This week Sydney hosted the Australian Powerchair Football National Games. Hireup sponsored the Queensland Powerchair Football Association assisting the Brisbane Strikers and Brisbane City teams with their journey and stay in Sydney.
Tristram Peters
Team: Brisbane City
Position: Defensive Wing
Favorite Band: Ball Park Music
We caught up with Brisbane City defensive winger Tristram Peters to learn more about him and chat about the beautiful game.
Firstly, how does powerchair football work?
So powerchair football is basically a modified version of football or soccer that we all know and love, that enables people with disabilities to participate in a competitive team sport.
The great thing is that it's not a disabled sport. It's just a sport. And that's the beauty of it.
We play in these Mad Max style go-karts and do these side hits to thump the ball at a really fast pace and play the beautiful game. They look a bit intimidating when you see them for the first time, but the great thing about them is that they're all uniformly consistent, which means that it doesn't matter what disability you have, you get in it - although they look intimidating, it allows us to all play at the same level.
Did you like Mad Max: Fury Road?
Yeah. I loved it. It's awesome.
How long have you been playing powerchair football?
So powerchair football came to Australia in about 2011. I have been playing it since the very first training camp, where a number of athletes come over from Japan, France, and the US of A. Since then we’ve steadily grown to have a really strong Queensland competition, one of the best in the country.
We've now got five teams. So it's been an awesome development for us over the past 10 or so years. We love coming to these competitions because we can test ourselves against the best. And it's been two years since we had the last one. So yeah, it's good.
How does it feel to be at the National Championships?
It’s been great fun - the old adage of going on tour with the boys though also being part of this amazing community. Hanging out with the other athletes throughout Australia that we haven't seen in two years. So it's just phenomenal to get back together with them and share stories, reminisce and get back on the court.
What do you love most about playing powerchair football?
Yeah. I think there's a stubborn streak in me. So when I was first diagnosed, I think that no one thought that I'd be playing sport and so there's something about proving doctors and other people wrong, that this is a reality for me as much as is my able bodied peers. So that's one reason that I get so much out of it, a little bit of a stubborn streak. It’s also that competitive drive and playing alongside a great group of mates working towards a common goal. It can't be underestimated how cool that is.
Courtside interview with Tristram at day 2 of the National powerchair games
What do you love doing outside of sport?
I mean, to be perfectly honest, sport's pretty all consuming. But when I'm not playing sport, I'm seeing friends, socialising and going to gigs with mates.
What music do you like?
I'm a big fan of the Australian Indie (rock) scene. Ball Park Music and the Smith Street Band - stuff like that.
When did you start using Hireup?
So I've been using Hireup since the beginning of last year. I was lucky enough to receive a positive Specialist Disability Accommodation outcomes and move into my unit after all the many years of amazing support from mum and dad. I sort of wanted to seize independence by moving out and obviously needed more support workers. Hireup was one of the first [providers] I used. And they've been amazing throughout that time. And yeah, blessed to have them because they make living independently possible.
Has Hireup been a good experience?
Yeah. It's phenomenal. So we've heard it a thousand times that the NDIS is all about choice and control. And Hireup is all about that. It puts the control back in our hands and gives us choice so that we can match with support workers that suit us and that can help us achieve our goals.
What does good support mean to you?
Good support is basically a support worker that shows initiative, that cares, that listens and that, at the end of the day is someone that I get along with because we are in such close proximity working with support workers. Good support is someone that we can turn to and rely on and that's what Hireup does.
Any tips to building a good support team?
I like a big variety in my team. I want everyone to have differences and different interests - keeps things interesting. Common sense is also really important. I love having a chat with different people if they've got a shared interest and then giving them a go on a shift. And everyone that I've ever had has got common sense in spades which has been phenomenal for me.
