Bradley Ness
Encyclopedia
Bradley Ness is an Australian wheelchair basketball
er who won a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
and the 2010 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship
.
n country town of Wagin
. On 19 December 1992, at the age of 18, he lost his leg in a boating accident aboard a high-speed ferry between Rottnest Island
and Fremantle
. He was working on the ferry as a deckhand at the time. He was back to working on boats again within six months of his accident, and earned his licensed mariner
's licence. His personal heroes include Drew Banfield
, Justin Langer
and David Sierakowski
. As a youth he competed in several sports including Australian rules football
, tennis, swimming, and hurdling, and was good enough at Australian football that he considered a professional career in the sport. He is married and lives in Italy.
He was one of five Paralympians named in a complaint to the Advertising Standards Bureau. The complaint alleged that the advertisement in which Adams appeared discriminated against the disabled as it implied the only reason he was heroic was because he was in an accident. The Advertising Standards Bureau ruled the advertisement did not do this, and was not in violation of Section 2 of the AANA Advertiser Code of Ethics. They dismissed the complaint.
and plays centre. He first started playing wheelchair basketball in 1996 after having seen the game played on television. His ability to play wheelchair basketball has been supported by the Western Australian Institute of Sport
Individual Athlete Support Program, and he currently plays basketball full time as a professional.
, Ness competed at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Paralympic Games
. He was part of the silver medal winning Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team
at the 2004 Summer Paralympics
, and was the captain of the gold medal-winning Australian team at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
.
championship team, as well as the 2004 Asia Oceania Cup champion team. In 2004, he was a member of the national team that came in first place at the Roosevelt Cup. He was also part of the AOZ Paralympic qualifying tournament team that finished first. He was named a member of the AOZ All-Star Five at the tournament. In 2005, he was part of the squad that competed at the Paralympic World Cup that won a silver medal. In 2006, he was named the captain of the Australian team, and was part of the Paralympic World Cup team that won a silver medal. That year, he was also part of the squad that won a bronze medal at the World Championships. In 2008, he was part of the team that took silver at the Beijing Paralympic test event. He was on the team that competed the Rollers World Challenge held in August 2009, where he scored 17 points in the match against Japan. He was part of the team that competed at IBWF AOZ Oceania Championship 2009 and won gold. At the Oceania championships, he scored 9 points and had 10 rebounds in the final match against Japan. He was past of the Australian team at the 2010 IWBF World Championships held in Birmingham
, England, that won a gold medal, the team that competed at the Wheelchair Tri Series 2011, and the gold medal-winning Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team
that competed at the 2010 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship
.
, where he competed as a scholarship holder.
and Rome
.
in 2003. In 2007, he was awarded the Sandy Blythe Medal for International Wheelchair Basketball Player of the Year.
Wheelchair basketball
Wheelchair basketball is basketball played by people in wheelchairs and is considered one of the major disabled sports practiced. The International Wheelchair Basketball Federation is the governing body for this sport. It is recognized by the International Paralympic Committee as the sole...
er who won a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
2008 Summer Paralympics
The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games, the thirteenth Paralympics, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to September 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao....
and the 2010 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship
2010 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship
The 2010 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship was held in Birmingham, Great Britain from 7 to 17 July 2010. Both the men's and women's tournaments were held...
.
Personal
Brad Ness was born on 24 November 1974, and is from the Western AustraliaWestern Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
n country town of Wagin
Wagin, Western Australia
Wagin is a town and shire in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, approximately 225 km south-east of Perth on the Great Southern Highway between Narrogin and Katanning. It is also on State Route 107. The main industries are wheat and sheep farming.-History:The name of the town is...
. On 19 December 1992, at the age of 18, he lost his leg in a boating accident aboard a high-speed ferry between Rottnest Island
Rottnest Island
Rottnest Island is located off the coast of Western Australia, near Fremantle. It is called Wadjemup by the Noongar people, meaning "place across the water". The island is long, and at its widest point with a total land area of . It is classified as an A Class Reserve and is managed by the...
and Fremantle
Fremantle, Western Australia
Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...
. He was working on the ferry as a deckhand at the time. He was back to working on boats again within six months of his accident, and earned his licensed mariner
Licensed mariner
A licensed mariner is a person who holds a license issued by one or more countries to hold senior positions aboard ships, boats, and similar vessels. The United States Coast Guard grants licenses to members of the United States Merchant Marine in five categories: deck officers, engineers, staff...
's licence. His personal heroes include Drew Banfield
Drew Banfield
Drew Banfield is a former AFL football player.Selected as the number 1 pick in the 1992 AFL Draft, Banfield was recruited to the West Coast Eagles, where he became one of their best clubmen and hardest-working defenders and utility players.He won the Eagles' Club Champion Award in 1996, as well as...
, Justin Langer
Justin Langer
Justin Lee Langer AM is a former international cricketer who represented Australia in 105 Test matches and the current Assistant Coach and Batting Coach of the Australian cricket team. A left-handed batsman, his opening partnership with Matthew Hayden was one of the most successful of all time...
and David Sierakowski
David Sierakowski
David Sierakowski is a former Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League.He was recruited to the Saints in the 1992 AFL Draft under the father-son rule. He spent the whole of 1993 season in the reserves developing his game and settling into Melbourne life with relatives...
. As a youth he competed in several sports including Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
, tennis, swimming, and hurdling, and was good enough at Australian football that he considered a professional career in the sport. He is married and lives in Italy.
He was one of five Paralympians named in a complaint to the Advertising Standards Bureau. The complaint alleged that the advertisement in which Adams appeared discriminated against the disabled as it implied the only reason he was heroic was because he was in an accident. The Advertising Standards Bureau ruled the advertisement did not do this, and was not in violation of Section 2 of the AANA Advertiser Code of Ethics. They dismissed the complaint.
Basketball
Ness is classified as a 4.5 player4.5 point player
4.5 point player is a disability sport classification for wheelchair basketball.-History:The classification was created by the International Paralympic Committee and has roots in a 2003 attempt to address "the overall objective to support and co-ordinate the ongoing development of accurate,...
and plays centre. He first started playing wheelchair basketball in 1996 after having seen the game played on television. His ability to play wheelchair basketball has been supported by the Western Australian Institute of Sport
Western Australian Institute of Sport
The Western Australian Institute of Sport is an elite sports institute set up in 1983 by the Government of Western Australia to support athletes in Western Australia...
Individual Athlete Support Program, and he currently plays basketball full time as a professional.
Paralympics
As a member of the Australia men's national wheelchair basketball teamAustralia men's national wheelchair basketball team
The Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team is the men's wheelchair basketball side that represents Australia in international competitions. The team is known as the Rollers...
, Ness competed at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Paralympic Games
Paralympic Games
The Paralympic Games are a major international multi-sport event where athletes with a physical disability compete; this includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and Cerebral Palsy. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which are held immediately following their...
. He was part of the silver medal winning Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team
Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team
The Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team is the men's wheelchair basketball side that represents Australia in international competitions. The team is known as the Rollers...
at the 2004 Summer Paralympics
2004 Summer Paralympics
The 2004 Summer Paralympics were held in Athens, Greece, from September 17 to September 28. The twelfth Paralympic Games, an estimated 4,000 athletes took part in the Athens programme, with ages ranging from 11 to 66. Paralympic events had already taken place during the 2004 Summer Olympics as...
, and was the captain of the gold medal-winning Australian team at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Wheelchair Basketball at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
The Wheelchair Basketball competition of the 2008 Summer Paralympics is held in Beijing National Indoor Stadium and Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium between September 7, 2008 and September 16, 2008...
.
Other national team competitions
In 2001, Ness competed at the AOZ World Cup, where his team came in first, and he was named as part of the All-Star Five. He was part of Australia's 2003 Kitakyushu Champions CupKitakyushu Champions Cup
This tournament commemorates the 2002 Gold Cup World Wheelchair Basketball Championships in Kitakyushu, which was the first to be held in Asia. 2011 tournament is the ninth to be held, demonstrating the vitality of our citizens and the united efforts of volunteers, and also promoting Kitakyushu...
championship team, as well as the 2004 Asia Oceania Cup champion team. In 2004, he was a member of the national team that came in first place at the Roosevelt Cup. He was also part of the AOZ Paralympic qualifying tournament team that finished first. He was named a member of the AOZ All-Star Five at the tournament. In 2005, he was part of the squad that competed at the Paralympic World Cup that won a silver medal. In 2006, he was named the captain of the Australian team, and was part of the Paralympic World Cup team that won a silver medal. That year, he was also part of the squad that won a bronze medal at the World Championships. In 2008, he was part of the team that took silver at the Beijing Paralympic test event. He was on the team that competed the Rollers World Challenge held in August 2009, where he scored 17 points in the match against Japan. He was part of the team that competed at IBWF AOZ Oceania Championship 2009 and won gold. At the Oceania championships, he scored 9 points and had 10 rebounds in the final match against Japan. He was past of the Australian team at the 2010 IWBF World Championships held in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England, that won a gold medal, the team that competed at the Wheelchair Tri Series 2011, and the gold medal-winning Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team
Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team
The Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team is the men's wheelchair basketball side that represents Australia in international competitions. The team is known as the Rollers...
that competed at the 2010 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship
2010 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship
The 2010 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship was held in Birmingham, Great Britain from 7 to 17 July 2010. Both the men's and women's tournaments were held...
.
Club basketball
In 2000, Ness played for the Dandenong Rangers, and helped the team win the National Wheelchair Basketball League (NWBL) Championships. In 2001, he was named as part of the NWBL's All-Star Five. In 2002, he played for the Perth Wheelcats and helped that team win the NWBL Championships. In 2006, he was named the NWBL Most Valuable Player. That year, he was also playing club basketball in Italy. He was part of the 2007 Perth Wheelcats that won the NWBL Championship and the World Club Championship., he plays his club basketball in Italy for a Series A team, and the Perth Wheelcats. His Perth Wheelcats lost to the Wollongong Roller Hawks in the 2011 NWBL Championship.University basketball
He played university basketball at University of Texas in Arlington, TexasArlington, Texas
Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas within the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. According to the 2010 census results, the city had a population of 365,438, making it the third largest municipality in the Metroplex...
, where he competed as a scholarship holder.
Outreach
He is involved with helping young, disabled children play basketball, and helped set up two teams for them in CantuCantù
Cantù is a city and comune in the Province of Como, located at the center of the Brianza zone in Lombardy. It is the second largest city in Brianza.-History:...
and Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
Recognition
He won the Western Australian Wheelchair Sports Star-of-the-year award with Justin EvesonJustin Eveson
Justin Eveson is a swimmer and wheelchair basketball player from Australia who won a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics and the 2010 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship.-Personal:...
in 2003. In 2007, he was awarded the Sandy Blythe Medal for International Wheelchair Basketball Player of the Year.