SPORTING CHANCE
Teacher Ella Sabljak is counting down to what she hopes will be her first Paralympics – and her wedding to men’s wheelchair basketball star Matt McShane
YOU just have to cheer for Ella Sabljak.
The Gold Coast wheelchair basketball star is counting down the days until what she hopes will be her first Paralympics.
And once that’s over, she’ll be counting down the months until she marries fiance Matt McShane – star of the men’s wheelchair basketball team. But that’s not all.
It’s a good thing this 29year-old teacher is handy with a ball, because the juggle is real – she’s educating kids in the classroom and training intensively, all while working tirelessly to increase inclusivity for people with disabilities.
And that’s one lesson it seems many still need to learn.
Ella was born with hereditary sensory motor neuropathy. While she can walk, the progressive disease of the nerves causes weakness and numbness in the legs and arms due to the deterioration of nerve cells. It cannot be stopped.
But then, neither can Ella. Witness when she’s confronted by some truly inexplicable examples of ableism. Not only is Ella ready with a witty retort, but a plan of action – particularly, her role in teaching inclusive school sports across the Gold Coast for the Sporting Wheelies Association.
“You just wouldn’t believe some of the things people say to me … I can’t believe them myself,” laughs Ella, who also sits on the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation Athlete Steering Committee.
“I’ve had people come up to me and say ‘you’re really pretty for someone with a disability’. And I just think, ‘wow, you’re really rude for someone with a brain’.
“I have people who come up to me
and say ‘what’s wrong with you?’ And I just want to say, ‘what’s wrong with you?’ I know I may be different, but I’m not ‘wrong’.
“Or I have people who just start praying over me. I know their intention is good, but we need to try to start thinking from the other person’s perspective … where’s the permission asked? How do they know how I feel about prayer? Or how I feel about my disability? Just because it makes them feel better doesn’t mean it makes me feel better.”
And that’s exactly what Ella loves about the Sporting Wheelies program.
By allowing able-bodied children to participate in wheelchair sports, it gives everyone the opportunity to roll a mile in someone else’s wheels.
“The program is great because it fits perfectly within the curriculum and it helps not just schools but students to be inclusive,” says Ella.
“It’s great to watch the ablebodied children trying out the wheelchair sports. They all say afterwards that it’s a lot harder than it looks. It really gives them the opportunity to see what life is like from a wheelchair, the issues of access and inclusion that can make you feel left out.
“It’s all about early intervention, really. If we give kids this gift of perspective it really helps them learn how to be empathetic, kind and accepting. As they learn, they can then challenge the mindset of people who are still non-inclusive. It’s a generational change and I really think we’re making inroads.”
With not just an inspiring story but truly inspirational behaviour, it’s a wonder that Ella’s “pretty face” doesn’t grace every box of breakfast cereal.
Perhaps that will change in the coming days when Ella discovers if she’s named in the Gliders Paralympics team. But, despite the changing tide of inclusion towards para-sports, the fact remains being a female athlete with a disability is still not the most lucrative career.
“It’s really hard for me to get a sponsorship. I’ve contacted a lot of businesses but nobody is very interested because they want to know where people will see me. And the truth is, you won’t really see me anywhere unless you come to a game.
“Basketball is not a game that gets high ratings in Australia, add in the fact that it’s not just women’s basketball but women’s wheelchair basketball … I can understand that we’re not going to give the most bang for the corporate buck.
“Still, I’d really love to see more CEOs get passionate about pushing diversity and inclusiveness. The world is reaching a point where they want to listen and we have a lot to say and a lot to teach if we’re given a chance.”
Ella says while the women’s wheelchair basketball team is well supported by Basketball Australia, there is no way she could ever quit her day job.
She says all team members have a very DIY attitude when it comes to providing anything beyond the basics.
“We pay for a lot ourselves. “There just isn’t a lot of money for our sport because funding is based on performance.
“It’s not that we get less money because we’re women but because we’re less likely to win a medal. And the thing is there is a bigger pool of men with disabilities who want to play sport than women … and that’s where gender comes into it.
“It comes down to gender norms in society, it’s simply more expected and encouraged for men to participate in sport – even with disabilities.
“But even though more funding would always be welcome, I know just how lucky we are to have the support and safety of our country.
“When I was at a tournament in Thailand in 2019, I was talking to some of the women from the team in Afghanistan. They are just amazing, they were saying bombs will literally drop while they’re on their way to training but they go anyway.
“Just being a woman in that society would be tough, let alone a woman with a disability. That really made me reflect on just how lucky I am.”
It’s a perspective that has certainly helped during the last year.
After the Gliders failed to qualify for the Rio Games in 2016, Ella was pinning her Paralympic dreams on Tokyo in 2020. And then came Covid.
“Right now we just have to be very flexible, plans can change at any time,” she says.
“When the news came out last year that Tokyo would be postponed it was understandable but still devastating. For me, my condition is progressive so my time is limited – every year counts.
“The whole thing has been very difficult but when you have a disability you learn to go with the flow, to constantly recalibrate and to keep things in perspective.
“It was probably easier to take than when we didn’t qualify for Rio. We were top of our zone in 2009 and went over to Beijing to help develop the Chinese Paralympic team and then they ended up beating us. It was heartbreaking.
“I still went to Rio to support Matt and the Rollers, and while it was fantastic to watch and support him, I just knew we should have been out there too. “It’s now or never for Tokyo.” And, just as with all things Covid, one delay inevitably led to another.
Ella and Matt always planned to get married after the Tokyo Games, so when that was postponed, so too was their wedding.
“Our date is set for April next year and it’s going to happen regardless, we’ve waited long enough.
“The great thing with Matt is he’s so level-headed, he just accepts what happens and rolls with it. Unless I beat him in basketball, that he can’t handle.
“He was born able-bodied but when he was 18 he caught a virus that attacked his spinal cord. I’ve asked him how he handled that, not just the physical challenge but the mental challenge as well. But he really never broke down, he just adjusted to his new life and made the most of it.
“He’s a Paralympian and that certainly never would have happened in his old life.”
Ella says her positive attitude towards her own abilities comes down to her mother, who she says always pushed her to try new things.
She says while many parents are understandably over-protective of children with disabilities, it can do them a disservice.
“I see parents of kids with disabilities really protect them and wrap them in cotton wool but I don’t think that’s the best thing for them. You have to put your trust in them and let them find their own way.
“I initially started out doing wheelchair racing, but it was just so boring. But Mum still encouraged me to keep on trying to be active and that’s when I found wheelchair basketball. I love being part of a team.
“But what a lot of people don’t realise is just how expensive and difficult it can be for parents to get kids with disabilities into sports.
“Any sport comes with a cost, but add in these specialised wheelchairs and it’s really prohibitive. When I was younger there was hardly any funding. Thankfully that’s improved but I believe we can still do better.”
After 13 years playing wheelchair basketball, Ella isn’t sure how much longer she will compete at the elite level.
But the promise of a Paralympics on her own home turf may be too difficult to resist.
“I can’t wait for the Olympics and Paralympics to be in southeast Queensland.
“I don’t think I’ll still be playing by then, my body won’t let me, but maybe I’ll be coaching. I’d love to be a part of it somehow, it’s just going to be such an awesome atmosphere for the players – nothing compares to that home crowd.
“Even though I grew up in Melbourne, the Gold Coast is 100 per cent my home. I just love it here. From the coffee to the culture to my friends and the city itself, living here is winning every day.”
And just as Ella cheers for the Gold Coast, we’ll be cheering for her Paralympic dream in Tokyo.
I have people who come up to me and say ‘what’s wrong with you?’