Ryley Batt

Started: He began playing wheelchair rugby competitively in 2002. (bbc.com, 02 Sep 2020; paralympic.org.au, 01 Aug 2014) Reason: He was initially reluctant to try the sport because he disliked wheelchairs. "I didn't want to do wheelchair rugby at all but a bloke named Tom Kennedy, who'd won a medal at the Sydney Paralympics, was hosting a wheelchair rugby clinic for able-bodied kids and all my friends jumped in the chairs and had a great time. Still, no one could get me into one. About two weeks after I first saw wheelchair rugby, I was with my dad and a couple of friends on a weekend away and we skateboarded down to the beach. I threw my skateboard into the bushes to hide it while I went down to the surf, went for a swim for two hours and then went back up but some bugger had stolen it. I had no mode of transport and something clicked in my head that I should give the wheelchair a go. The next time at school sport I jumped in a chair and loved playing wheelchair rugby." (athletesvoice.com.au, 22 Aug 2019) Ambition: To win gold at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. "Paris 2024 will definitely be my last [Paralympic Games]." (morningchalkup.com, 30 Jan 2023) Milestones: At the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo he became the second Australian to compete in wheelchair rugby at five editions of the Games [2004-2020] after Nazim Erdem [2000-2016]. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Jul 2024) At the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro he and teammates Ryan Scott and Cameron Carr became the second Australians to win three Paralympic medals in wheelchair rugby following Nazim Erdem, who won his first three medals between 2000 and 2012. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Jul 2024) Awards: He was named Most Valuable Player [MVP] and Top Scorer at the 2022 World Championship in Vejle, Denmark. (paralympic.org, 17 Oct 2022) He and table tennis player Daniela Di Toro were flag bearers for Australia at the opening ceremony of the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (kidsnews.com.au, 25 Aug 2021) He was named the Best 3.5 Class Player at the 2016 Canada Cup in Richmond, British Columbia. (iwrf.com, 26 Jun 2016) In 2014 he received the Medal of the Order of Australia [OAM]. (dailytelegraph.com.au, 26 Jan 2014) He was named Most Valuable Player [MVP] at the 2011 Asia-Oceania Championships in Seoul, Republic of Korea. (Facebook page, 16 Mar 2020) In 2010 he was named MVP in the US national league, the world championships, the Four Nations Championship, and the Canada Cup. (paralympic.org.au, 20 Dec 2011) Additional Info: POST-TOKYO BREAK He took a break from the sport after the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, returning in 2022. "That whole year-and-a-half impacted by COVID was really hard. The Games were meant to be in 2020 and that extra year of waiting and doing a lot of training without any competition - I just missed the travelling and the camaraderie so much. That's what we play our sport for. In March [2021], before the Games, our family farm down on the Hawkesbury River [in Australia] got flooded. All my childhood memories were gone. It was a place that my grandfather had helped build for us and it really hurt. It all wore me down a bit and then the result we had at the Games didn't go to plan. After that last game in Tokyo, I was feeling pretty burnt out. I was frustrated with the circumstances around our preparation and the cards we'd been dealt. After that game, to be honest, I did think that was it for me. While I had my break the coaching staff was really good in that they really made sure I was left alone. I guess I started to sort of feel left out. It was weird because for so many years I'd been part of this Australian team and suddenly I wasn't. I started wondering, 'What will I think in eight years' time when I'm 40?' If I didn't go to Paris [the 2024 Paralympic Games], I think I'd be pretty annoyed with myself. I'm in my peak fitness years and I've still got the capability to play for Australia." (Facebook page, 18 May 2022; paralympic.org.au, 17 May 2022) PLAYING STYLE He says his intensity on the court is partly a result of playing alongside adults from age 13. "I guess I'm pretty laid back off court but I don't like who I am on court - I'm not a nice guy. I like to trash-talk and fire up other players. That's what you do. I've copped it my entire career. I started aged 13 playing against grown men. They used to try to get into my head so now I am giving it back. I probably talk too much sometimes but I've got better as I've got older. It is just the competitiveness coming out of me and the adrenaline in my system - that is why we play sport. When the nerves kick in and you have 11 mates with you representing your country, that makes you super competitive." (bbc.com, 02 Sep 2020) RELATIONSHIP WITH FATHER His father competed in Ironman tournaments and played squash, and he would encourage Ryley to try different sports when he was younger. "I remember as a kid, my dad would take me down to the beach. He'd throw me on his back, put me in the car and then, at the beach, he'd throw me onto the soft sand and make me crawl down to the surf. There would be all these families there watching him saying, 'Go on, get yourself down to the water', and I'd be chucking a tantrum, crawling along looking like a prawn cutlet. It might seem like he was cruel but he was always very competitive and he believed the best thing was to push me and treat me like every other little boy. It was a huge thing for me, being treated like an average kid. It really worked, at least when I was young. There were so many times when I was a kid that I forgot about my disability and a large reason for that was the people I had around me." (lsj.com.au, 18 Jun 2021; athletesvoice.com.au, 22 Aug 2019)