A basketball program that works to “bridge the gap of inclusion” by getting kids and adults with physical and intellectual disabilities involved in the sport celebrated its sixth birthday on Friday, July 28.
Specialist Hoops Basketball founder and managing director Emily Attard launched the program in 2017 when she was just 16 years old.
Ms Attard said when she was a young referee, she witnessed a young boy face pushback on being allowed to play while wearing his noise-cancelling headphones, which he wore to help with sensory issues.
From there, she learned there were many players in the league living with disability, but once they got to an older age group they started to dwindle out.
“I thought, ‘how can I provide an opportunity for them to continue playing and how can I provide a safe space for them to do that?’” she said.
Ms Attard said she was nervous when she ran her first school holiday session as a teenager, but 22 participants turned up for the day, which left parents immediately asking when the next one would be.
Since then, the organisation has expanded to about 90 players who compete in able bodied and wheelchair basketball weekly at Cobblebank Stadium and Bacchus Marsh Leisure Centre.
“I think it’s quite surreal, I didn’t think it was ever going to be this big,” she said.
“But I’m always more excited about the next step and working with our participants to help them achieve their goals and helping them be the best people they can be.”
