THIRD GUEST ATHLETE ANNOUNCED FOR WISB
Bridie Kean, Paralympian, Wheelchair Basketball
Dr Bridie Kean is currently an Associate Lecturer in Public Health at USC and a former Australian Wheelchair Basketball dual medalist.
Bridie’s career highlight in wheelchair basketball was captaining the silver medal winning Australian Gliders at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Bridie retired from high performance wheelchair basketball in 2015 and has since been involved in wheelchair basketball programs in grassroots and higher education settings.
Bridie’s passion for sport has extended to applied research, where a focus of this explores the role of the environment in para-sport. Bridie was a research scholar from 2015 - 2018 at the QAS Centre of Excellence for Applied Sport Science Research and is continuing this research and engagement in para-sport across multiple levels, including how to create equitable sporting environments for inclusive grassroots sport and high-performance para-sport.
SECOND GUEST ATHLETE ANNOUNCED
Kirby Short, Australian Cricketer
We are thrilled to announced Kirby Short as one of our guest athletes for the Women in Sport Breakfast 2019. Captain of the Brisbane Heat since 2017, leading the team to their maiden WBBL title in 2019 and currently the longest serving member of the QLD Fire, Kirby Short is a titan in the Australian cricketing world. A Queensland Under-17 and Under-19 representative, Kirby was a member of the Queensland Under-17 team that won the national title in 2003-04. She has also represented Queensland at youth level in volleyball and softball.
Kirby has been a mainstay in the Queensland Fire squad since 2005-06 and was part of the victorious squad that won the 2014 WT20 title. She has been dynamic in the field, both in the air and on the ground.
Kirby comes from a sporting family, with her mother representing Australia at softball and her grandfather Mick Harvey playing first-class cricket for Victoria and Queensland before coming a first-class umpire.
Kirby is also a passionate educator and was awarded the ACHPER QLD Inspirational teacher of the year award in 2016. After serving as the Head of Department HPE and Sport at MacGregor SHS from 2017 to 2018, she has been appointed Acting Deputy Principal for MacGregor SHS this year.
FIRST GUEST ATHLETE
Kara Saunders, Australian CrossFit Athlete
We are thrilled to announce that Kara Saunders will be joining us at WISB this year! Kara is an Australian CrossFit athlete and fitness entrepreneur. To date, Kara has participated in seven international CrossFit events, was crowned the second Fittest Woman on Earth in 2017, and has earned the title of Australia’s Fittest Female on five occasions (2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017.) From 2015-2018 Kara was ranked no 1 in Australia for the Crossfit Open Women's division. She co-owns a gym called CrossFit Kova in Brisbane and is currently developing and launching a sunglasses company called Activ. This year Kara and her husband welcomed their first child, a little girl Scotti. Some of her greatest achievements have been winning the Spirit of the Games Award in 2016 and in 2017, standing on the podium at the CrossFit Games as the second fittest woman on earth. Kara loves all things nutrition, natural health and fitness and spends her days living and breathing them.