Oscar Stubbs is a Multi Sport Para athlete who was awarded a Tier 3 Scholarship within the 2022 Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship and Mentoring Program.
Oscar was born in Penrith, NSW, in 2000 with optic neuropathy and congenital sensory nystagmus, which is an eye disorder which disturbs a person’s optic sensor and leaves them with limited, tunnel vision.
Oscar started swimming at the age of two and throughout his childhood played many sports including football, cricket, athletics and tennis. He was selected in the Green Shield Representative cricket team at age 16 alongside able-bodied players, and later made the NSW Blind Cricket team which won the National Cricket Inclusion Championships in 2018, 2019 and 2020. In the 2019 tournament, Oscar combined with Lindsay Heaven for a 235-run partnership, and in 2020 he was named Player of the Final.
Oscar’s many years with the Ravens football club honed his skills and he was selected for the Australian Vision Impaired Football team in 2018, when he scored his first hattrick, and again in 2019.
Transitioning to senior competition, Oscar has a classification for swimming (S13/SB13/SM13) and for cricket, football, athletics and tennis (B3), setting up the possibility of future international competitions including the Commonwealth Games and Paralympic Games.
Oscar holds multiple state and national records and also plays Vision Impaired Tennis for NSW and Blind AFL for St Kilda, and is striving to represent Australia at the 2023 International Blind Sports Federation Games. He is also committed to inspiring young disabled athletes to try new sports and challenge themselves.
“Being considered worthy of a Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship is an honour. I see the athletes who have been awarded a Scholarship before me and I’m humbled to be given the same opportunity and support by SAHOF. I am thrilled that the hard work I have put into being a successful athlete has been recognised and I am excited to be given a platform to show other people with a disability that anything is possible if you work hard towards your goals.” – Oscar Stubbs on being selected as a 2022 Tier 3 Scholarship Holder.
Awards. Honours & Achievements
- 2018: Swimming Australia National Development Squad & Swimming Para Pan Pacs, Cairns – Australian representative
- 2018-2021: Swimming Australia National Development Squad
- 2020: Australian Blind Cricket Squad – Australian representative
- 2018: Toured Malaysia in Vision Impaired Football
- 2019: Toured England in Vision Impaired Football
- 2018: National Cricket Inclusion Championships (NCIC) – Won by NSW
- 2018: School Swimming National Championships, NSW Team – Captain
- 2019: National Cricket Inclusion Championships – Won by NSW
- 2020: National Cricket Inclusion Championships – Won by NSW
- 2020: NSW and SA Tennis State Titles – Champion with doubles partner Mick Leigh
- 2022: Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship Holder – Tier 3
