Ryley Batt leaving Port Macquarie on Saturday for the Paralympics in London.
RYLEY Batt flew out of Port Macquarie on Saturday on his Paralympic wheelchair rugby gold quest.
Batt spoke with Port News on Friday before his departure and admitted the nerves were slowly creeping in.
"The nerves aren't too bad at this stage," he said.
"I've been trying to keep them at bay by just relaxing and spending time with family and friends.
"But I'm sure once I'm on that plane everything will start to hit me and I'll feel that real buzz."
He said he was buoyed by the news that every game in his paralympic journey was sold out noting that the atmosphere would play in his favour.
"I'm a bit of an adrenaline player," he said.
"I play better in the big games and I feed off the energy of the crowd.
"But there's downsides to that too, you push harder with the adrenaline but at the same time you tire out quicker so I have to balance it out a bit."
One of the last things on Batt's agenda before flying out from his home town was to indulge in a fix of sushi.
"I love it, I can't get enough," he said. "And I've never had any good sushi in London before so I'm really getting my fix before I leave. I know I'll be craving it over there."
Batt was confident without being cocky when it came to talking up his chances of London gold.
"If we play at our best we know we can take out gold," he said.
"But we have to get to that gold medal play-off first which we are pretty sure would be against America.
"It's going to be a tough comp there will be some really hard games."
Hastings tennis player Janel Manns will also begin her Paralympic bid shortly.
The Kendal Tennis Club player hits out on Saturday September 8.