6 August 2021 | Tennis Victoria

Wheelchair tennis superstar and Paralympian Heath Davidson recently surprised the students of Ascot Vale Heights School via Zoom!

But there was one student among the many who was particularly excited to receive the call from Heath.

Daniel Vadnjal has been selected by his school for the Australian Olympic Change-Maker Program which recognises students who are demonstrating the Olympic Spirit – friendship, sportsmanship and striving for excellence.

Daniel adores playing tennis – and has been involved with tennis both on and off the court. Daniel is part of the TA junior performance squad for players with an intellectual disability, as well as a Special Olympics tennis athlete and player of the state and national Australian Tennis Championships. Off the court, he has starred in a Tennis Victoria photoshoot, and participated in a focus group to help VicSport with their projects.

An impressive resume to say the least!

After hearing from Ascot Vale Heights Assistant Principal Megan Retallick, Heath was more than happy to take some time out of his busy schedule to spend some time with the students during their Ascot Vale Olympic Games celebration.

Daniel was the MC of the call with Heath, and the students asked fantastic questions, from game strategy with doubles partner Dylan Alcott to training regimes and everything in between!

Heath is currently training for the Paralympic Games, with the Wheelchair Tennis competition kicking off on Friday August 27th. He’ll be joined by Dylan Alcott, debutant Martyn Dunn and five-time Paralympian Ben Weekes.