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The Australian senior men’s Wheelchair basketball team, the Rollers, will ramp up their preparation for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games when they assemble in Canberra for a weeklong camp.
To be held at Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence at the Australian Institute of Sport, the camp will run from January 28 – February 4, and will involve the current Rollers squad announced in July 2020 plus a number of invitees.
Speaking about the upcoming camp, Rollers head coach Craig Friday said: “With a little over six months until the Paralympic Games, this camp is extremely important to our Tokyo preparations.
“Due to COVID and the travel restrictions involved both domestically and abroad, we’ve not been able to train together as a squad since October 2019. So during this weeklong camp there will be plenty of court-time where we will work on technical and tactical aspects of our game in readiness for the challenge ahead.
“With some key members not in camp due to travel restrictions and other commitments, there is a great opportunity for squad members to put their name up in lights in front of the coaching staff.”
“There is plenty of competition for spots in the final Rollers team for the Paralympics and I’m expecting that competitive spirit to be on show in Canberra.”
The 2021 Rollers Squad (in alphabetical order):
Squad Member Name and Current Home City/Institute Scholarship
Michael Auprince: Wetzlar, Germany / NSWIS
Jordan Bartley: Brisbane / QAS
Jannik Blair: Bilbao, Spain & Horsham / WAIS
Jontee Brown: Bendigo / VIS
Lachlin Dalton: Brisbane / QAS
Steven Elliott: Gympie / QAS
Phil Evans: Perth / WAIS
Jake Kavanagh: Perth / WAIS
Tristan Knowles: Melbourne / VIS
Bill Latham: Madrid, Spain / QAS
C.J McCarthy-Grogan: Darwin / NTIS
Thomas McHugh: Perth / WAIS
John McPhail: Dallas, USA & Sydney / NSWIS
Matthew McShane: Gold Coast / QAS
Shaun Norris (captain): Perth / WAIS
Luke People: Wollongong / NSWIS
Tom O’Neill-Thorne: Darwin / NTIS
Frank Pinder: Perth / WAIS
Kim Robins: Munich, Germany & Perth / WAIS
Shawn Russell: Wollongong / NSWIS
Brett Stibners: Wollongong / NSWIS
Jeremy Tyndall: Waaia, Victoria / VIS
Samuel White: Adelaide / SASI
Due to playing commitments abroad and or COVID-19 quarantine requirements, the following squad members are unable to attend the camp: Michael Auprince, Jannik Blair, Jake Kavanagh, Bill Latham, John McPhail, Ryan Morich, Frank Pinder and Kim Robins.
Since the 2020 Rollers squad was announced in July 2020, Damon Fent and Dylan Gawthorne have both taken a break from the sport and withdrawn from the squad.
With an eye on the future, Friday has invited five athletes to attend this camp. These invitees are not vying for a seat on the plane to Tokyo, however their presence provides each with an opportunity to experience this high-performance environment and push for future honours.
Camp Invitees (in alphabetical order):
Name and Current Home City/Institute Scholarship
Jaylen Brown: Warrnambool, Victoria
Brayden Foxley-Conolly: Mackay / QAS
Eithen Leard: Brisbane / QAS
Benjamin Moncrieff: Perth / WAIS
Hayden Seibuhr : Brisbane / QAS
Kurt Thomson: Brisbane / QAS
The Australian men’s Wheelchair Basketball team’s last Paralympic medal was at the London 2012 Paralympic Games when they claimed silver. The team went on to secure a bronze medal at the 2018 Wheelchair Basketball World Cup.
By: Basketball Australia
Posted: 27 January 2021
