A disability services provider and a sporting club in a small town in South Australia's south-east have set up a netball team for people of all abilities and genders to enjoy the sport.
And it has provided more benefits than they could have imagined.
The S Squad team began training last month and had its first game against one of the Kingston Saints Netball Club's other teams last night.
The S Squad is treated as a regular team in the club and the members are involved in the club's social activities and volunteering.
Lisa Bawden from Shine Your Way came up with the idea.
Her 15-year-old daughter Reegan, who has an intellectual disability, had tried to get into the sport before but the skills barriers had been too high.
"My daughter and a couple of her friends wanted to play netball and we wrote to the club and they loved the idea and have really taken it on board and decided that they want to see it happen as much as we do," Ms Bawden said.
She said it was amazing to have her daughter involved in the club and for her to be so embraced by the players.
"It seems like a big statement, but it is life-changing stuff — when you become part of a team, you become part of something so much bigger than yourself," she said.
"You make connections, you break down barriers and that's what these girls are doing."
Club also benefits
The netball club's secretary, Chelsey Rothall, said the squad had helped get new people involved in the game and have fun.
"It's been a really nice way to introduce new people to the club that we haven't seen before and I think that's also brought along other spectators and other volunteers and other helpers," she said.
"The club has really embraced them and they've really embraced the club, taking on different volunteer roles and just being around and helping out.
"It's been really nice."
She said the S Squad could potentially play matches against teams from other towns in the South East and beyond.
"We've had some discussions about the different ways that we could go with this," she said.
"I know that Lisa has been talking to the teams in Mount Gambier and we've also taken it to a league level at our league and just said what we were doing.
"So we are hopeful other clubs will try to do the same thing and then maybe create some kind of competition in the future or a carnival or that type of thing."
Reegan scored a goal in the match, which she said was her favourite part of the night, along with playing with her friends.
