Australian Athletes With a Disability (AAWD) is pleased to announce that Australian Sports Organisation for the Disabled (ASOD) has officially amalgamated with AAWD.  This is a significant event for both AAWD and ASOD, following the decision in 2011 that AAWD and its members would amalgamate their national operations.  

This achievement is another milestone in AAWD’s strategy to streamline its structure and simplify its corporate governance, enabling more efficient use of resources managing its operations and sports administration.

Nicole L’Efevre, President of ASOD said “The Amputee Sporting Association of Australia which later became ASOD, was formed to respond to the need to provide opportunities for people with amputations and other loco-motor disabilities to participate in sport and recreation.  It is exciting that today many sports have been mainstreamed under able-bodied sports organisations.  While other sports continue to transition, AAWD and its state member organisations continue to provide opportunities for people with a physical disability.”  

Tanya Cox, Chair of AAWD said “Through the reshaping of its structure, AAWD will be able to provide better outcomes for people with a disability.  Amalgamation is enabling AAWD to deliver a fuller range of services.  It is exciting that our members now have one national voice, and one national body providing sporting and recreational opportunities for people with a disability.”

“The merging of traditions and operations into a single common pool of experience, awareness and purpose will also enable real progress in the evolution of sport and increased participation opportunities for people with disabilities.”

AAWD continues to work with National Sports Organisations to ensure that people with a physical disability, including amputation, continue to enjoy increased opportunities for participation in sport and recreation.

Our appreciation is expressed to all the people who have contributed to ASOD and aiding people with a disability over the years. It is impossible to name all the people who have contributed over the years, but it does not make their contribution any less. It is these people, the passionate volunteers, the dedicated staff and the talented athletes, who have been pioneers and helped shape the present landscape of sport for athletes with a disability. Thank you.

Brief history of ASOD

Amputees first competed as a group in organised sport for people with a disability at the 1977 Far East and South Pacific (FESPIC) Games in Sydney hosted by the Australian Paraplegic and Quadriplegic Sports Federation (now known as Wheelchair Sports Australia).  It was after these Games that the need to establish an organisation to cater for the sporting needs of all amputees throughout Australia was determined.  In March 1981, the Amputee Sporting Association of Australia (ASAA) was formed in Queensland with its primary objective being to provide the opportunity and incentive for people with amputations and other loco-motor disabilities to participate in sport at rehabilitation, recreational and competitive level.

Amputee athletes were included in the first Australia Games conducted in January 1985 which was the first major sporting event in the world that included amputees in the same program as their able-bodied counterparts.  Australian amputees competed at National titles annually from 1981 to the late 1990s. During the 1990s, National Sports Organisations began to conduct National Championships for ASAA, and events were included in open ‘able-bodied’ National Championships from the early 2000’s.  

The inaugural Disabled Youth Games were also conducted in 1985 in Sydney, under the joint sponsorship of Westfield, the Australian Government and the New South Wales Government.  The Games created the opportunity for all athletes with a disability to take part in joint multi-disability games on a national basis.

ASAA later changed its name to the Amputees Federation of Australia (AFA), and then to Australian Sports Organisation for the Disabled (ASOD) in 1998.  The last name change was to mirror the international body, International Sports Organisation for the Disabled (ISOD), in recognition of the broad range of people with a disability to which the organisation catered.

Further information about the history of ASOD is available at ASOD Webpage.