MELBOURNE TO HOST TOYOTA WHEELCHAIR AFL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Disability Sports Australia (DSA) is pleased to announce that the country’s best wheelchair AFL players will be heading to Melbourne in November for the 2022 Toyota Wheelchair AFL National Championship.
Hosted at the newly opened, state-of-the-art Diamond Valley Sports and Fitness Centre, athletes will compete in the first major national wheelchair AFL event since 2019.
Delivered by DSA in partnership with the Australian Football League (AFL), the Championship provides an opportunity for people with a physical disability, and those without disability, to participate together in a modified, fully-inclusive game of Australian Rules Football – played in a sports wheelchair.
First held in 2016, the Wheelchair AFL National Championship will run for four days with teams from across Australia, including several teams from the Australian Defence Force, competing for the national crown.
Over the past 18 months, there has been significant development to increase participation in wheelchair AFL across Australia. For the first time, the Championship will feature teams from Western Australia, Queensland and New South Wales – as well as Tasmania, South Australia and Victoria.
The 2022 Toyota Wheelchair AFL National Championship will feature a ‘lightning carnival’ format on the first day. Based on their Day 1 results, teams will be placed into either Division 1 or Division 2 for a round of games before the top teams in each Division compete in the Championship’s Finals Series.
Disability Sports Australia’s General Manager - Programs and Partnerships, Ayden Shaw, said, “After a two-year hiatus, we have worked closely with the AFL and are thrilled to bring the 2022 Toyota Wheelchair AFL National Championship to Melbourne. Over the past few years, the rate of participation in sport for people with disability has been impacted by the pandemic, so to be able to provide more athletes than ever the opportunity to compete in this year’s event is extremely exciting”
“Over the past 18 months, there has been a significant amount of work done by DSA’s State members, AFL’s State and Territory organisations and the Australian Defence Force encouraging people to play this great game and we look forward to the Championship continuing to be the flagship national event of the wheelchair AFL participation pathway.”
AFL Disability Inclusion Manager, Nathan Pepper, said: “It is fantastic to see the Toyota Wheelchair AFL National Championship return in 2022. There has been significant growth of the sport in recent years with State League competitions being established in many states. This Championship provides players with an elite pathway to showcase the best Wheelchair AFL talent from around the country and generate interest from new players and fans in this emerging sport. We are proud to be supporting Disability Sport Australia with this event and I wish everyone involved the all the best.”
The 2022 Wheelchair AFL National Championship is proudly supported by Toyota as the naming Rights sponsor, AFL, AFL Victoria the Australian Defence Force and Aligned Leisure.
For more information:
Ayden Shaw
General Manager - Programs and Partnerships
Disability Sports Australia
M: 0411 788 315