Caitlin De Wit (born 19 June 1987) is a 3.0 point Australian

wheelchair basketball Wheelchair basketball is basketball played by people with varying physical disabilities that disqualify them from playing a non-disabled sport. These include spina bifida, birth defects, cerebral palsy, paralysis due to accident, amputations (of ...

player. She was part of the

Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team The Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team is the women's wheelchair basketball side that represents Australia in international competitions. The team is known as the Gliders. The team hasn't won a gold medal for Australia since i ...

at the Osaka Cup in Japan in February 2013, and the Asia-Oceania Zone Qualifiers in Bangkok in November 2013. She played with the Hills Hornets team that won the Women's National Wheelchair basketball League (WNWBL) championship title in 2007, 2008 and 2009, and the Sydney University Flames team that won it in 2010.

Personal

Caitlin De Wit was born on 19 June 1987, and grew up on the Central Coast of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. She attended

Central Coast Grammar School , motto_translation = Life and Knowledge , location = Erina Heights, Central Coast, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia New Sout ...

, and then

Charles Sturt University Charles Sturt University is an Australian multi-campus public university located in New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Victoria. Established in 1989, it was named in honour of Captain Charles Napier Sturt, a British explorer w ...

, where she studied for a

Bachelor of Applied Science The Bachelor of Applied Science, often abbreviated as B.AS., BAS, BSAS, BASc, B.A.Sc., or BAppSc, is an undergraduate degree. There are also ''Bachelor of Arts and Science'' and ''Bachelor of Administration Science'' undergraduate degrees, also a ...

degree in Equine Studies. During her first year at Charles Sturt, she broke her L4-L6

lumbar vertebrae The lumbar vertebrae are, in human anatomy, the five vertebrae between the rib cage and the pelvis. They are the largest segments of the vertebral column and are characterized by the absence of the foramen transversarium within the transverse p ...

in a

horse riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, Driving (horse), driving, and Equestrian vaulting, vaulting ...

accident. She was airlifted to

Royal North Shore Hospital The Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located in St Leonards. It serves as a teaching hospital for Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney and has over 600 beds. It is the prin ...

, where she was diagnosed as an incomplete paraplegic. She returned to Charles Sturt to complete her degree, assisted by a 2006 ParaQuad scholarship, and graduated in 2007. In 2010, she began studying for a

Bachelor of Veterinary Science The Bachelor of Veterinary Science (BVSc or BVSC; Latin Baccalaureus Veterinariae Scientiae), "Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine" (BVetMed), or "Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery" ("BVM&S" or "BVMS") is a degree for studies in veterinary me ...

degree at

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's six ...

, where she received a Sydney University Sports and Fitness Elite Athlete Program scholarship.

Wheelchair basketball

Club

De Wit is classified as a 3.0 point player. She began playing

in 2007. She joined with the Sydney-based Hills Hornets, who won the Women's National Wheelchair Basketball League (WNWBL) title in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Renamed the Sydney University Flames team in 2010, the team were league champions again that year.

National

De Wit made her international debut playing for the Under 25 team in the Under 25 Women's Wheelchair Basketball World Championships in Canada in 2011, winning a silver medal. In 2012, she trained with Porto Torres, an Italian team. She made her debut with the senior team, known as the Gliders, at the Osaka Cup in Japan in February 2013, where the Gliders successfully defended the trophy they had won in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012. In October 2013, she was selected to play at the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) Asia/Oceania Championships in Thailand in November 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Wit, Caitlin 1987 births Living people Australian women's wheelchair basketball players Charles Sturt University alumni People from the Central Coast (New South Wales) Basketball players from New South Wales