Brett Stibners
Brett Stibners OAM, or “Sticky” as his friends call him, is a former member of the Australian men’s wheelchair basketball team and has won a gold and a silver medal at consecutive Paralympic games.
As a very talented able bodied sportsman, Brett played indoor hockey for Australia at both under 21 and senior level. As a 21-year-old, Brett was completing an electrical apprenticeship and one day while driving home he fell asleep at the wheel and suffered a severe accident.
In 2003, Brett began competing in wheelchair basketball. He made his first Australian wheelchair basketball team in 2006 and competed at the Gold Cup in Amsterdam. Brett describes his first Paralympic Games in Beijing as a dream come true. He was a key contributor in the spectacular Games performance that earned the Rollers their first Paralympic gold medal in 12 years.
Brett's most unforgettable memory was at the Beijing Paralympics when the Rollers had finished their first training session on one of the training courts behind the main arena. Peaking through the curtain that separated the two courts, Brett saw the officials practising the flag raising ceremony. Although no flags were raised, the Australian national anthem was playing. Brett joked with one of his team mates about it being a sign of their imminent gold medal win.
In 2009 Brett received an Order of Australia Medal for Service to Sport. Brett volunteers his time to help others. He is the current ambassador for the 'Stay Awake Campaign' , which highlights the early signs of fatigue and regularly speaks to school and corporate groups about safety and living with a disability.
Brett was part of the 2010 World Championships Rollers team that won gold. Most recently Brett competed at the 2012 Paralympics Games in London. The team won a silver medal after a hard fought final match against arch rivals Canada.
Brett currently plays for the Wollongong Roller Hawks and was a key figure in Wollongong winning the 2011 and 2012 NWBL title's.
Brett retired from international competition at the completion of the London Paralympics to spend more time with his young family.