A group of Australia’sall conquering Paralympics team recently visited the new High PerformanceCentre at Melbourne Airport for a guided tour of the facility from Essendon CEOIan Robson.

In a new andexciting partnership, the High Performance Centre will soon be the home of theEssendon Football Club and the Victorian headquarters of Australian ParalympicCommittee.

Wheelchair rugbyteam members Nazim Erdem, Andrew Harrison and coach Brad Dubberley joined trackand field athlete Jessica Gallagher for the tour of the construction site.

Harrison said hewas looking forward to joining forces with an elite AFL football club.

“We are going to see these guys training inthe gym and we’ll be interacting with them on a daily basis,” Harrison said.

“To be able to form a partnership like thisis fantastic for our organization and something we are all really excitedabout.”

The Australian wheelchairrugby team had great success in London winning the gold medal without losing aquarter for the entire tournament.

Dubberley said theteam had unfinished business after the disappointment of a silver medal at theBeijing Games four years ago.

“We are very proudof the whole team, every player and every staff member that was involved,” Dubberleysaid.

“It’s hard to get to the top and even harderto stay there so the new journey starts now and we quickly look to find ways wecan get better.”

Dubberley, whowill continue as coach and be based at the High Performance Centre, said thenew facility would provide a great opportunity for many of his athletes.

“It’s prettygroundbreaking for a sporting club to have these sorts of facilities and apartnership with an organisation like the Australian Paralympic Committee.

The HighPerformance Centre is due to be completed by the middle of 2013.