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In the space of one month, youngster Cooper Spillane went from sampling wheelchair basketball for the first time to being invited to attend a national development squad camp, a potential stepping stone to representing Australia at the Paralympic Games.
Spillane was one of approximately 40 people who attended Paralympics Australia’s Multi-Sport Come and Try Day in Adelaide on April 24, one event among a nationwide program designed to give people with an impairment the opportunity to experience Para-sport.
The primary goal of Come and Try Days is participation rather than talent identification. But stories like Spillane’s show that opening the door to sport for people with an impairment can lead to a range of positive outcomes.
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“This is the sort of stuff that gives you the motivation to put on these days and give people the opportunity,” said Jon Henschke, Paralympics Australia’s Participation and Pathways Coordinator in South Australia.
“It’s about getting your foot in the door and taking that leap.
“Cooper’s about 12 or 13 years old, has a basketball background but recently had his leg amputated. He came along to our Come and Try Day, enjoyed himself and followed up by going to the local wheelchair basketball comp the following Tuesday.
“One of the guys there is involved in a Basketball Australia national development squad and flagged Cooper as someone who could be of interest. After a couple of phone calls and emails, he was off to the U23 national camp in Canberra. So, in less than a month, he went from giving the sport a try to going to a development camp.
“It’s cool to see how quickly things like that can happen. Without us putting on a Come and Try Day, he might never have given wheelchair basketball a go.”
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Participants at the Adelaide Come and Try Day included people with physical, vision and intellectual impairments and each had the chance to try the 11 sports that were on show: archery, shooting, fencing, table tennis, athletics, rowing, wheelchair tennis, wheelchair basketball, goalball, badminton and blind football. These were all Paralympic sports, but Come and Try Days sometimes also include non-Paralympic sports.
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“Come and Try Days are purely participation-based,” Henschke said.
“There are going to be people there who have higher aspirations. But the focus of the day is to showcase what sports are out there, what’s available for people to do continually and not just on the day. A lot of the sports we showcase can be played 12 months of the year.
“At this particular event we had people ranging from eight or nine years old up to people in their fifties and sixties, some of whom were coming to try Para-sport for the first time. Others were trying different sports that they hadn’t tried before. There were also a number of people there who just came to watch, to see how people with impairments go about playing sport. So, there was a really broad community of people there, which was great to see.
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“We had Darren Hicks, one of our Australian Para-cyclists, attend in a formal capacity. We also had a few other elite athletes come along just to support the day and have a look. Jed Altschwager from the Australian Para-rowing team was there. It was interesting to see him have a crack at wheelchair basketball even though he’s getting ready to go off to the Games. He was happy to give something else a go. And there were a few coaches there, too.
“I’m sure the people who came along learned a lot and hopefully now see a chance to continue playing sport and add a new dimension to their everyday lives.”
By: David Sygall, Paralympics Australia
Posted: 2 June 2021
Image: Action from the Sydney Come & Try Day © Cassandra Hannagan
