17 November 2011: Can you play rugby in a wheelchair? Yes, you certainly can with a round ball, similar in size to a volleyball, in an enthralling game originally called 'Murderball'. Perhaps our view of Wheelchair Rugby is coloured by Rugby Union or League – a contact sport. Wheelchair rugby is a contact sport but only with wheelchairs and not with bodies! A skilful, rough and at times fast sport played in the Paralympics since Sydney 2000.

Australia and Japan have just qualified for the London 2012 Paralympic Games wheelchair rugby competition. They came first and second respectively in the Asia /Oceania Championships in Icheon, South Korea. Australia won the final against Japan by 59 to 41. Australia will now have the opportunity to avenge their defeat to the USA in the 2008 Beijing Paralympics final. Japan squeezed past New Zealand in the Asia/Oceania Championships by 47 to 45 to take the second place and the second Paralympic slot available to the Asia/Oceania region.

The United States have been awesome having won the Wheelchair Rugby World Championships, held every four years, four times since 1995. However, Australia are working up a steam particularly with the talented Ryley Batt whose in great form with nine months to go before the London Paralympics.

20 July 2011:  South African ‘Blade Runner’ Oscar Pistorius runs qualifying time for the World Athletics Championships in Daegu, South Korea in August and also for the London Olympics in 2012.

In an athletics meeting on the 19^th. July in Lignano Italy Pistorius ran his fastest 400 metres ever in a time of 45.07 seconds smashing his previous best time of 45.61 seconds and coming under the ‘A’ standard qualifying time of 45.25 seconds by 0.18 seconds.

Pistorius revealed on his Twitter page that he was delighted with the result and singled out his coach Ampie Louw for praise. He went on to say, “feels kind of surreal to have an A-qualification time in the bag for next year’s Olympic Games. Thank you all for your support. Can’t sleep I’m so happy. I have a dumb smile that’s permanent!”

Oscar Pistorius is eligible to compete in able bodied sport after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturned an IAAF ruling in May 2008 that his prosthetic limbs gave him an unfair advantage.

All that remains now is for Oscar to be selected in the South African team for the World Championships and later on for the Olympic Games. Each national team can select three athletes for each of the events providing they meet the ‘A’ standard.

10 May 2011: Will the South African double amputee Oscar Pistorius reach the London Olympic Games in 2012? He’ll certainly be at the Paralympic Games a couple weeks later. Oscar’s dream to reach the ‘A’ qualifying standard of 45.55 seconds for the 400 metres remains 0.06 seconds short of the mark, should South Africa grant him a 2012 place. In spite of his personal best of 45.61 seconds being achieved at the Provincial Championships in Pretoria in March of this year, Pistorius had earlier suffered a rare defeat in the 100 metres final at the IPC Paralympic Athletics World Championships in New Zealand in January – first loss in seven years over 100 metres. The lengthy battle with the IAAF regarding Oscar’s carbon fibre prosthetic running blades was taken to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2008 and finally ruled in his favour. Prior to the 2012 Olympics there still remains this year’s goal of competing in the able-bodied IAAF World Championships in Athletics in South Korea in August.