About Us

Our Achievements

Internationally, Canada is the envy of the wheelchair basketball community. Reaching the podium consistently at major international events over the last 20 years, Wheelchair Basketball Canada continues to position itself as a model organization and world leader in the sport of wheelchair basketball.

There are many Wheelchair Basketball Canada athletes, coaches, officials and administrators who are role models and leaders across the country and internationally. The President of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) is Maureen Orchard from Winnipeg. Tim Frick, former head coach of the Canadian national women’s team, was named the 2000 International Wheelchair Sports Coach of the Year, 2006 Canadian Wheelchair Sports Coach of the Year, was a finalist for the 2006 Canadian Coach of the Year award at the Canadian Sport Awards. Coaches of Canada presented him with the Jack Donohue Award in 2008. The Coaches Association of Canada awarded Frick the Jack Donuhue Award as Coach of the Year in 2008 and the Geoff Gowan Award for lifetime achievement in 2009. Most recently, in 2010 the Canadian Paralympic Committee named The Tim Frick Paralympic Coach Excellence Award in his honour.

The national women’s wheelchair basketball team have been named finalists at the Canadian Sport Awards a record 8 times, after winning their 4th consecutive World Championship title in 2006. The men’s national team has also been a finalist at the Canadian Sports Awards 4 times including as recently as 2008. They were named the 2004 Canadian Wheelchair Sports Team of the Year award and International Paralympic Committee’s Male Team of the Year.

Historical Highlights:

Some historical highlights of wheelchair basketball in Canada through the years include:

1967 Canada participates in 1st Pan American Games in Winnipeg;
1968 Canada participates in 1st International event to include women, the Paralympics, Tel Aviv, Israel;
1979 The first National Wheelchair Basketball Championships were held independent of the typical multi sport games for athletes with disabilities;
1991 The National Women’s team begins its dominance at the International level by winning a gold medal at the Stoke Mandeville Games. Since then they remained unbeaten internationally for nearly two decades winning gold at the 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006 World Championships and Paralympic Games;
1994 The Canadian Wheelchair Basketball Association incorporated;
1995 The inaugural CWBA Hall of Fame Program was introduced at the National Championships in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan;
1995 Wheelchair Basketball was included as an official sport in the Canada Games;
1997 Canada earned the right to host the first Junior World Wheelchair Basketball Championships in Toronto, Ontario, where the Canadian team earned gold;
1998 CWBA becomes the first NSO (National Sporting Organization) in Canada to launch a website (www.cwba.ca)
2000 The Candian Men's National team wins gold at the Sydney Paralympic Games in Australia;
2004 CWBA celebrates 10th Anniversary;
2004 The Canadian Men’s National team became the first men’s team ever to win back to back Paralympic gold medals at the Games in Athens, Greece;
2004 Canadian Men named Canadian Sports Team of the Year at the Canadian Sport Awards; and the International Paralympic Committee’s Male Team of the Year;
2005 Full-time Head Coaches for the Men and Women’s National teams secured;
2006 The Canadian Women’s National team won their 4th consecutive World Championship title and the Men’s National team captured their first ever World title;
2008 The Canadian Men’s National team win silver at the Beijing Paralympic Games in China;
2009 Wheelchair Basketball Canada launches new brand & website;
2011 Canada successfully hosts inaugural Women's U25 World Championships in St. Catharines, Ontario;
2012 The Canadian Men's National team win gold at the London Paralympic Games in the UK.