The Australia Women's National Wheelchair Basketball League (WNWBL) is a women's semi-professional

wheelchair basketball Wheelchair basketball is a style of basketball played using a sports wheelchair. The International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) is the governing body for this sport. It is recognized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) as ...

league in Australia. Sydney Metro Blues 2017 WNWBL Champions

Teams

The league currently has six teams:

Sydney University Flames

The Sydney University Flames, as the Hills Hornets, were one of the league's original teams, and the most successful, winning the championship nine years in a row from 2002 to 2010. Seven-time Paralympian

Liesl Tesch Liesl Dorothy Tesch Order of Australia, AM (born 17 May 1969) is an Australian wheelchair basketball player, sailor, and politician. She is a New South Wales Labor Party, Labor Party member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, represent ...

was one of the team's founding members, who was named the first overall

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

in 2000, and played for the team in 2017. The team became the Sydney University Flames in 2010, and won the league championship in 2019.

Sydney Metro Blues

The Sydney Metro Blues were also one the league's original teams, as the North Sydney Bears. As such, they won the league championship in 2001. They subsequently became the Goudcamp Gladiators, and then the Sachs Goudcamp Bears in 2011. They assumed their current identity of the Sydney Metro Blues in 2016, and won the league championship in 2017.

Kilsyth Cobras

Another of the original teams, the Kilsyth Cobras began as the Victorian Wheelies in 2000. They subsequently became the Dandenong Rangers, and won the league championship in 2011 and 2012 with players including

Amanda Carter Amanda Carter (born 16 July 1964) is an Australian Paralympic wheelchair basketball player. Diagnosed with transverse myelitis at the age of 24, she began playing wheelchair basketball in 1991 and participated in the Australia women's nationa ...

and

Shelley Chaplin Shelley Matheson (née Chaplin) (born 4 September 1984) is an Australian 3.5-point player wheelchair basketball player. She participated in the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, where she won a silver medal; in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in ...

. In 2015, the team became affiliated with the Kilsyth Cobras, a club that also fields teams in the men’s and women’s sections of the

South East Australian Basketball League The South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) was a semi-professional basketball league in Australia comprising both a men's and women's competition. The SEABL began in 1981 and operated for 38 seasons until it was disbanded in 2018. The ...

(SEABL), the Victorian Youth Championship Competition (VYC), the Victorian Junior Basketball League (VJBL) and the National Wheelchair Basketball League (NWBL). The Kilsyth Cobras went through the 2015 season undefeated, posting a 16–0 record that still stands, and claimed the league championship.

Perth Wheelcats

The Perth Wheelcats (Formerly Be Active Western Stars) joined the league in 2006. The team quickly became a force in the competition, supplying three players (

Amber Merritt Amber Merritt (born 17 February 1993) is a 4.5 point player, 4.5-point wheelchair basketball player who plays forward (basketball), forward. She represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, where she won a silver medal and a ...

Sarah Vinci Sarah Vinci (born 4 December 1991) is a 1 point player, 1 point wheelchair basketball player who plays for the Perth Western Stars in the Australian Women's National Wheelchair Basketball League. She made her debut with the Australia women's n ...

and

Clare Nott Clare Nott (née Burzynski, born 11 August 1986) is a former Australian 1 point player, 1.0 point wheelchair basketball player who played for the Kilsyth Cobras in the Women's national Wheelchair Basketball League (WNWBL) and for the Red Dust ...

) to the

Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team at the 2012 Summer Paralympics The Australian women's national wheelchair basketball team, known as the Gliders, played in the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London. The team of twelve included nine Paralympic veterans with fifteen Paralympic Games between them: Bridie Kean, ...

, plus the coach, John Triscari. The Stars won league championships in 2013 and 2016, and Merritt was the 4.0 MVP and highest point scorer for nine years running from 2011 to 2019.

Queensland Comets

The Queensland Comets (formerly the Minecraft Comets) became the league's fifth team in 2011. They won the league championship in 2014 and 2018.

Red Dust Lady Heelers

The Red Dust Lady Heelers became the league's sixth team in 2017, following the track of the Red Dust Heelers, who joined the NWBL three years before. The Red Dust Heelers program grew out of the 2012 Outback Academy Australia. In its inaugural year in the competition, it was fortunate to have players like

Deanna Smith Deanna Smith (born 24 December 1980) is an Australian basketball coach and former player. She played the majority of her career in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL), winning two WNBL championships and earning three WNBL All-Star ...

Kathleen O'Kelly-Kennedy Kathleen O'Kelly-Kennedy (born 21 June 1986) is an Australian 4.0 point wheelchair basketball player who plays forward-centre. She was part of the bronze medal-winning Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team at the 2008 Summer ...

and Georgia Inglis.

Champions

Awards

Voted by the coaches and referees Voted by the captain of each team.

References

External links

WBL Finals 2022
{{Basketball in Australia Women's basketball competitions in Australia Wheelchair basketball leagues in Australia Recurring sporting events established in 2000 2000 establishments in Australia Sports leagues established in 2000