NGA Brisbane – Grant Recipients Announced

The NEXT GEN ATHLETE presentation ceremony for the first round of recipients was held in December at Brisbane City Hall. The event was attended by athletes, their families, State Sporting Organisations, officials and Trustees and Supporters of the Lord Mayors Charitable Trust. Official announcements and presentations of NEXT GEN ATHLETE Round One recipients were made by Lord Mayor Graham Quirk and Chairman of the Lord Mayors Charitable Trust, Lady Mayoress Ann Quirk along with Robyn Smith CEO of Sport Inclusion Australia. The NEXT GEN ATHLETE Program was developed by Sport Inclusion Australia with the support of the Lord’s Mayors Charitable Trust. The NEXT GEN ATHLETE Program is an innovative way of identifying and supporting young athletes with an intellectual disability in the Brisbane metropolitan region on their athletic pathway. It will assist to link aspiring young people with an intellectual disability to Queensland State Sporting organisations, Queensland School Sport and provide the opportunity to compete at local, regional, State, National and International levels while showcasing inclusive best practice and ultimately providing an opportunity to represent Australia at the 2019 Global Games in Brisbane.

NEXT GEN ATHLETE Scholarship Recipients
Monika Christophorou – Athletics
Cameron Schefman – Swimming

NEXT GEN ATHLETE Grant Recipients
Alberto Campbell – Athletics
Ashley Kate Schlenner – Swimming
Jack Dixon – Swimming
Caitlin Kerby – Swimming
Colin Marks – Swimming

The Second Round of NGA Scholarships and Grants will Open in February 2016 for eligible Brisbane resident athletes. Details of Application process and Application Forms can be found at www.inasglobalgames.org/nextgenathlete

2015 Inas Global Games Recap

The 4th Inas Global Games in Ecuador proceeded after a shift in venues to Guayaquil and Guaranda due to the volcanic activity near Quito. The Australian Team pictured above included 55 Athletes and 19 staff.

 

The 2015 Inas Global Games, what an experience! It is hard to fully describe to anyone unless there. I want to thank every member of the Australian team and that includes Doc Anne Linton for the way you dealt with incredibly difficult circumstances. Even the way the issues on the way home, with a diversion to Hawaii, were dealt with by staff and athletes alike was commendable. As I highlighted the true test of a person is how they deal with adversity. Individuals can be fantastic when everything is going well, but it is how those individuals deal with issues when times are tough. EVERY AUSTRALIAN STOOD UP. I want to pay a huge thanks also to Aussies Michael Woods and Lorraine Landon for the work in conducting the Swimming and the Basketball events. Also to Greg Dunk, Global Games 2019 for how much work he did behind the scenes to assist. Not only did we finish on top of the medal tally, but we were wonderful ambassadors for Australia – always smiling and being respectful of our hosts and the people who worked so hard to help us. Finally to our USA friends – CEAR would not have been as enjoyable without you there with us. My friends and colleagues Barry Holman and Julie Holman were invaluable in assisting me find strength each day. Finally a huge thank you to Tracy Lawrence for her incredible role preparing everything for us prior to getting there and not forgetting Kellie and Liz in the Sport Inclusion Australia office. Enjoy your homes, beds, families, friends and remind yourself how lucky you are in comparison to many others living in Ecuador.

Robyn Smith
CEO Sport Inclusion Australia and Head of Delegation

Presidents Message

Dear Members,

Once again we are at the end of another year and preparing for Christmas again. The year 2015 has been an interesting one indeed.

During 2015 we have had our athletes competing in a number of national and international events, all with distinction while representing their local group, state or national team. The most significant event was the Global Games in Ecuador where our athletes, in adverse conditions, showed the other 30 odd countries how good they were by finishing again on top of the medal table, a great effort indeed.

As we end the year Ausrapid has emerged as a new entity, Sport Inclusion Australia. This was a major decision for the Board to take to our Members, however I am pleased to report that they supported the change unanimously. In addition we moved to bring Vicsrapid under the SIA umbrella as well so we can better assist the development of opportunities for our athletes in Victoria – Sport Inclusion Victoria.

When significant changes such as these are proposed, it is a major consideration for our Members, so I have to thank them for their support and confidence.

Whilst in thank you mode, I must also thank our Board and our staff for their hard work and continued dedication over the year. It has been a year of challenge, but we can look back upon some very significant results.

On behalf of the Board and staff can I wish you all a very Happy Festive Season, may you find time to relax, remember those friends who have left our sides, but importantly look forward to the New Year ahead.

Thank you and my personal best wishes, we look forward to 2016.

Merry Christmas,

Wayne Bird
President

Ausrapid becomes Sport Inclusion Australia

Ausrapid changes name to Sport Inclusion Australia!

It was agreed by Ausrapid’s Board and supported by Member Organisations, the name needed to change to one that was recognisable and simple. As you can imagine this was an emotional issue give the long standing of the Ausrapid name however it is important to be progressive and meet the challenges of the future.

Sport Inclusion Australia is concise, it covers what we are about and it will fit with our International body – Inas. Basically it is business as usual and everything else remains the same. The new name will tell people what we do and is simple and succinct, it says it’s about sport, about inclusion and it’s a national body.

Sport Inclusion Australia looks forward to continuing to represent you in the best possible way!

Brisbane welcomes INAS Global Games 2019

The 2019 Inas Global Games is a week long championship featuring nine sports and attracting over 1000 of the world’s elite athletes, who just happen to have an intellectual disability… if you didn’t know, you wouldn’t! Brisbane is proud to be host city for this great event. Simply view the footage below for more information. It’s set to be an amazing event!