Good News - Best of 2023
Hello and welcome back to Disability Sports Australia’s (DSA) Good News roundup! It’s been a big year for accessibility in sports, and we wanted to celebrate 2023 with some of our favourite stories from the past 12 months.
At DSA, we love learning about the wonderful things people are doing for the active disability space. We hope this series generates a snowball effect of good stories to share leading to further growth in the sector.
Do you have a story you want us to tell?
Please send the story and your contact details to media@sports.org.au.
Sign interpreter steals the show at Super Bowl Halftime performance
[Image ID - White text on a green background reads “Sign interpreter steals the show at Super Bowl Halftime performance”. To the left is an image of Justina Miles performing in American Sign Language. She wears a long black dress and stands on a football field.]
Image credit: Rob Carr, Getty Images
On one of the biggest sporting stages in the world, a sign language interpreter stole the show.
Rihanna was the star of the 2024 Super Bowl Halftime entertainment...in theory. However, much of the attention was on American Sign Language interpreter Justina Miles. Miles is a performer herself, and it showed in the enthusiasm she put into her role. She danced her way through Rihanna’s set while signing the lyrics at the same time. She also performed “Lift Every Voice and Sing” in ASL before the game.
Miles was the first ASL interpreter to feature in a Super Bowl Halftime performance, a wonderful move forward in making the massive event more accessible for fans.
Viewers lit up X (formerly Twitter) with tweets hyping Miles’ role in the performance, with some saying she eclipsed Rihanna!
Justina Miles is also a decorated athlete, having been part of the silver medal-winning 4x100 women’s track relay team at the 2021-2022 Deaflympics.
Kurt Fearnley inducted into Sporting Hall of Fame
[Image ID - White text on a green background reads “Kurt Fearnley inducted into Sporting Hall of Fame”. To the left is an image of Kurt Fearnley. He wears the Australian green and gold, a bronze medal from Rio 2016, and a stuffed toy mascot.]
Image credit: Paralympics Australia
Wheelchair racing star Kurt Fearnley was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in early October. He became the 9th Paralympian to join these ranks after a hugely successful career spanning over 20 years.
Fearnley’s trophy cabinet is impressive, featuring 13 medals from 5 Paralympics, in addition to 4 medals from Commonwealth Games appearances. He also bore the Australian flag at the 2018 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony.
Off the track, Fearnley has been the recipient of numerous awards and accolades including an OAM, AO, NSW Young Australian of the Year, NSW Australian of the year, and more.
International Parasports galore
[Image ID - White text on a green background reads “International Parasports galore”. To the left is an image of of the ParaMatildas celebrating their victory at the 2023 IFCPF Asia-Oceania Championships. They wear green and gold uniforms and medals, surrounding their goalkeeper holding the trophy. Signs in front and behind them announce them as the champions.]
Image credit: ParaMatildas
We were fortunate that several international competitions and tournaments took place this year. As a bonus, Australian athletes performed extremely well in many events, and a few were held in Australia. Here's a few of our favourites!
The International Blind Sports Association held the ISBA World Games 2023 in Birmingham throughout the latter half of August. This huge event included more than 1250 athletes from 70 nations, competing in ten different sports. Australian athletes competed in archery, cricket, goalball and tennis. The Australian women’s cricket team won the silver medal in their debut competition, and Australian tennis players placed in the top four in seven of the eleven tennis competitions.
Sydney played host to the FIPFA Powerchair Football World Cup 2023 in October. Ten teams competed across six days to determine the world champions. Australia had a tough time of it in the early stages of the tournament but managed to place 6th overall. France won gold, with England taking silver and bronze going to the United States.
The International Wheelchair Rugby Cup 2023 took place in France in October, alongside the Rugby World Cup for the first time in history. Eight teams battled over five days to become the world champions. Australia defeated Canada 53-48 to win the gold, retaining their crown from the previous tournament.
The ParaMatildas and ParaRoos hosted the 2023 IFCPF Asia-Oceania Championships in early November, which included the ParaMatildas’ first ever home international game and the ParaRoos’ first since 2000. The ParaRoos made it to the finals, but Iran took the victory there, placing the ParaRoos in second place. The ParaMatildas remained entirely undefeated through the tournament, taking the gold medal in their Grand Final win against Japan, one of their biggest rivals of the tournament.
[Image ID - A background of white hexagons with thin pink, yellow, orange and blue lines at the top. Over the lines is the Disability Sports Australia logo. In the centre of the graphic is a green rectangle with white text reading “Good News - FIFA Women’s World Cup Edition.]
So much came out from the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup that it had its own edition of Good News!
One of the biggest stories out of the tournament was the introduction of Audio-Descriptive Commentary (ADC) for the first time in Australian and New Zealand football. 40 matches featured ADC for fans both at home and live at the venues. Commentators were specially trained to describe every important visual aspect of the matches, which wasn't just limited to the match action. Commentators described things like body language and facial expressions, colours, clothing, scenery and ambience. This initiative allowed more people than ever to enjoy the tournament, encouraging blind and low-vision fans from around the globe to travel to Australia and New Zealand to experience the World Cup in person. FIFA also provided a travelling Unity Pitch which allowed local football organisations in host cities to showcase their activities and skills, including amputee football.
The Matildas raised awareness and visibility of disability in the lead up and during the World Cup. Mackenzie Arnold, Australia's goalkeeper, opened up about her hearing loss publicly this year. A few months prior to the World Cup, Arnold shared a video to her social media showing her getting tested for and picking up hearing aids for the first time. Deaf athletes throughout Australia believe this openness about hearing loss will have a hugely positive impact, and Arnold herself has said that the response from people with similar conditions has been encouraging and positive.
The whole team celebrated diversity by walking out with children from NDIS provider What Ability as their mascots as they faced Canada. Leo, Mary Fowler's mascot, melted the hearts of viewers as he threw himself into defender Alanna Kennedy's arms in excitement after the National Anthem.
Lenny’s ramp brings joy in Boroondara
[Image ID - White text on a green background reads “Lenny’s ramp brings joy in Boroondara”. To the left is an image of Len Mason from NRL Victoria standing on an indoor sports court at the Boroondara Activate Inclusion Sports Day. He shows off a ball on a ramp made of plastic PVC pipe.]
One of our favourite stories of the year happened at one of our events!
Len Mason from NRL Victoria attended one of our Activate Inclusion Sports Days in Dandenong last year. At the event, he saw Bowls Australia using a ramp to roll balls down to help wheelchair users get more involved in the activities. This year, Lenny turned up at our event in Boroondara with a ramp inspired by theirs that he had built himself out of PVC pipe. The ramp was a huge success, enjoyed by many of our participants!
Watch the video below to hear Len talk about his ramp and its positive impact.
We look forward to sharing more good news in 2024!
Do you have a story you want us to tell?
Please send the story and your contact details to media@sports.org.au
