VA forms Disability Working Group

Volleyball Australia is proud to announce the formation of the Disability Working Group.

The group will provide transparent direction and technical advice to VA with respect to all matters relating to the provision of participation opportunities for the disability community. 

The working group will:

• provide a forum for communication and collaboration between VA and disability community stakeholders
• identify open and transparent processes to facilitate engagement and participation in disability programs and activities within Australia
• assist in the development of operational policies and actions in support of disability athletes, officials and coaches
• identify opportunities for VA to provide operational support of the production of disability participation opportunities (including event management, branding, sponsorship and promotion) 
• discuss and investigate the feasibility of a high performance program  

“Volleyball Australia recognises that volleyball is a sport for all abilities, and is committed to supporting the expansion of opportunities for all levels of athletes with a disability to participate in their discipline of choice, whether that be sitting volleyball, standing beach volleyball or deaf volleyball,” said Kim Bradey, Disability Working Group Chair and VA Board Member.

“The Working Group aims to raise awareness of the opportunities and lift the profile of these volleyball disciplines, and increase participation levels and opportunities at both the grass roots and high performance levels, including Paralympic volleyball.”

The Group will work to develop state and national programs in disability volleyball so teams are competing internationally by the end of the year. While a core commitment of the group is to build the squads towards Brisbane 2032 and beyond, it is also focused on the broad development of disability volleyball throughout the community.

“Volleyball Australia is looking forward to using its voice and resources to support the development of our paravolley disciplines, and working with athletes (including former paralympians), coaches, officials and others towards this goal,” said Bradey.

The Group also includes committee members Brad Barclay, Heather Brown, Nick Coburn, Chloe Jarvis along with Nam Pham, Disability Working Group secretary and VA Sport Delivery and Growth General Manager.

VA Disability Working Group – Committee Members

Kim Bradey (Chair, Victoria)

Kim has been actively involved in volleyball since a teenager, including playing, coaching and umpiring in South Australia and Victoria. Outside of volleyball, Kim practices as a barrister in insurance and personal injuries law at the Victorian Bar, having previously been a partner of a national law firm. She sits on the Workcover Magistrates’ Court Users Group, and is a director of the Essoign Club Limited. Kim has extensive experience in the administration of not-for-profit bodies, having served as a director of the Australian Insurance Law Association for two decades and been the secretary of the Malvern Marlins Masters Swimming Club for five years. She also sits on two Law Council of Australia committees, as well as on the Victorian Bar’s Compensation Law Bar Association committee. Kim joined the VA board in November 2019. 

Brad Barclay (Western Australia)

Brad has played volleyball for 29 years as both an able-bodied and disabled athlete.

A workplace accident over four years ago resulted in a below-knee amputation. Since then, Brad has continued to play, representing Busselton in the WA Indoor State League, playing on the WA beach tour and internationally with the Australian Beach ParaVolley squad.

Heather Brown (South Australia)

Heather has been involved in the sport for decades as player, administrator and club president.  She first encountered Sitting Volleyball on a visit to the UK when she spent a weekend with Jose Banfi, head coach of the Dutch Sitting Paralympic Volleyball team. She was instantly hooked by the laughs, fun, new skills and comradeship of the team, and introduced D-Volleyball SA Inc. to run sessions with the intent to promote the sport nationally.

Chloe Jarvis (South Australia)

Chloe has a professional and academic background in disability and inclusive practices and is passionate about community inclusion, particularly in the area of sport. She is an enthusiastic volleyball player, coach and volunteer in South Australia. Her aspiration for this working group is to increase participation of people with disability within this amazing sport, with the aim to improve inclusive practices from the ground up through grassroots, local and elite levels. 

Nick Coburn (Victoria) 

Nick has been involved in ParaVolley since 2000 when he played Standing (Indoor) Volleyball for Australia in the Sydney Paralympic Games, going on to represent his country at more tournaments in Greece (2003) and Cambodia (2005). Switching the Beach ParaVolley, Nick has played for Australia in Malaysia (2011) and Malaysia (2019). He is currently on the ParaVolley Asia-Oceania Board as the Beach Commissioner with the role to promote and develop Beach ParaVolley within the Asia and Oceania region.