The VIS Para Sport Unit will be a game-changer for Victoria’s Paralympic future, igniting the dreams of the next generation to follow in the footsteps of our home-grown Paralympic heroes including Dylan Alcott OAM, Kelly Cartwright OAM and Milly Tapper.
Delivered in partnership with the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) and Paralympics Australia (PA), the Unit will support a coordinated, national approach to reduce barriers for participation and talent identification, enhance performance pathways, and develop world-class Para sport coaches in a nurturing and supportive environment.
The primary focus of the Unit is to get more Victorian athletes involved in Para sport, discover untapped potential and, as a result, increase the nation’s medal prospects at major benchmark events, in line with Australia’s 2032+ High Performance Sport Strategy.
“While Para athletes continue to inspire, many face barriers to participation and progression that limit their potential and exclude them from community and elite sport systems,” said VIS CEO Nicole Livingstone OAM.
“Without intervention, these issues will persist—undermining sport equity, participation, and our national potential for success in Brisbane 2032 and beyond.”
“The VIS Para Unit works to remove barriers, identify new Victorian talent into the Paralympic pathway in a nurturing and supportive environment from grassroots to greatness.”
“At the VIS, we have a wonderful history of supporting Para athletes dating back to our first program in 1990, and we are very much looking forward to enhancing the national Paralympic Movement and creating more opportunities for the next generation of Para athletes,” Livingstone added.
Photo: Minister for Sport, Tourism and Major Events, Steve Dimopoulos MP (left) shaking hands with five-time Paralympian Lina Lei OAM after a hit of table tennis.
The Unit is part of the national Para Uplift system with the biggest ever national Paralympic spend to find talent and create champions.
“The launch of the Victorian Para Sport Unit is a huge development in the history of Paralympic sport and the Paralympic Movement in this country. It heralds the start of a new Para sports era as we look ahead to the home Paralympic Games in 2032,” said Paralympics Australia’s CEO, Cameron Murray.
“Together we’re laying the foundations for a truly inclusive and successful high-performance sport system that will inspire new generations of athletes as we travel the green and gold runway towards Brisbane 2032,” added Murray.
The VIS Para Sport Unit will provide development opportunities for 90 new athletes in the program over a 3-year period which will include pre-categorised, early emerging and some sport transfer athletes.
To support their development, the VIS will provide athletes with an opportunity to try a range of sports, develop foundational athletic and technical skills and access quality coaching and basic performance support.
Access to this type of support in Shae Graham’s development days as a rookie wheelchair rugby athlete would have made her journey to the pinnacle of sport a lot easier.
Photo: VIS Wheelchair Rugby athlete, Shae Graham, at the VIS Para Sport Unit (Jeff Crow / Paralympics Australia)
Graham, who famously lost a bet to her brother to try wheelchair rugby, known as “Murderball”, after acquiring her disability in a car accident at the age of 18, has blazed a trail for other female Para athletes and is excited by the new initiative.
“I accidentally fell into sport after losing a bet with my brother, but quite quickly decided that I wanted to play for Australia, which took many years of hard work,” said Graham.
“If the Para Sport Unit had of existed, I think it would have been a lot easier to prepare for what it's like to go from being an athlete that plays for fun to someone that is a high-performance athlete,” she said following today’s launch.
“It’s exciting. The new Para Sport Unit is going to increase the number of Para athletes we have and really support them on their journey to being the best they can be,” Graham added.
Photo: VIS Para-table tennis athlete and five-time Paralympian, Lina Lei OAM (left), playing table tennis with young emerging Para-athlete.
The Unit will be headed by Paralympian and former VIS scholarship holder, Jack Swift, who plans to hit the ground running as fast as his name suggests.
“This is a game changer for Para sport in Victoria with the VIS leading the Para Sport Unit initiative in collaboration with the ASC, Paralympics Australia and the National Institute Network,” emphasised Swift.
Para sport was Swift’s saviour following the workplace accident that turned his life upside down – he was just 21 and working in the construction industry when a 14-tonne excavator crushed his right leg resulting in a below knee amputation.
The accident ultimately led him to discover new opportunities in Para sport, allowing him to travel, develop and live a much fuller life – he knows first-hand the power of Para sport and the positive impact it can have on someone’s life.
“All aspiring Para athletes should have the same opportunity as their Olympic counterparts, and this initiative ensures better connected and coordinated Para sport pathways exist in Victoria,” said Swift.
Swift is in a unique position to drive the Paralympic Movement forward in Victoria and will play a lead role in identifying, recruiting and supporting future Para athletes, helping them to find the sport that best aligns with their interests, strengths and skillset.
“As someone who started on the path to becoming a Paralympian at 28-years-old, I think I bring a unique point of view to this position, and I have valuable insights and experiences I can share that will help aspiring athletes to reach the same heights that I did,” he added.
Photo: VIS CEO Nicole Livingstone OAM (left) and Paralympic swimmer, Col Pearse, at the VIS Para Sport Unit launch (Jeff Crow / Paralympics Australia)
Current VIS athlete Laura Davoli is striving to reach similar lofty heights in her chosen sport of wheelchair basketball, something she discovered through a ‘come and try’ day at MSAC several years after losing both legs at age 7 following a rare bacterial infection.
“When I was about 9 years old, I found out about Para sport and went to a few come and try days playing multiple different sports but eventually found and fell in love with wheelchair basketball,” said Davoli.
She soon found that joining the sport had a profound impact and provided her with a whole new world of opportunity.
“Para sport has been such an integral factor in who I’ve become today. The people I’ve met have had the biggest impact, finding people similar to yourself and being able to relate to life with disability is something that has helped me accept and find something within my disability that gives me freedom rather than hold me back,” she added.
The VIS Para Sport Unit has opportunity at its core – opportunity for Para athletes to engage in sport, and the opportunity to strive for glory at the Paralympic Games – and marks a significant milestone in the advancement of Para sport in Victoria, reaffirming the state’s dedication to fostering an inclusive and innovative high-performance sport environment.
The launch follows the announcements of Para Sport Units at the Queensland Academy of Sport, South Australian Sports Institute and the NSW Institute of Sport and will help to and pave the way for Australian dominance at the Brisbane 2032 Paralympic Games and beyond.
Increasing the representation of Para athletes in high-performance sport will not only accelerate performance in Para sport and enhance medal opportunities but also help to drive national pride, community engagement, and social inclusion.
For media enquiries:
Camilla Blands | 0424 928 060 | Camilla.blands@vis.org.au
