The Ivor Burge Program is designed to train recognised athletes within the Inclusive Basketball Program and represent South Australia in a high-performance environment.
The Ivor Burge Championship is part of the Australian Junior Championships series (AJC’s). The AJC’s are a series of events that form the pinnacle for emerging athletes within Australia, seeing the National Champion crowned at the conclusion of each event. These inclusive events provide athletes with the opportunity to represent their State or Club on the national stage and give athletes the chance to experience a replication of the high-performance environment that Australian national teams experience when they compete internationally.
Since the Australian Basketball team for People with an Intellectual Disability made their international debut at the 1992 Paralympic Games in Barcelona, the Australian Sports & Recreation Association for People with an Intellectual Disability (AUSRAPID), together with Basketball Australia, created the Ivor Burge Championship.
It was decided to title the Tournament the Ivor Burge Championship as Ivor Burge is considered one of the founding fathers of Basketball in Australia. Although he went to college in Springfield, Massachusetts, after graduating he came back home to Australia to promote the game further.
The Ivor Burge Championship is for athletes with an intellectual disability and integration difficulties as per the VIRTUS classification requirements.
Intellectual Disability is a disability characterised by significant limitations both in intellectual functioning and in adaptive behaviour as expressed in conceptual, social and practical adaptive skills. This disability originates before the age of 22 Limitations in adaptive behaviour affect both daily life and the ability to respond to life changes and environmental demands (AAIDD 2010, WHO ICD-10 and ICF-2001).
Based on this definition, the Virtus Eligibility Criteria for athletes with an intellectual disability is:
adaptive skills. This is defined as performance that is at least 2 standard deviations below the mean of, either:
Athletes must meet all 3 elements of the criteria to be eligible for consideration for intellectual disability sport
If you have any questions or need help completing the form, then please contact Sport Inclusion Australia on 03 5762 7494 or mail@siasport.org
Winning their 4th Australian Junior Championship in a row.
Performing excellently against their rival states.
Phone: (08) 7088 0070
Postal Address: PO Box 2080 Hilton Plaza, SA, 5033