The 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham will have the largest parasports program in history: Here’s what you need to know

Danni Di Toro has accomplished just about everything in his 30-year career in the sport.

The 47-year-old competed in seven Paralympics in two different sports, was co-captain of the team twice, won Paralympic silver and bronze, and won multiple Grand Slam titles in wheelchair tennis.

It’s worth noting, then, that the popular member of Australia’s Paralympic team is still making a career debut as she prepares for her first Commonwealth Games.

Di Toro is excited about a new experience in Birmingham.(ABC News: Tom Hancock)

“Being able to actually have a true novice experience at something is really cool and super refreshing,” Di Toro told ABC Sport.

“Any opportunity to get the attention, to get more people to see what we’re doing, if that’s getting people with disabilities to get involved in sport, that’s amazing.

“But more importantly, to show that there is a place for all of us.”

While the Paralympics are the elite sporting competition for athletes with a disability, the Commonwealth Games is the only multi-sport event with an integrated para-sports program.

Manchester 2002 was the first game to include this element, with 10 events.

That has grown with every game and Birmingham will have the largest parasports component in history with eight sports and 42 events.

It is a significantly reduced program compared to the Paralympics, meaning there are not as many classifications and fewer events available in the selected sports.

Check out our guide to Tokyo Paralympics classifications.

Australia will send a record 74 para-athletes, along with eight guides, pilots and directors representing each of the eight sports.

Australians in action in Birmingham

Madison de Rozario will be one of the biggest names to line up for the Australian team. (Getty Images: Alex Davidson)

• Athletics: TTwo-time defending champion Madison de Rozario will lead the Australian team alongside Evan O’Hanlon.
• Para track cycling: Jess Gallagher was the first Australian athlete to win medals in both the Winter and Summer Paralympics. She will compete in the tandem event with her guide, while Beau Wootton and his guide will compete in the men’s event.
• Para Lawn Bowls: Defending champion Jake Fehlberg is one of six Para ‘Jackaroos’ on the team.
• Para Powerlifting: Hani Watson and Ben Wright will carry Australia’s hopes in a sport where competitors’ upper body strength is put to the ultimate test.
• For table tennis: Di Toro is one of six Australian athletes who include Chinese-born Paralympic superstars Ma Lin, Lina Lei and Qian Yang.
• Paraswimming: This will be Ellie Cole’s final encounter before she retires, while William Martin, Col Pearse and Katja Dedekind join an exciting cast of rising stars.
• For triathlon: Gerard Gosens, Sam Harding, Jonathan Goerlach and Erica Burleigh will join the Para-Triathlon for the debut of the visually impaired category.
• Wheelchair Basketball 3×3: It is the first time that the condensed versions of basketball and wheelchair basketball will be included in the games.

Di Toro the beating heart of the Paralympic team

Di Toro (right) led the team alongside wheelchair rugby star Ryley Batt (left) at the Tokyo Paralympics.AAP: Dan Himbrechts)

Di Toro will compete in para table tennis, a sport she only started in 2015 after a successful career in wheelchair tennis.

But her appeal extends far beyond the playing arena – she is the heart and soul of the Australian Paralympic team and, alongside her Rio 2016 co-captain Kurt Fearnley and chef de mission Kate McLoughlin, one of the key figures responsible for the Shaping the current culture are responsible.

“We want to feel like we’re part of something bigger than just our own moment or outcome,” she said.

“And that feeling has always been there, but there’s never really been a language about it, and there’s never really been a commitment to creating those opportunities to encourage that, to be a little bit more into what it means to be a to be a Paralympian? “

Di Toro had a long career as a wheelchair tennis player before switching to table tennis.Getty Images: Lucas Dawson)

The trio chose to refer to the team as the “mob”, enshrining the values ​​of loyalty, pride and ferocity.

Di Toro said from the mob’s inception in 2016 to the present day, the difference between the broader team is clear.

“I feel like I’m surrounded by leaders and if I’m one of them, that’s amazing, but I’m just one of them,” she said.

“And really, it’s my family. So it’s not even about leadership, it’s about being a good family member.”

Di Toro’s significant presence in the Australian Paralympic movement runs even deeper.

Di Toro recently won the Paralympics Australia President’s Award for Respect, Honor and Integrity.(Paralympics Australia)

She is the Athlete’s Welfare and Engagement Officer for Paralympics Australia and Vice Chair of the Athletes’ Commission.

And she encourages her fellow athletes to use her platform to create the changes they want to see in the world.

“Now is a great time to find your voice and speak out and fight for the things that you believe are really important and valuable to you and the people around you that you love,” said you.

Sabljak makes sure athletes are heard

Ella Sabljak is one of those athletes who uses her voice.

She will be at the debut of wheelchair basketball 3×3 in Birmingham, an opportunity which she says helped reignite her love for the sport.

Ella Sabljak (left) and Hannah Dodd (right) will represent Australia in 3×3 wheelchair basketball after competing in the full version of the sport at the Tokyo Paralympics.ABC News: Hamish Harty)

The 30-year-old is Education Officer for Paralympics Australia and another member of the Athletes’ Commission.

She said events like the Commonwealth Games play a big part in changing perceptions of people with disabilities and breaking down barriers, particularly in her work with school children.

“I think it’s really important and crucial for kids to see that we’re standing alongside able-bodied athletes,” she said.

“Often it’s the language around Olympians, and the Paralympians are often forgotten, not necessarily consciously.

“People are more likely to say Olympians than Paralympians or Olympians and Paralympians.

“So I think having us together as a team shows we’re capable of anything and it underscores the Paralympic movement in this elite sporting space.”

Sabljak also helps make space for athletes in their sport around the world.

Sabljak is also a primary school teacher and education officer for Paralympics Australia. (Delivered: Ella Sabljak)

Ahead of the Tokyo Paralympics, the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation has stunned athletes by introducing new classification rules.

This meant that some athletes, like Australia’s Annabelle Lindsay, were deemed ineligible to compete because of their disabilities.

Annabelle Lindsay in action for Australian Gliders in a game against Turkey.(Supplied: Annabelle Lindsay)

“When this happened, our athletes were a little blind to the classification debacle because there was no connection between our federation and the athletes,” Sabljak said.

It promoted the creation of the International Players’ Commission, with Sabljak representing the Asia-Oceania Zone (AOZ), to ensure players are involved in future decisions.

She is not satisfied with that, she also wants to set up a player working group for the AOZ and also in Australia.

“One of my main priorities will be to make our zone one of the safest zones for our female athletes,” she said.

“I know that some of our female athletes don’t necessarily feel safe in some of the countries we travel to. So if we can put some guidelines and protocols in place for that, that will be a big step forward, as well as information and education around athlete wellbeing.

“We still have a lot to do but we will define the way we want to play and how we want to be heard and respected.”

Wheelchair Basketball 3×3 starts July 30th AEST in Birmingham while Para Table Tennis starts Wednesday 3rd August AEST.