Women in Sport Player Profile – Jodie Waite

The domestic season came to a close last month, with what was a great campaign for Limerick Celtics, can you tell us your highlights of the season?

Definitely the Paddy Byrnes Cup final against Rebel Wheelers, as a team we trained so hard all season. Rebels beat us 3 times throughout the season and each loss highlighted things we needed to work on. So it was an unbelievable feeling when everything we learnt came together and we were able to bring the cup back to Limerick.

The women’s academy is Ireland’s first of its kind in wheelchair basketball, how important of a step in this being established is it to encourage more women to get involved in wheelchair basketball?

It’s fantastic, it’s an amazing opportunity and goal for the girls coming up through the junior setups to one day represent Ireland internationally and hopefully it will encourage more women to play too.

As someone in a leadership role, captain of Limerick Celtics, what do you think makes a good leader?

I know my limits and I have a lot of trust in my teammates. Captain for me is just a title, we’re all teammates so if someone’s struggling on the court we’ll all help.

Can you take us through some of the challenges you may face as a woman in a male-dominated sport?

I don’t really face challenges as a woman in a male-dominated sport. I am a bit slower than some of the lads, which women typically are, but I’m sure if I keep working on it I’ll catch up. 

What do you suggest should be done to take these challenges away?

The Irish Wheelchair Basketball League already has a point deduction system in place to counterbalance any disadvantages that females may endure due to their physiological makeup like height, speed and size.

Trips like the upcoming one to Scotland are great opportunities for Irish women to see the skill level and competition for females in other countries. Although I don’t face that many challenges as a female in a male-dominated sport, camps like this can be a great opportunity for players that do struggle to talk to others in similar situations. Camps like these are also an amazing place to build your confidence as everyone there will have a shared goal and that’s to improve and succeed in your sport.

While we wait for the season to return, what’s next for you in the meantime?

Club season is finished for the moment so for the next couple of months I’m just gonna continue focusing on my training and improving my skill set and game, so that I can hopefully start next season off as a stronger player.

The women’s academy, along with the U19 men’s national team head to Scotland on July 3rd for the International High Performance Camp. They’ll spend four days learning how to improve their game through training sessions, feedback from world class coaches and seminars. You can donate by clicking the link below.