Kylie Gauci

Kylie Gauci was attracted to wheelchair basketball at an early age – she loved the contact element of the sport. “I’m a big fan of the big hits in rugby league. The aggression in wheelchair basketball is not as fierce, but it’s as close as I’m likely to get,” she says. “The rough and tumble on the court is a draw card for me, not a turn-off.”

Kylie was a spectator at the Gliders’ clashes during the Sydney Games and was inspired by the squad’s performance against the world giants of women’s wheelchair basketball, Canada and the USA. Kylie is already a prominent athlete in the Australian National Wheelchair Basketball competitions – in both the Women’s National Wheelchair Basketball League (WNWBL) and the National Wheelchair Basketball League (NWBL). She was the NRMA Women’s National Wheelchair Basketball League MVP & High-Point Scorer in 2003.

She has been a member of the Australian Junior Team since 1999. In 2001, she won an Australian Sports Medal for her outstanding achievements in wheelchair basketball and was part of the Junior Australian All Star Five when they beat the USA to take gold at the 2003 Junior Disabled Games.

At the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games, the Gliders won silver and are aiming for gold in Beijing. Kylie, who is always one of the top point scorers, looks set for a long and impressive career with the Gliders.