One shot at glory for Wheel Blacks
Gavin Rolton's life changed when he dived from a boat into a river and broke his neck whilst on holiday. He's overcome adversity to become a wheelchair rugby veteran with his eyes set on qualifying for the 2024 Paralympics.
It’s a moment that has been on Gavin Rolton’s mind for months.
The tetraplegic is sitting alongside his best mates on centre court, listening to the national anthem in front of a packed stadium that is full of his friends and family. It’s the biggest moment of his career.
This week, New Zealand will host the World Wheelchair Rugby Paralympic Qualification Tournament for the first time with some of the best exponents of the sport looking to book their place in Paris.
“It‘s going to be huge moment for our sport as a whole,” says the 41-year-old from Waikanae.
“Our friends and family are normally up in the middle of the night watching us play on a livestream on a laptop so to have it here in our backyard is massive.
“You can't play this sport without the support of your family, friends and helpers so it’s going to be nice to be able to give back to them and play for our home crowd.”
Eight teams - Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland and hosts New Zealand – will arrive in the capital with the top three teams from the event qualifying for a place in the Paris 2024 Paralympics, subject to selection by their respective National Paralympic Committee.
For Gavin, a player-coach and veteran of the Wheel Blacks team, it’s a chance of a lifetime.
The World No 8 New Zealand team will take on the Netherlands (No 15), Brazil (No 11) and Canada (No 5) in Pool B ahead of the crossover matches and Gavin says they have done plenty of preparation.
“We’ve been watching a lot of footage and working out game plans for each team. We know the teams in our pool well, and we’ve been doing our homework on who we could face in the crossover games [play-offs].”
Australia (World No 2) and Canada will be considered as pre-tournament favourites, Gavin says.
His team will fight for everything as they look to back up qualifying for Tokyo four years ago.
Gavin Rolton competing for New Zealand in 2023. Photo: Bev’s Broadcasting
Finding a new perspective on life
For Gavin, after missing out on the 2012 Paralympics (London) and the 2016 Paralympics (Rio de Janeiro), it was a significant moment. But it was bittersweet as COVID-19 changed the experience.
“It was pretty disappointing to be honest,” he says. “Because of COVID-19, it was not the Paralympic experience I thought it was going to be. We were looking forward to going to see our New Zealand team-mates competing and we couldn’t do any of that.
“That is why I have stuck around these past four years, to do it again and have a proper Paralympics experience in Paris has been a big motivation for me.”
Competing at the Paralympics is a long way from where Gavin has been.
In 2005, he was on holiday on the Sunshine Coast in Australia when he dived from a boat into a river and broke his neck. He was lucky to survive.
He was in hospital for two months in Australia before he came home and spent six months in the Burwood Spinal Unit in Christchurch.
Gavin is a glass half-full sort of guy. He quickly accepted his new life with a spinal cord impairment.
“I used to be really active. I would surf every day and I was always on the go, always into things at a 100 mile an hour. So yeah, that definitely put the brakes on for a bit,” he says in his laidback fashion.
“I just took it my stride to be fair. I didn't really go through a depressive state or anything like that. I was like: ‘This is what happened, I'm going have to get on with it’.”
While he was in Burwood, Gavin watched a documentary called Murderball which changed his perspective.
It is a movie about physically disabled athletes who play wheelchair rugby. It centres on the rivalry between the Canadian and USA teams leading up to the 2004 Paralympic Games.
“That was a turning point for me,” he says. “Seeing these guys carry on with their lives and competing for their country in an awesome sport. I wanted to do that too, and I set the goal of playing wheelchair rugby for New Zealand, which was obviously easier said than done.”
Gavin Rolton competing at the 2023 World Champs. Photo: Gwendal Deschamps
Overcoming adversity to lead an action-packed life
Two years later, Gavin took up the sport and fell in love with the competition and camaraderie. In 2009, he achieved the milestone of making his debut for the Wheel Blacks.
“I never thought that I would represent my country for anything, so that was a hugely proud moment,” he says.
Gavin has a stubborn and competitive streak. He has worked incredibly hard for all his success in the sport and in life. He trains six days a week around his busy lifestyle.
He works as a Client Relationship Manager for Drake Medox, setting up support packages of care for people in a similar situation to him. They have been generous with sponsorship and leave for him to compete on the world stage.
Gavin is also grateful for the support of his friends and family and says ACC has been a constant pillar in his rehabilitation.
“We're lucky in our country, ACC is pretty incredible in the support we get. The list of what they have given me is massive - house modifications, vehicles, equipment and heaps more."
“It's about ACC enabling our lives, providing the support and opportunity to pursue the things we want to do. That has been my experience.”
The stage is set for a landmark moment in wheelchair rugby in New Zealand and Gavin can’t wait.
WWR Paralympic Qualification Tournament
The WWR Paralympic Qualification Tournament will be held at the NZ Campus of Innovation and Sport in Trentham, Wellington on 20 – 24 March.
New Zealand pool games:
- Wednesday 20 March – Netherlands
- Thursday 21 March – Brazil
- Friday 22 March – Canada
More information
More information is available on the tournament website.
