Page 24 - ETU Journal Autumn 2017

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THE ETU > SUMMER 2016
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SPORT > WHO DARES, WINS
Protect Admin Officer Ben Fawcett is really good at crashing into people in wheelchairs. In fact he is so good, he won a gold medal for Bit at the Rio 2016 Paralympics in Brazil in September.
GO-HARD
en, 25, plays wheelchair rugby for Australia’s national team, the Steelers. Invented by Canadians,
this now elite-level sport attracts wheelchair-bound athletes with a taste for the extreme end of physical activity. Which is why it was originally called “Murderball”. Fitness, strength, agility and tactical smarts coupled with a preparedness to leave it all on the court are the key ingredients.
PHOTO > Courtesy The Australian Paralympic Committee
Out there
“A lot of us have had accidents from extreme sports,” Ben said. “But we still have the desire to go hard, which is why we get into wheelchair rugby.
“I was snowboarding in New Zealand with some mates. On the day I got there, on my second run down Coronet Peak, I went over a jump and broke my neck.”
Ben was no newbie to snowboarding. He learned the sport in Canada while on school exchange and every year since had managed to tear up at least one Australian snowfield. In his quieter moments, the then 18-year-old was
in his second year as an apprentice sparky at Otis Elevators. Until everything came unstuck.
Ben is now a quadriplegic with a C5-6 spinal cord injury, and when he plays rugby he is classified as an 0.5 disability rating – an important number when deciding on the makeup of the team going onto the court.
“I was introduced to rugby as part of my rehab program in 2010, and I really enjoyed it. I played with some local sides, then was picked for the NSW state side and then the Victorian team,” he said.
The Bacchus Marsh boy was named Rookie of the Year in 2012 and lined
WHEELMAN
GOLDEN
up for the Steelers the following year in the tri- nations stoush against NZ and the USA.
Golden day
Ben was full of praise for the Rio Paralympic Games organisers.
“We were all prepared for it not being ready, but everything went smoothly. Volunteers were really helpful
and everything ran on time. The accommodation was decked out well for us; I couldn't really fault it,” he said.
The Steelers beat four countries on
its way to Paralympic glory, all really hard-fought but none as tight as the final. For only the second time, the Australians were pushed into overtime – where both teams are equal at game’s end and three-minute quarters are added to find a winner.
This was the final gold medal event at Rio and the 12,500-seat stadium had been sold out for days. The game was living up to its hype – the two giants
of the sport refusing to yield an inch. Then, in the second overtime period, Australia went ahead by a point and the Americans were stopped in their tracks: 59–58.
Full-time, committed
professional
Ben is back in training. Six days a
week he is in the gym, building fitness, polishing technique, honing strategies or flat out playing. Through grants from the Australian Paralympic Committee along with some part-time work, the team is able to dedicate life full-time to the sport.
“I’m lucky that Protect gave me a start. I have been here since 2011 and I couldn’t ask for a more supportive and friendly workplace. That they have given me three days off a week to train says it all,” he said.
And having a gold medal hanging around his neck hasn’t done his reputation any harm either. n
Wheelchair rugby
A beginner’s guide
Ben says “wheelchair rugby” is a bit
of a misleading name for this manic sport. Perhaps the original “Murderball’ would have been better.
The game is played over four eight- minute quarters, with a two-minute break at the end of the first and third,
and five minutes out at the half. There are numerous “time outs”
available, not the least of which is the one minute assigned to The
Mechanic, who is allowed on court to right a chair or effect running repairs to broken wheels or burst
tyres. He has the skills of an F1 pit crew.
A single game can last almost two hours. If the game remains equal at its end, three-minute “overtimes” are instituted until one team gets ahead.
The object is to carry the ball over the opposing goal line to score a point. Two wheels must cross the line to have the score count. The four players on the court will do their utmost
to prevent this from happening by driving into an opponent’s chair. Body contact is not permitted.
To ensure fairness, an on-court team can only have a total of 8 classification points. Each player has been assigned points according to their ability, with 3.5 being the most able and 0.5, the least. The team can be made up of
any combination, for example, two 3.5 pointers and two 0.5 pointers.
As a “low-pointer”, Ben is rarely a ball carrier. His skills lie in blocking and screening.
The “rugby” chairs are custom-built
for each player. The offensive chair is built for speed and manoeuvrability. Ben’s superlight (11 kg) defensive chair is able to hook and hold opposition
players. It is made from titanium and he didn’t get much change out of
$10,000 when he bought it.
ffI WENT OVER A JUMP AND BROKE MY NECK.
fffffff