Sport Inclusion Australia

18/06/2026

Congratulations to the swimmers who will be heading off soon for the Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacs.

At the recent trials held in Sydney, 11 S14 swimmers qualified and were selected in the Australian team for the upcoming Pan Pacs to be held in California USA from 28-30 August.

Four swimmers (Darren Sisman, Kael Thompson, Stephanie Bruzzese and Montana Atkinson) will make their debut in a senior Swimming Australia national team.

Other swimmers to be selected were: Madeleine McTernan, Ruby Storm, Jack Ireland, Ricky Betar, Ben Hance, Jake Michel and Declan Budd.

Budd qualifying in three events: 200 freestyle, 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke, while McTernan qualified in the 200m freestyle and 100m backstroke events.

Swimmers will also be vying for a place in the relay team.

McTernan competed in three events at the trials breaking the Australian record in all three events (200m Free 2:10.25, 100m Back 1:07.97 and 100m Free 1:00.05).

Hance provided one of the highlights of the trials with a Virtus World record in the 50m backstroke. Competing in the open events Hance not only broke the record but also made the final in the open event.

McTernan and Ireland will head to Glasgow in early July to compete in the Commonwealth Games, they will no sooner arrive home and they will be off again to the Pan Pacs.

Good luck to all swimmers and congratulations to you and your coaches on your outstanding results and selections.


Australian Sporting Alliance for People with Disability
Life Stream Australia
Sports 4 All
Sport Inclusion NSW & ACT

17/06/2026

Every volunteer has a story.

We chatted with Paola Lopez, one of the many incredible volunteers who contributes to our mission, to hear more about her journey, her experience, and why volunteering in sport matters to her.

“I learned that inclusion isn't just a nice idea. I saw it in action: in every hug, every medal ceremony, every cheer from the stands. Personally, this experience motivated me even more to keep volunteering at similar events and keep learning.”

Read the full story: sportinclusionaustralia.org.au/giving-back-through-sport-paolas-volunteering-journey/


Image Descriptions:

1: Paola Lopez and Annyka Overton stand side by side, smiling in volunteer uniforms at the 2025 Virtus World Athletics Championships in Brisbane. An orange graphic overlay reads: “New Story. Giving Back Through Sport: Paola’s Volunteering Journey.”

2. An orange quote graphic features the words: “When I’m at a sporting event as a volunteer, I feel like I’m part of something bigger than myself. I see how individual effort turns into collective magic.” The quote is attributed to Paola Lopez.

3. A group of volunteers, including Paola Lopez, from the Medal Ceremonies team at the 2025 Virtus World Athletics Championships stand together smiling with their arms out.

4. Two volunteers sanding with medal trays at a medal ceremony for the 2025 Virtus World Athletics Championships.

📸 Photo credit to Lleyton Lloyd Photography

16/06/2026

Australian athletes are on the move with several athletes competing in International events across Europe.

Andre Rivett and Christopher Bunton are currently in Sofia Bulgaria for the Down Syndrome World Championships.

Andre is competing in the Athletics competition in Discus and shot put, while Christoper is competing in the Artistic Gymnastics competition.

An experienced competitor Christopher has been competing internationally since 2016 with great success having won numerous Gold medals along the way including at these Championships back in 2018.

Chris will have a busy program as he competes in all of the Artistic Gymnastic disciplines including his favourite the Rings. When not training or competing Christopher is also busy coaching and judging at local competitions.

Andre is also an experienced International athlete having represented Australia on numerous occasions. Andre collected 2 medals at the last World Championships in 2024 with a Silver medal in the Discus and a Bronze in the shot put. At the Virtus Athletics World Championships in Brisbane in 2025 Andre finished third in the shot put. With some good performances behind him Andre will be looking for more medals in Sofia.

Both athletes are supported by family and coaches Brett Green (Andre) and Emile Koen (Christopher).

Keep an eye on results at: Down Syndrome World Championships Bulgaria 2026 | Official Website


Australian Sporting Alliance for People with Disability
Life Stream Australia
Sport Inclusion NSW & ACT
Sports 4 All
Queensland Athletic Association
Gymnastics Australia
Down Syndrome Australia

12/06/2026

We're fundraising. This isn’t a paid ad (and there’s a reason why).

Every dollar we raise goes toward reducing the cost for athletes with an intellectual impairment to represent Australia at Virtus events.

Right now, they pay their own way – from flights to uniforms to team costs.

We’re trying to remove that barrier.

Not for one athlete – for the whole team.

Help make international competition possible for athletes. Donate before June 30 for tax deductible benefits.



🧡💙 Donate Now: https://sportinclusionaustralia.org.au/donate-25-26-tax-appeal/

[Video description: Lillee Wakefield sitting down to and speaking about representing Australia]

12/06/2026

We're proud to announce that we will be delivering our EmpowerHER Through Sport project with the support of theASEAN-Australia Centre Grants Program.

The project will bring together sporting organisations, leaders and communities from Australia and Southeast Asia to share ideas and experiences about inclusion in sport, especially for women and girls with a disability.

Around the world, women and girls with a disability often face extra barriers to participating in sport and community life, including limited opportunities, social stigma and fewer leadership pathways.

Read the full story on our website:
https://shorturl.at/HJ1qo

[Image description: T20 track athletes at the 2024 Peparnas Games in Solo, Indonesia]

10/06/2026

Congratulations Ben Hance

Virtus World Record 🚀

Ben Hance has continued his assult on the Virtus World record for the 50m bacsktroke, the 25-year-old form the Sunshine Coast qualified for his first open final – in eighth place, believed to be the first time a Multi-Disability athlete has reached that milestone in Australian swimming.

Hance clocked a time of 25.65 in his heat swim, lowering his previous mark of 25.76. It is the sevent time Hance has lowered the Virtus world record for athletes with an intellectual impairment.

Congratulations Ben and coach Ash!

Continue reading on our website
🔗https://qld.swimming.org.au/news-articles/ben-hance-lowers-his-virtus-50m-backstroke-world-record-seventh-time

Photo by Delly Carr / Swimming Australia

09/06/2026

Table Tennis Australia is thrilled to partner with Asian Women Development Plan International to deliver a free, fun and social four-week come-and-try series for women and girls at the Museum of Chinese Australian History in Melbourne, named Rally Her Collective 👋

The launch event will take place on Friday 26 June, followed by three more sessions (3, 10, 17 July) providing further accessible, social table tennis opportunities and AWDPI community workshops.

Full information can be found here ➡️ tabletennis.org.au/news/tta-and-awdpi-partner-to-deliver-activation-at-museum-of-ca-hist

| Chinese Museum 澳華歷史博物館

04/06/2026

Congratulations

🏇 Results from Round 2 of the 2026 Virtus Para Dressage Video Competition are out! 🏇

Congratulations to all athletes who took part in Round 2.
This round showcased impressive skill, dedication, and partnership between athletes and their horses, with competitors from Australia and Great Britain delivering outstanding performances.

Special mention to champions from various tests:

🥇🥇 Sarah Sherwood (Australia)- FEI Grade IV Novice A and FEI Grade IV Intermediate A – Sarah Sherwood (Australia)

🥇🥇 Sui Watts (Australia) - FEI Para Dressage Challenge II, Grade III Para Foundation Test and FEI Grade III Novice A

🥇 Layne Auer (Australia) - Grade II Intermediate A and Grade II Novice A

🥇Danielle Curzon (Great Britain) - FEI Grade IV Novice A (Performance II3)

🥇 Laura Crew (Great Britain) - FEI Grade IV Intermediate A (Performance II3)

Thank you to all athletes, coaches, officials, and supporters for making this competition a success. We are proud to celebrate the achievements of athletes with intellectual disabilities on the international stage.

View the full results here: https://virtus.sport/results-rankings-records -id-11

02/06/2026

Congratulations to our Equestrian riders who have had outstanding results at the latest Virtus Online Video competition.

Sarah Sherwood riding Dicavalli Royal Guess dominated the II-1 event with outstanding scores of 77% and 75.2% winning both the FEI Grace IV Novice A and Intermediate A competitions.

Sue Watts riding Kingswood Maximillion took out the II-2 events with high scores of 71.07% and 69.38%.

Phoebe Roche on Romper Stomper continued her outstanding form with outstanding scores of 74.6% and 72.25% for 2 second placings in a very tough competition.

Other medallists include: Jaydan Pilmore on Teddy finishing third in the II-1 FEI Grade IV Intermediate A event with a score of 65%.

FEI Grade IV Intermediate A
Catherine Viney (Jackabite) 62.4% 5th II-1
Isabella Parisi (Kalinda Park Adina Flash) 54.8% 6th II-1
Grace Murphie-Ryan (Pemberton Show Biz) 72% 4th II-3

Competing in the Development competition Layne Bauer (Agent Albert) scored the highest in both tests with scores of 65.26% and 65.94%, with Lizzie Brennan (Leo) score 60.63%

Congratulations to all riders, horses and coaches on some outstanding results.


Australian Sporting Alliance for People with Disability
Equestrian South Australia Inc
Para-Equestrian Western Australia
Equestrian Australia
Equestrian Life
Equestrian Queensland
Life Stream Australia
Sports 4 AllSport Inclusion NSW & ACT