Wheelchair Rugby

VISUAL: RMITUniversity logo.

VISUAL: Quick Comfort. RMITUniversity and the Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) team up to make a better sports wheelchair. RMITUniversity logo.

VISUAL: Dr Mike Burton, Senior Research Fellow – RMIT University speaking to the camera.

Dr Mike Burton: One of the key projects that we're looking at here is a customisation of sporting ...

VISUAL: Video of four men in sporting wheelchairs on an indoor basketball court. Two of the men are speaking together and two men are facing towards the camera. One of the men is mostly obscured by the man in the centre of the screen and you only see a part of him when he moves. A basketball bounces past in the foreground.

Dr Mike Burton: ... wheelchairs. We've been looking at ...

VISUAL: Two men in sports wheelchairs moving quickly over the basketball court past the camera.

Dr Mike Burton: ... different groups of wheelchairs ...

VISUAL: Video of two teams of six men playing a game of wheelchair rugby in their wheelchairs. One of the men is holding a white ball like a soccer ball in his lap as he moves his wheelchair and dodges around the opposing team. Then he bounces the ball and catches it again.

Dr Mike Burton: ... those that are used for racing and then different court-based sports so things like basketball ...

VISUAL: Dr Mike Burton speaking to the camera.

Dr Mike Burton: ... and primarily, rugby or murder ball.

VISUAL: Clara Usma Alvarez, RMIT University PhD student speaking to the camera.

Clara Usma Alvarez: I remember we were on a focus group also with ...

VISUAL: Video of the same two teams playing a game of wheelchair rugby. One man at the front has a ball on his lap and he is moving quickly across the court with the other players following him.

Clara Usma Alvarez: ... the VIS and after that meeting we knew that we needed to ...

VISUAL: Clara Usma Alvarez speaking to the camera and shaking her head sideways when she says no research done.

Clara Usma Alvarez: ... work for rugby because there was no research done at all.

VISUAL: Andrew Harrison, Australian Rugby team member speaking to the camera.

Andrew Harrison: We had to do a ... on a machine so we got strapped into a machine and we had to ...

VISUAL: Black and white video in slow motion of a man using his arms to turn the wheels on the wheelchair, his muscles are straining and flexing and he is leaning forward in his chair.

Andrew Harrison: ... push as hard as we could and then we had to do a 12?minute push and then we had to go out to the court ...

VISUAL: Video of the same male from the black and white slow motion video moving his wheelchair quickly around cones on the basketball court. A female student is in the background holding paperwork and she is watching as the man moves around the cones. There is another person watching in the background just off?screen.

Andrew Harrison: ... and do a few cone weaves and stuff using, I think, a GPS to mark all ...

VISUAL: Andrew Harrison speaking to the camera.

Andrew Harrison: ... the different dots and see how we go with the testing.

VISUAL: Clara Usma Alvarez, RMIT University PhD student speaking to the camera.

Clara Usma Alvarez: I also ran an international survey ...

VISUAL: Video of the two teams playing wheelchair rugby. A man passes the ball to another man who holds the ball on his lap and moves off quickly. The referee is watching the game standing behind the group in the background.

Clara Usma Alvarez: ... and I got a magnificent ...

VISUAL: Video of the teams playing wheelchair rugby as they move quickly down the court

Clara Usma Alvarez: ... input from ...

VISUAL: Video close up of a player catching the ball on the move after a bounce.

Clara Usma Alvarez: ... actually, elite level athletes ...

VISUAL: Video close up of two opposing team members racing each other up the court, one of the men has the ball on his lap.

Clara Usma Alvarez: ... and they all ...

VISUAL: Video close up of the teams playing on the court.

Clara Usma Alvarez: ... were pointing out at ...

VISUAL: Clara Usma Alvarez speaking to the camera.

Clara Usma Alvarez: ... we need to focus in customisation. It’s a key word: customisation, customisation.

VISUAL: Andrew Harrison speaking to the camera.

Andrew Harrison: If I can get that extra 10% over our competitors, I mean I'm all for it.

VISUAL: Video close up of the teams playing on the court.

Andrew Harrison: I mean but in also ...

VISUAL: Video of teams playing wheelchair rugby, one male has the ball in his lap and is moving quickly up the court, his team members are blocking the opposing team members from getting near the ball.

Andrew Harrison: ... it's a good way because you've got other people looking at the chairs ...

VISUAL: Close up of two opposing team members on the court. Andrew Harrison is bouncing the ball and the other man bumps his wheelchair into Andrew’s chair so Andrew turns his chair away from him.

Andrew Harrison: ... trying to work out how we can make them better ...

VISUAL: Andrew Harrison speaking to the camera.

Andrew Harrison: ... personally best us and against the world.

VISUAL: Dr Mike Burton speaking to the camera.

Dr Mike Burton: Well, this is going to give us a much more reliable mechanism for, actually ...

VISUAL: Video of Dr Mike Burton and Clara Usma Alvarez working in the lab on a wheelchair prototype made of metal which is up on a bench.

Dr Mike Burton: ... fitting chairs to athletes so rather than actually ...

VISUAL: Video of four players in their wheelchairs on the court sitting in a group. One man is standing beside one of the wheelchairs and is banging on the side of one of the wheels. As he bangs the wheel he slightly tilts the wheelchair and the man in it leans over to balance himself.

Dr Mike Burton: ... making a very sizable investment ...

VISUAL: Video of six players on the court in their wheelchairs, a referee is standing at the back of the group holding a ball.

Dr Mike Burton: ... in something that might not, actually, meet their needs ...

VISUAL: Camera runs along beside the men playing on the court as they move quickly down the court, a man holding a ball in his lap is leading. The referee can be seen at the beginning in the foreground.

Dr Mike Burton: ... what we're able to do is make an accurate prediction and then validate that ...

VISUAL: Dr Mike Burton speaking to the camera.

Dr Mike Burton: ... before the individual will have to invest in a fairly costly wheelchair.

VISUAL: Andrew Harrison speaking to the camera.

Andrew Harrison: I think it's 'cause they'll find a more ...

VISUAL: Video of Clara Usma Alvarez and another male student talking to the team on the court, camera pans around them to show more of the stands beside the court. There are a few people watching on the sidelines.

Andrew Harrison: ... efficient way of doing it - less labour, better materials, maybe, that will help in the long run when it comes to the chairs ...

VISUAL: Video close up of wheelchairs moving during the game. One of the wheels lift up and the man rolls onto the court as his wheelchair rolls on to its side.

Andrew Harrison: ... 'cause these take a bit of a beating so there's probably some type of aluminium out there ...

VISUAL: Close up of the wheelchair as one of the team members (off?screen) is moving it.

Andrew Harrison: ... or metal that people will be able to get ...

VISUAL: Andrew Harrison speaking to the camera.

Andrew Harrison: ... to make the chairs cheaper and to make the sport more affordable.

VISUAL: RMIT University Logo and website www.rmit.edu.au.

End of video

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