Dashiell “Dash” Gurung tried his hand at shooting and athletics at the inaugural Libby Kosmala Para Futures Cup, but it was the connections he made across four days in Canberra that he valued most.
Gurung was part of Team South, representing the Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) and Tasmanian Institute of Sport (TIS), which joined emerging Para athletes from across Australia for multi-sport competition and development at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS). Athletics provided the finale on Monday 5 October 2026.
The event formed part of the Para System Uplift, led by the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) and Paralympics Australia (PA) in partnership with the National Institute Network, which includes the VIS, to strengthen Australia’s Para sport pathway. Athletes were supported by coaches, staff and Paralympian mentors throughout.
For many, the Cup was a chance to step outside their usual sport and try something new. Gurung tested himself across disciplines, though one stood out.
“I liked trying shooting, but athletics was my favourite,” Gurung said.
Shooting was overseen in part by the Cup’s namesake, 12-time Paralympian Libby Kosmala, who was rarely far from the action across the four days.
“To see their excitement, and then to sit back and watch others, and then say, ‘Can I have another go? Can I have another go?’ It was very, very moving,” Kosmala said.
By the final day, athletes who had arrived knowing little of one another were mixing across state lines and encouraging each other between events. For Gurung, that was the highlight.
“I liked making new friends,” he said.
The Paralympian mentors on hand included VIS alumna Emily Petricola OAM PLY, one of Australia’s most decorated cyclists.
Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at 27, Petricola is a dual Paralympic gold medallist who has won more than a dozen world titles across track and road, including three at the 2025 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships in Rio de Janeiro.
Though she now leads the Para Unit at the South Australian Sports Institute (SASI), one half of Team West, Petricola still took time to chat with and nurture the Victorian Para athletes following her along the pathway.
L-R: Dash Gurung, Emily Petricola and Ori Drabkin.
Team South finished fourth on 955 Cup points. Team West (WAIS/SASI) were crowned inaugural champions with 1302 points, one point ahead of Team North (QAS/NTIS), while Team East (NSWIS/ACTAS) placed third on 1072. Team North and Team East shared the peer-voted Win Well Cup, recognising the way athletes competed, supported their teammates and contributed across the event.
Tim Matthews OAM, the 2025 recipient of the VIS Frank Pyke Achievement Award and multiple Paralympian, now with Paralympics Australia, said what athletes took home would differ. Some would return with the confidence to be social at school or comfortable with who they are, while for others the Cup could be the start of a much longer career.
“There’ll be a percentage who will go on to compete at World Championships, Paralympic Games, or whatever,” Matthews said.
“And someone will ask them, ‘Tell us about your journey’, and they’ll say, ‘I went to this Para Futures Cup, and it was bloody awesome.'”
Kosmala is among many already hoping the Cup returns as an annual event.
“I think it would be fantastic,” she said.
To learn more about the VIS Para Sport Unit, visit vis.org.au/para-sport-unit
