Both have cerebral palsy and when younger were often confronted by officials who simply did not know how to deal with their disabilities.

At times they were bullied by other children because they were ''a bit different''. They would be lumped into contests against able-bodied athletes or, because of a lack of competitors with a disability, left to race by themselves.

''It was probably year nine or 10 when I started getting to a higher level in sport that they started thinking, 'Matt could do something really interesting here','' Haanappel said.

''‘Through high school and my early years I had a bit of bullying, but that’s something that we work on and Paralympic sport is the best way of doing that - for [people with] all disabilities.''

The early setbacks did not deter the pair. Both have competed for Australia - Haanappel in the pool, where he won a relay gold medal at the London Paralympic Games, and Roberts on the track at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

On Tuesday, the pair came together to help promote an Australian Paralympic Committee bid to encourage and provide a pathway to elite competition for people, including teenagers, who have a disability.

The drive is focused on recruiting people aged from 15 to 30 who have cerebral palsy and neurological brain impairments to compete in athletics, cycling, swimming, canoeing, rowing, triathlon, table tennis, boccia, para-alpine skiing and snowboarding.

Haanappel and Roberts, who both have weakness on the right side of their bodies which affects their walking and arm mobility, are classified in the less severe disability categories of their sports and able to complete most everyday activities.

Roberts said while parents were understandably ''afraid of the kids getting bullied and not being included'', children with disabilities should be encouraged to participate in sport.

''At an early age my parents were really strict on me to get involved in sport. They wanted me to be included with everybody else,'' he said.

''‘I played football for about 10 years or so and I’d be lucky to get five kicks per game, but I was out there and I was part of a team and I was getting stronger. If it wasn’t for sport I wouldn’t be where I am today.''

Haanappel said the message seemed to be filtering through to younger children of all sporting abilities.

''It doesn’t mean getting to a Paralympic or Commonwealth Games level, it means getting out there and doing some sort of physical activity,'' he said.

''Ten years ago, you’d rock up to the state or national championships and we’d only have a single heat or you’d be lucky at nationals to have two heats. Now we’ve got four, five, six heats in the 50 freestyle. I think it’s really fantastic to see."

Former Paralympian Tim Matthews, the Australian Paralympic Committee's performance talent manager, said he was hoping the search, which will be run in conjunction with a similar Australian Institute of Sport recruitment drive, would uncover a number of athletes in the more severe disability classifications who would become Paralympic medal chances.