Patrick Cotter- Lawn Bowls

Ten-year-old Patrick lives near Bundaberg and is very keen to get into the sport of lawn bowls.

His mother Isabelle says Patrick, who was born with Spina Bifida, has been looking for a sport he can play for many years but was unsure what he could do.

Recently he linked with a lawn bowls coach, Des after his school expressed an interest in Patrick taking up lawn bowls.

Des attended a multi sport expo hosted in Bundaberg by Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association seeking advice on a lawn bowls chair for Patrick.

Things have progressed quickly from there and Patrick is excited about his new sport.

Sporting Dreams wishes him every success in his new sporting endeavor.

Josh is a an 11-year-old swimmer from Auchenflower who dreams of swimming at the Paralympics like his heroes Paralympians Mathew Cowdrey and Brendan Hall.

Although he only started swimming this year, he is already well on the way after he broke the Queensland state record  at the Queensland Championships where he competed alongside his idol-fellow S9 classification swimmer Brendan Hall.

Josh started competing this year via the school sport swimming competitions. 

He has always loved swimming but his career really took off in January when he was  spotted swimming at the UQ pool and  invited to start squad training by his coach Jay, who instantly recognised his potential. 

From there his PE teacher at Milton State School urged him to keep training and entered him in the school team. Josh went on to compete at the National schools Championships where he won two silver medals in the under 12 relay teams.

Josh now says “I want to win Gold at the 2016 Paralympic Games, continue to represent Queensland, enjoy swimming and keep fit.”

Brighde Judge Mears- Athletics

When she was five years old, Brighde thought she couldn’t walk because of her cerebral Palsy- now she wants to run at the Paralympics.

Brighde was born with cerebral palsy diplegia which means both sides of her body are affected.  But her mum says Brighde has never let it get in her way.

“Just before her 5th birthday Brighde decided she couldn’t go to school since she could not walk. Showing her characteristic determination she set her mind to learning to walk and got up on her feet.”

Now 12, Brighdge has been running for four years and loves to challenge herself to longer distances.

“I think running is fun and I get to go fast. I love going in competitions because I get bored doing nothing. I like running long distance like 800m and 400m best, and I also like cross country,” she says.

Originally from new Zealand, Brighde and her family moved to Brisbane two years ago for her fathers work.

“Since moving back to Australia I have been training at QEII Stadium in Brisbane. We usually go once a week and I train with two other girls who have cerebral palsy. I also train at home running along my street and riding my bike,” she says.

Brighdes Mum Sybil says that her daughter is totally committed to her running.

“When we returned to Australia Brighde took up running more seriously and decided to make it her primary activity. She now has a regular coach Cherina Kelly. The training has been fantastic for Brighde and she has had some excellent results this year.”

Brighdes outstanding achievements include winning the 400m for girls under 14 at the Athletics Australia Underage AWD Championships. She is now the National record holder for the 400m and holds QLD Games records  for the 100m,200m and 400m.

Her advice to other athletes is: “Be consistent with training and warm-ups. Eat well and get enough sleep. Its not about winning but about doing your best.”

Jason Lettice- Javelin and shotput

Jason is a newcomer to the sport of athletics, but is already showing talent at shotput and javelin.

This year he won the Javelin event for his classification at the QLD underage athletes with a disability State Championships.

This achievement becomes even more remarkable when you consider Jason only lost his leg in May last year.

He started the sport 5 months ago through a friend who suggested he give it a go.

The former Australia post delivery driver has always been sporty, and played basketball and football prior to his accident. He hopes to receive medical clearance to resume work soon.

Meanwhile Jason has thrown himself into training in a bid to qualify for the Paralympics.

“ I have a personal trainer and go three times a week to do weights and cardio, he says.

He also does 6 training sessions each week in shotput and javelin.

Jason says his favourite event is javelin, but ironically it is shotput which may bring him his Paralympic Dream.

“ I only have 3m to make up in shotput to qualify for the Paralympics,” he says.

His coach Roger Bannister is full of praise for his athlete.

“ I think Jason has got the ability to compete at the highest level,” he says.

When not training and competing  Jason enjoys camping. 

Sporting Dreams wishes Jason every success as he aims to compete at the 2011 Arafura Games and ultimately, the Paralympics.

Jarrod Moncure- Handcycling

As  the current QLD and National champion, Jarrod took the next step in his sporting career this year when he competed at the world championships in Canada where he placed 22nd in the road race and individual time trial.

It is a remarkable achievement, especially when you consider that he only started  handcycling two years ago.

Four years ago, in April 2006, Jarrod became a paraplegic in an accident at work.

He was working in the bucket of a cherry picker when  the bucket 
gave way and Jarrod fell 11 metres to the ground. 

He was rushed to hospital, where he spent four months before spending another 6 months in rehabilitation learning to perform all the basic tasks of daily living.

Since then Jarrod has returned to the hospital to talk to other young accident victims about their recovery program and mindset. 


Only two years and three months after his accident Jarrod discovered cycling, with sports in his blood and 
footy no longer an option, he was determine to find something to satisfy him. Through social networks, 
Jarrod found (now coach) Brian Hopley, who’s inspiration and motivation will help reach his goal of the 
2012 Paralympics. 

His website says “Jarrod now trains every day, is extremely passionate about his sport and is determine to achieve his goals.”

In 2010 Jarrod also challenged himself by competing in the New York Marathon. He now aims to compete in Europe during 2011 to gain experience ahead of the 2012 Paralympic Games.

Sporting Dreams wishes Jarrod every success as he races towards the London 2012 Paralympics.

To find out more visit  www.jarrodmoncur.com

Steve Osborne- Powerlifting

Steve is a Paralympic Swimmer turned powerlifter.

After representing Australia at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, Steve retired from the sport.

But recently he turned his hand to powerlifting, entering his first event in September.

His natural talent was obvious immediately, with his best lift oof 125kg just 5kg less than the standard required for tier 3 of the the Paralympic preparation program squad.

Competing in the 100kg division Steve lifted 120kg on his first lift and 125kg on his second but his third attempt of 130kg was not a successful attempt.

Senior powerlifting coach Steve Upston says Steve now lifts 130kg in training regularly, and his aim is to lift 200kg.

Steve, who is an army officer, lost his leg in a motorbike accident while home in Australia on holidays from serving in East Timor.

As a child he swam alongside Ian Thorpe with coach Doug Frost, so  swimming was an obvious choice when he decided to try Paralympic sport.

Now he has potential to represent Australia at the Paralympics again- this time as a powerlifter.

Christine Wolf- Wheelchair Basketball

A Paralympic Gold medallist in athletics at the Beijing Games, Christine has now taken up wheelchair basketball.
Christine represented Germany at the Athens 2004 Paralympics, winning silver in the long jump before switching her allegiance to Australia.
At the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games she dominated the long jump again, this time winning gold to go with her bronze from the 100m sprint.
During the last four years of her athletics career, Christine lived at the AIS in Canberra and says the biggest thing she learned is the importance of setting goals.
She says she took up wheelchair basketball in March this year.
“I had moved up to Cairns after leaving the AIS as a track and field
athlete and didn't feel like I could or wanted to continue the
running and jumping career, but I love being active and so I was looking
for a new sport. When I heard of the

wheelchair basketball group, I went to their very next training day to try it out and absolutely
loved it and have been training with them ever since.
Gary Parker, the coach of this team in Cairns, says her contribution to the team as a Paralympian has been invaluable.
“Christine has made an incredible transition from track and field to  wheelchair basketball. Her chair skills are very good for someone new to using a wheelchair. As a defensive player she always does what is asked of her and does it well. Christine has plenty of knowledge of what it takes to be a successful athlete through training, fitness and nutrition. She is a great asset to the Cairns Hoopsnakes and to the Cairns region in general,” he says.  
Christine’s best results so far have been competing at the Suncorp Games in April where her team won, and competing at the Northern Challenge where her team came 2nd.
Her advice to others is “ always strive to be the best you can possibly be. It feels so good to know you've tried everything, even if it doesn't get you to
where you were hoping to get.”
Christine, who lost her leg to cancer at age 15, says her favorite quote is“The brave may not live forever but the cautious don't live at all!

Development Award Winners

Robbie Christie- Seven a side Football (soccer)

Robbie is a member of the QLD Paralympic Football team who won a silver medal at the 2010 National Paralympic Men’s 7 a side football Championships.

He is also vice captain of the QLD football squad.

Robbie,who has cerebral Palsy, started playing soccer in 2008 after his physiotherapist  saw how athletic Robbie was and suggested he take up a team sport. She put Robbie and his mum in touch with sporting wheelies and disabled association who connected him with Queensland soccer coach Jay Larkins- and the rest, as they say, is history.

When Jay explained to Robbie the commitment and level of training which joining the team required, Robbie willingly agreed. His mum says this was a huge turning point for Robbie and took a lot of courage as he does not have a naturally outgoing personality.

Since then he demonstrates a great attitude and commitment to training and competing  as part of the QLD squad. After less than a year in the sport he helped his team win the silver medal at  the  Paralympic Youth Games in  Melbourne during  2009.

Robbie has hemiplegia, meaning one side  of  his body is paralysed. But this hasn't stopped him taking up sports once he found out about the opportunities available to him.

Following his success in soccer at the Australian Paralympic Youth Games, Robbies school suggested he try competing in track and field events for athletes with disabilities.

He did and this year he was named ‘Eric Russell Athlete of the Meet’ at the Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association QLD State Championships.

Robbies coach has nothing but praise for his young charge, saying “ During the 2010 season Robbie hass shown great improvement in all areas of football. His attitude for training and wish to improve has been terrific.”

After all he has achieved in is first two years of competition there is no doubt Robbie Christie is on his way to achieve bigger and better things in the sporting arena in the future.

Kobie Donovan - Athletics

Kobie is a 16-year-old runner who already holds two Australian open records after just two years of competitive running.
The high school student from Nerang says she always enjoyed running and sports, but only discovered sport for athletes with disabilities in 2008.

“I began immediately by joining little athletics, and committed myself to training and competition. I wanted to do athletics for self-fitness and to see where it could take me,” she said.

The next step was attending South Coast Regional championships in 2009 where she qualified for her  first state championships.

Kobie explains that athletics was an obvious choice of sports.”My family were all involved in athletics at one point in their lives, which did contribute to the appeal of choosing athletics as my sport,” she says.

This year Kobie won two gold medals at the  underage Nationals.

More impressively she now holds the Australian Open record for the 100m and 200m, and the Junior National record for Javelin.

The talented athlete now aims to represent Australia at international competetitions and hopefully the 2016 Paralympic Games. When she finishes high school, Kobie plans to study at university.

Kobie is excited to receive  a Sporting Dreams grant, “it is greatly appreciated and it will surely help me out in the near future,” she said.

Kobie has some wonderful advice for other athletes with disabilities.

“You should have ago and strived to achieve your own personal best. Don’t let your disability get in your way, with help and support you can achieve highly within any sport.”

Clair Keefer- Athletics

Claire Keefer,15, is a promising young athlete who competes in shotput, discuss and javelin.

Since taking up the sport in 2009 her rise to the top of the sport in Australia has been rapid.

The high school student was first introduced to athletics in  mid  2009, through her brother who trains with a squad for runners with disabilities. Claire’s mum says that due to Claire’s short stature, she was better suited to throws events than running.

Her first major event, the secondary school state championships, was in October and Claire won the shot put and discus events for her age group.  She has gone on to compete at AWD Nationals winning three gold medals and setting three Australian age records .

Claire likes to challenge herself and now competes against adults in the open category, meaning she uses the 3kg shot put in open competitions as opposed to the 2kg one in age events.

Her most memorable sporting moment was representing QLD at the National Athletics championships in Perth this year,  where the incredible atmosphere lifted her to personal best achievements in all her events.

Claire now holds the Australian open record in discus. Her outstanding results have lead to Claire being named in the Athletics Australia Paralympic Preparation Program emerging talent squad which is for athletes who have potential to compete at future Paralympic Games. Claire attended a camp with the squad at the Australian Institute of Sport.

Claire is quietly determined to achieve her sporting goals.  Once a week Claire makes the 3 hour round trip to train in Brisbane from her home in Withcott, near Toowoomba. In addition to this she does weights, cardio and throws training sessions at home.

Claire dreams of competing at the Paralympics. At the moment she is not eligible to compete internationally due to a rule which prevents athletes in her f40 classification from being internationally classified until they turn 18.

Meanwhile Claire will continue to compete at a State and National level in both able bodied events and events for athletes with disabilities.

Sporting Dreams wishes Claire every success in the future.

Foina Lyons- Boccia

Fiona is one of Austalia’s leading female boccia players, having won the National championship for the past two years.

The 24 year old who has cerebral Palsy took up the sport socially in 2001 and says the sport is perfect for someone with limited movement, as it allows her to focus on tactics while making friends.

“I enjoy my sport and not just winning, I like to encourage other players at social and competitive levels,” she says.

Since then the Cleveland local has gone from a girl who loved social sport to an Australian representative athlete.

This year she was undefeated at the QLD State Championships, and won Gold at the National Championships in Canberra for both the individual and team events. Fiona then progressed to the World Championships in Portugal, where she came 13th.

Currently Fiona has a world ranking of 32 out of 93 players. She is also a key member of the Australian team, ranked 17th in the world.

Away from the boccia court, Fiona is the Program Officer for  Redlands Bay Boccia Club.

Fiona’s next goals are to compete at the 2011 World Cup in Belfast, and ultimately to compete at the Paralympics.

Fiona is a truly remarkable young athlete who lives by her motto “ Never give up.”

Bradley Mark- Target Shooting

Ranked number one in Australia and 5th in the world, Bradley won 2 silver medals at the World Championships in Croatia in July 2010.

The 43-year-old started shooting six years ago, after being told that if he took up a sport he wouldn’t need to go to physiotherapy anymore.

“ Initially I chose archery but as a quadriplegic I could not pull the bow.  Someone suggested target shooting and I loved it from the first shot,” he said.

Bradley decided to commit to his sport. Setting his sights on the Paralympics, he returned to Brisbane at the beginning of last  year to enhance his chances of being named in the Australian Shooting Team.

The move paid off, with Bradley winning a swag of medals for Australia since.

The Wynum local says his best results so far  are a gold medal at the Oceanias championships in 2007, and 2 silver medals at this years World Championships in Coratia.

The Australian National Shooting Head Coach, Miro Sipek, describes Bradley as one of Australia’s promising new talents in the Paralympic High Performance Preparation Team leading into the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

“ Brad has shown the determination, focus,commitment and sacrifice necessary in becoming an outstanding target shooter and sportsperson. In the past year he has challenged our best athletes if he continues similarly we will provide him with the opportunity to challenge the world’s best,” he said.

 Bradley has some insightful advice for other athletes.

 “ One should view success as doing something better than you have ever done before,” he says.

 Bradley lives by the motto of Ralph Waldo Emerson : “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

He has already left his Mark in the target shooting history books, but now he aims to be number one in the world and to compete at the Paralympics. Sporting Dreams wishes him every success in hitting his biggest target of all: London 2012.

Jacob McCarthy- Tennis and Wheelchair Basketball

Jacob,15, dreams of playing tennis at the Paralympics.

The highschool student from Wangan, near Innisfail, has been playing tennis for 3 years since he was in grade 7. He decided to compete after another wheelchair tennis athlete saw him compete and lent him a tennis wheelchair.

This was a life changing moment and Jocob took to tennis saying it is “fun and enjoyable.

Initially it was challenging to reach the ball in time while pushing his wheelchair.

“It’s pretty hard at first, but you just keep going and eventually you get used to it,” he said.

Currently in year ten, he  plans to study at University when he graduates.

Australia’s National wheelchair Tennis Coach says Jacob has tremendous potential to be a great wheelchair tennis athlete.

“Tennis Australia has already identified him as a targeted athlete to become part of the junior World Team Cup in future years, he says.

However he explains Jacob has a challenge to overcome as he lives in a remote area.

“As Jacob lives regionally his access to training and competitive opportunities are limited due to the excessive funds required to travel. The tyranny of distance adversely affects the quantity and quality of competition that Jacob can access. It is recognized that regular access to a higher level of competition contributes significantly to an athlete reaching their true potential,” he says.

Sporting Dreams hopes the developing athlete grant will help Jacob travel to more competitions in 2011.

His goals in the coming year are to compete at the Brisbane Open and at major events in Adelaide and Townsville.  He also enjoys wheelchair basketball.

Jacob’s advice to other athletes is to “give it a go and don’t give up. If you really like something keep pushing forward.”

Susan Seipel- Para Equestrian

Susan is a 25-year-old University graduate who competes in para-equestrian (dressage) events and dreams of representing Australia at the Paralympics.

This year Susan experienced one of the highlights of her career when she was selected to represent Australia at the World Equestrian Games (WEG) in  Kentucky,U.S.A.

However Susan was unable to compete due to the cost of transporting her horse to the event.

Despite her disappointment at not achieving her dream, she showed true sportsmanship by attending the event to support the rest of the Australians.

Sara Tait- Wheelchair Racing

Twelve-year- old sara won the women’s wheelchair division of the Gold Coast half Marathon in 2010.

The dedicated athlete now says her goal is to become the youngest wheelchair racer to do a full marathon.

She is already a stand out performer in the sport.

Sara, who was born with Spina Bifida, competed at her first international event this year when she travelled to the IWAS World Junior Games in the Czech Republic, which is an international event for athletes with disabilities aged under 23.

In Australia, she is the under14 National Record holder for the 800m, and holds every under 12 national track record.
During 2010 she competed in the National athletics championships, and the famed ‘oz Day 10k’ road race  in Sydney.

Impressively she won one gold and three silver medals at the Australian Youth Paralympic Games in Melbourne during 2009, despite having to compete in cold and blustery conditions which meant few athletes performed at their best.

She is aiming for the London 2012 and Rio De Janiero 2016 Paralympic Games.

Her short term goals are to break all the U14 National Records, compete at the 2011 World Junior Championships and to break the race record in the Gold Coast half Marathon.

Sporting Dreams is proud to present Sara with a developing athlete grant which she will spend on training and competition costs as well as on maintaining her racing wheelchair.

James is part of the Queensland soccer team, who won the silver medal at both the Australian Paralympic Youth Games in Melbourne and at the National Open Championships in Sydney during 2009.

Robbie is new to the sport of soccer and demonstrates a great attitude and commitment to training and competing  as part of the QLD squad. He helped his team win the silver medal at  the  Paralympic Youth Games in  Melbourne during  2009.

Adam was chosen to play for QLD during 2009, despite it being his first year in the sport. The Jetstar Wheelchair Rugby Titans placed third in the National wheelchair rugby league and Adam was named ‘best new talent.’

Ben won a gold medal at the Pacific School Games in Canberra in 2009. He competes in shotput, discuss and javelin.

Jason won  bronze medals  in the time trial and road race at  his first national championships. He  took up competitive cycling after losing his leg through a motorbike accident a year ago.

Bailey plays with the Queensland Junior wheelchair basketball team, and this year won the  most improved player award in the Brisbane league. He has always been sporty and took up basketball  sixth months after becoming paraplegic in 2004.

Sarah holds the national junior records for the 100m,200m,400m,800m, 1500m and 3000m. She won one gold and three silver medals at the Australian Youth Paralympic Games in 2009.

Travis joined the Brisbane Paralympic 7 a-side Football Program in 2007, and aims to compete at the nationals in 2010. He is always keen to learn and  completes all tasks given to him with no complaints

Kirra-Lee is a role model to all. She will represent Australia at the world junior championships next year where she will compete against able bodied riders despite having the use of only one of her arms. She will use the sporting Dreams grant to modify her bike.

Damon was selected  in the Queensland ‘spinning Bullets’ this year, making him the youngest Queenslander  in the 2009 National wheelchair basketball league. He is also captain of the Queensland Junior team.

George Kambouris- handcycling  George is currently ranked second in Australia and 8th in the world. The former power-lifter aims to represent Australia.

Jesse is a national junior record holder in running, both on the track and cross country. He represented Queensland at the Paralympic youth Games and dreams of being a Paralympian.

Eleanor holds Australian junior and open records, and has been named female swimmer of the meet at the QLD State Championships.

Myles,18, plays in the Junior and senior Queensland wheelchair basketball teams.  He hopes to study at university in 2010 while training for the London 2012 Paralympics.

Briannah has been a champion swimmer for many years, but took up athletics in 2009. She competed in the school State athletic championships winning the  state championship, breaking two national AWD records with three gold medals in 100m, 200m and long jump and two silver medals for discus and shot put.

Is a talented wheelchair basketball with a never say die attitude who represented Queensland at the Australian Paralympic youth games. He helped the QLD team to 5th place.

Fifteen-year-old Jake, who has Spina bifida, is a Sunshine Coast local who represented QLD at the Paralympic youth Games. He has trained with adult players since age 10, and believes this will help him reach his ultimate dream of becoming a Paralympian.

Amy, a sunshine Coast local, is currently one of Queenslands best female wheelchair basketballers . She was a successful wheelchair racer and basketballer as a child and aims to compete at the 2012 and 2016 Paralympic Games.

Rachael Dodds broke her first world record less than a year after taking up the sport. This year she broke the world record for 400m and won gold at the national championships.

Eighteen-year-old Emily is a talented runner who holds the national open records for 200m, 400m and long jump. Born with cerebral Palsy, Emily has never let anything stand in the way of her dream to represent Australia.

Jarrods dream to represent Australia came true in 2009 when he was selected to compete at the world championships in the Netherlands, where he scored his first international goal. He is captain of the Queensland team and a role model for  younger players.

Mason, who has mild cerebral palsy, was selected to represent Qld and competed at the Australian Youth Games 2009 in Melbourne. More impressively, the school boy was also selected for the Qld Senior Squad which played in the Grand Final at the 2009 National Titles in Sydney.