because we still have one more tournament to go, we did our recovery session in the ice cold showers before going to watch the next game. We eventually got home for a dinner and then bed. We were at the stadium for about 12 hours that day.

21 May 2012

Travel day! Not that much to write about for this day. We had to be packed and ready to go at around 11am. We took the bus to the airport. Said goodbye to LDT who was flying back to Australia. Flew to London and then flew to Manchester. I had woken up that morning with a cold so I hated the flights. Trying to unblock my ears without blowing boogers out my nose is a skill I had to learn quickly.

By the time we got to the hotel it was dinner time, but I skipped dinner so I could go to bed early. I have a room to myself again which is probably a good thing anyway so I don't contaminate anyone else. I had a nice hot shower to try clear my head and I then took the night cold/flu tablets and went to bed.

22 May 2012

Hydration: 16! (massive surprise becaues I didn't think I drank much water last night)

Because I skipped dinner last night I missed any information regarding today - including when to wake up for breakfast. I woke up around 6.30am and lay in bed til around 7am umming and arhhing about whether to call MW to ask what time breakfast was. I eventually got the guts to call but found out the room phone had no dial tone so I couldn't call anyone anyway. It wasn't until I actually got up out of bed until I found the note by my door.

I got ready and then snoozed until it was time for breakfast. After breakfast the Gliders went for a wander to the shops but I stayed behind. After re-painting my nails with OPI 'Fly' and 'Alpine Snow' with gold shatter on top, I slept until my alarm went off at 1pm - just enough time to get ready for lunch.

After lunch we had a team meeting to talk about ze Germans who we are playing first at this tournament. Afterwards we had some more time to ourselves. I took the plunge and bought 24 hours of internet access in my room so I could Skype hubby. The Gliders had a training session in the evening. I sat on court side while watching the others do shooting drills and a small amount of 'defence against the Germans' drills. I hate being sick. I feel like I am missing out on opportunities to make my basketball better.

Dinner at the hotel was nice - some sort of port in sauce dish. The choc cake was even nicer but I couldn't finish it all. Too many bread rolls prior to cake.

I have one more set of night time cold/flu tabs to take so hopefully I feel much better when I wake up tomorrow.

- 98 days til London Paralympics!