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As the world's best wheelchair basketball teams battle it out at the Paris Paralympics, former gold medallist Gerry Hewson's focus is elsewhere.
He is on the lookout for the sport's next star — in regional Australia.
"If you have a disability or a mobility restriction in a country town, there's no way that you can play a team sport," he said.
Hewson is on a mission to change that.
The Ambassador for Wheelchair Sports NSW/ACT has set up five basketball clubs in regional towns this year, including Orange, Cowra, Goulburn, Port Macquarie, and this week, Parkes.
Eight more will be launched in 2025.
Gerry Hewson says wheelchair basketball is a sport for all. (ABC News: Lani Oataway)
"This is really giving people an opportunity to be able to play a team sport for the first time, for most of them," he said.
The organisation supplies 14 chairs worth $6,000 each to clubs and covers court hire for up to two years through state government funding.
Hewson, who grew up in Young, said one of the primary ways to improve the sport before the Brisbane 2032 Paralympics was to expand it to rural areas.
"I came across Kurt Fearnley many, many years ago when I was doing a wheelchair basketball road show at Blayney High School … he jumped in a chair," he said.
"He [later] actually played for Australia in under 23 World Championship in Canada, won a bronze medal."
Parkes is the fifth town to have a club established this year, after Orange, Cowra, Goulburn and Port Macquarie. (ABC News: Lani Oataway)
Fearnley went on to win gold three times at the Paralympics in the marathon and 5,000 metre T54 events, and became a two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist in the same events.
"Who's the next Kurt Fearnley? Who's the next Gerry Hewson, or as we have here, Victoria Simpson, who is part of The Gliders squad and has played for Australia?" Hewson asked.
"These people are out there, and we want to try and find them."
Training with family
Victoria Simpson grew up in Parkes, and travelled to nearby Forbes during primary school to play wheelchair basketball.
But the group stopped operating after two years, which made her closest clubs Sydney or Canberra.
The Gliders' Victoria Simpson will coach the Parkes team. (ABC News: Lani Oataway)
"You couldn't really go anywhere close by unless that meant around 10 hours of travel each weekend," she said.
"So, I mainly just did training by myself, or I have younger siblings, and then I'd make them get into a chair, and they'd help me with drills."
The aspiring Paralympian plays for the national women's team, The Gliders, and will coach the Parkes team.
"It's really important for everyone to be able to participate, especially for children that are younger that have disabilities … to have places for them to be able to come and just do it for fun."
'A two-hour round trip' to Orange or Dubbo
Kathleen Newman and her family moved from Sydney to Parkes about four years ago and said the sports available to her son Cameron Hughes, who uses a wheelchair, were limited.
"Anything would have been good — unless we're travelling like a two-hour round trip going to Orange or Dubbo, there hasn't been anything in [Parkes] for him," she said.
But now, Ms Newman said it was heartwarming to see a sport come to town that he could participate in, alongside other able-bodied team mates.
Kathleen Newman says there are fewer inclusive sports available for her son since moving to the country. (ABC News: Lani Oataway)
"It's great for other people to come join in and actually see what it's like to be in a wheelchair," she said.
Thirteen-year-old Cameron said he was delighted that his beloved sport was now an option in Parkes.
Cameron Hughes is stoked to have access to wheelchair basketball in Parkes. (ABC News: Lani Oataway)
"It's fun to play with other people that are in a wheelchair, even if they're not always in a wheelchair," he said.