Liam Costello is refereeing at an international level. 71175 Picture: JOE MASTROIANNI
By Vanessa Chircop
LIAM Costello has been selected to represent Australia as an official wheelchair rugby referee for the IWRF Asia-Oceania Championships held in Seoul, Korea this November.
The Williamstown resident was also selected as a candidate to receive his international accreditation which would allow him to referee international games, world championships and even the Paralympics.
Despite not being in a wheelchair himself, Liam believes wheelchair rugby is the pinnacle of the sport.
Liam has been a basketball referee for eight years but only became a wheelchair rugby referee three years ago.
He said he and a friend heard that the sport didn’t have any referees in Victoria, so decided to lend a hand and get involved.
“It was a good challenge to get into,” he said.
Liam believes getting involved in the sport has opened his eyes to a whole new world.
“It’s amazing how some players have become involved,” he said.
“It opens your eyes to a lot of things in life, especially how some have ended up in a wheelchair.”
This will be the 23-year-old’s first trip overseas, so suffice to say he is fairly excited.
“I reckon it will be a culture shock for me,” he said.
Despite this the fitness student said he planned on making the most of the journey by travelling to Korea and Hong Kong on the way home.
