Women’s sport hoping for a slam dunk with wheelchair basketball set for biggest season yet.

Wheelchair Basketball Australia (WBA) is kicking off the 2025 season bigger, stronger, and more determined than ever. Now in its second year under WBA’s leadership, the Women’s National Wheelchair Basketball League (WNWBL) opens on 30 May, followed by the men’s competition on 27 June.

Three new teams — the Victoria Wonders, Gold Coast Rollers, and Adelaide Thunder join existing teams Sydney Uni Lions, Sydney Blues, and Perth Wheelcats in a bold new chapter for the sport.

Dual Paralympian in basketball and equestrian, Hannah Dodd, says including the extra clubs signals a welcome shift for the sport. “Obviously, having the extra teams coming in is awesome because it means we have enough women playing to fill six teams”, Dodd says.

“South Australia is bringing a team in for the first time, and having Victoria come back is great”. But it’s not just the logistics that are exciting. Dodd says, “There’s been a change in attitudes to women’s sport and disability sport.”

“Wheelchair basketball is a community; you get that sense of home. “You make lifelong friends and have people to lean on who have similar problems to you.”

Dodd says the sport fosters independence and teamwork, “where you get to be around a group of people who know what it’s like. I’m really excited to see so many new girls playing.”

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WBA Director Lorraine Landon said the impact of this expansion reaches well beyond the court. “These teams haven’t just joined the league — they’ve reshaped it,” she insists.

The 2025 season promises fierce competition, powerful stories, and a renewed sense of purpose across both the men and women’s sporting codes.

The Rollers are Queensland’s first women’s team in the league to be based outside Brisbane, a further sign of the expansion of the game in a sign it’s becoming a truly national sport.

For the 2025 season, South Australia’s Gliders will be returning with a vengeance, focusing on strengthening pathways and creating new opportunities for women with disability to lead, compete, and thrive. Adelaide Gliders squad member Lucinda Bueti has been busy forming the Thunder and creating opportunities for local athletes.

“I’ve seen how life-changing this sport can be,” said Bueti. “It’s about pride, visibility, and building a future right here at home.”

After decades of Paralympic success, Australia’s national women’s team — also the Gliders — missed out on qualification for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. “Having a women’s team in Adelaide for the first time means young South Australian girls finally have something to aim for — in their own state,” said Bueti.

Dual-sport Paralympian Ella Sabljak built the team from scratch through sheer grassroots effort.

“We’re building this from the ground up with passion and teamwork,” Sabljak said. “There’s no playbook. Wheelchair basketball changed my life — it gave me the chance to travel the world, represent Australia, and find a community I’ll always belong to,” she adds.

“This is what we’re building here: a pathway that opens up not just the sport, but your whole world.”

The full schedule for the Women’s National Wheelchair Basketball League (WNWBL) and the Men’s National Wheelchair Basketball League (MNWBL) can be found at https://wba.net.au/fixtures/