 Chaplin began playing wheelchair basketball in 1999, after initially contemplating developing her archery skills, and made her debut in the Women's National Wheelchair Basketball League (WNWBL) in 2000. She was part of the WNWBL championship Dandenong Rangers sides in 2011 and 2012. She was first selected for the Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team, known as the Gliders, in 2001, and first represented Australia in 2002, winning a bronze medal as part of the team at the 2002 World Wheelchair Basketball Championship. She played for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign wheelchair basketball team, and was named an All-American in the 2006 / 07 season. Her team won the national championships in 2009.
