Canada women's national wheelchair basketball team

The Canada women's national wheelchair basketball team is one of Canada's most successful national sporting teams. It is the only national women's wheelchair basketball team to have won three consecutive gold medals at the Paralympic Games in 1992, 1996 and 2000, and the only one to have won four consecutive World Wheelchair Basketball Championships, in 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006.^[1] In 2014 it won a fifth World Championship.^[2]

Canada

IWBF Ranking	1st
IWBF zone	Americas
National federation	Wheelchair Basketball Canada
Coach	Michèle Sung
Paralympic Games
Appearances	10
Medals	:3 :0 :1
World Championships
Medals	:5 :0 :2
Home Away
Medal record Paralympic Games 1992 Barcelona Women's wheelchair basketball 1996 Atlanta Women's wheelchair basketball 2000 Sydney Women's wheelchair basketball 2004 Athens Women's wheelchair basketball World Wheelchair Basketball Championships 1994 Stoke Mandeville Women 1998 Sydney Women 2002 Kitakyushu Women 2006 Amsterdam Women 2014 Toronto Women 1990 Saint-Étienne Women 2010 Birmingham Women Parapan American Games 1986 Puerto Rico Women 2007 Rio de Janeiro Women 2011 Guadalajara Women

History

Wheelchair basketball has been played in Canada since the 1940s.^[3] A women's tournament was held at the 1968 Summer Paralympics in Tel Aviv,^[4] and a Canadian women's team participated in the 1972 Summer Paralympics.^[5]

The women's team went on to become one of Canada's most successful national sporting teams, rivalled only by the ice hockey teams. It is the only national women's wheelchair basketball team to have won three consecutive gold medals at the Paralympic Games and the only one to have won four consecutive World Wheelchair Basketball Championships,.^[1] In 2014 it won a fifth world championship at the 2014 Women's World Wheelchair Basketball Championship in Toronto.^[2]

In 2024 Michèle Sung, formerly coach of the University of Manitoba women's basketball team and previously an assistant coach of Wheelchair Basketball Canada's women's team, was appointed head coach of the Canadian national women's wheelchair basketball team.^[6]

Paralympic games

Team Canada is the only team to have won three consecutive gold medals at the Summer Paralympics, in 1992, 1996 and 2000.^[1]

• 1972 : 5th
• 1976 : 4th
• 1984 : 4th
• 1988 : 4th
• 1992 : Gold
• 1996 : Gold
• 2000 : Gold
• 2004 : Bronze
• 2008 : 5th
• 2012 : 6th
• 2016 : 5th
• 2020 : 5th
• 2024 : 4th

IWBF World Championships

The first Wheelchair Basketball World Championship for women was held in 1990, and since then Team Canada has won five times, including four consecutive wins in 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006.^[7] In 2014 it won a fifth World Championship before a home crowd in Toronto.^[2]

• 1990 : Bronze
• 1994 : Gold
• 1998 : Gold
• 2002 : Gold
• 2006 : Gold
• 2010 : Bronze
• 2014 : Gold
• 2018 : 5th
• 2022 : 5th

Other International Tournaments

Parapan American Games

Team Canada has won one gold medal and five silver medals at the Parapan Am Games:^[1]

• 1986 : Silver
• 2007 : Silver
• 2011 : Silver
• 2015 : Silver
• 2019 : Gold
• 2023 : Silver

Women's U25 World Wheelchair Basketball Championships

The inaugural Women's U25 World Wheelchair Basketball Championships was held from 15 to 21 July 2011 at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario.^[8] The Canadian team was placed fourth, after the United States, Australia and Great Britain.^[9] The team included Cindy Ouellet, Maude Jacques, Jamey Jewells, Tamara Steeves and Abby Stubbert.^[10] At the 2015 Women's U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Beijing, Canada placed fourth after Great Britain, Australia and China.^[11] At the 2023 Women's U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Bangkok, Canada placed sixth. ^[12]

Teams

2012 Summer Paralympic Games

Australia - Canada match, women's wheelchair basketball at Paralympics 2012, September 1. Canada (in red), left to right: Elaine Allard, Janet Mclachlan, Kendra Ohama, Cindy Ouellet, Tamara Steeves, Maude Jacques, Katie Harnock, Tracey Ferguson, Jamey Jewells, Jessica Vliegenthart, Tara Feser

Team Canada at the 2012 Summer Paralympic Games in London consisted of:^[13]

The following is the Canada roster in the women's wheelchair basketball tournament of the 2012 Summer Paralympics.^[14]

Canada women's national wheelchair basketball team-2012 Summer Paralympics roster
Players	Coaches
No. Name Age – Date of birth Pts. Club Ctr. 4 Elaine Allard 35 – (1977-02-25)25 February 1977 1.5 Gladiateurs de Larval 5 Janet McLachlan 35 – (1977-08-26)26 August 1977 4.5 BC Breakers 6 Kendra Ohama 47 – (1965-06-01)1 June 1965 2.5 Trier Dolphins 7 Cindy Ouellet 23 – (1988-12-08)8 December 1988 3.5 University of Alabama 8 Tamara Steeves 22 – (1989-09-23)23 September 1989 1.5 Brampton Cruisers 9 Maude Jacques 20 – (1992-04-21)21 April 1992 2.5 University of Alabama 10 Katie Harnock 29 – (1983-08-12)12 August 1983 2.0 University of Alabama 11 Elisha Williams 34 – (1978-06-09)9 June 1978 4.5 BC Breakers 12 Tracey Ferguson 37 – (1974-09-07)7 September 1974 3.0 Variety Village Club 13 Jamey Jewells 23 – (1989-08-23)23 August 1989 1.0 Trier Dolphins 14 Jessica Vliegenthart 29 – (1983-08-11)11 August 1983 1.0 BC Breakers 15 Tara Feser 32 – (1980-02-02)2 February 1980 4.5 Edmonton Inferno	Head coach Bill Johnson Assistant coach(es) Marni Abbott-Peter Michael Broughton Karla Tritten Tim Frick Danielle Peers

2014 Women's World Wheelchair Basketball Championship

The gold-medal winning 2014 Women's World Wheelchair Basketball Championship team consisted of:^[15]

• 
  Elaine Allard
• 
  Janet McLachlan
• 
  Arinn Young
• 
  Cindy Ouellet
• 
  Tamara Steeves
• 
  Maude Jacques
• 
  Katie Harnock
• 
  Darda Sales
• 
  Tracey Ferguson
• 
  Jamie Jewells
• 
  Amanda Yan
• 
  Melanie Hawtin

Number	Name	Date of Birth	Classification	Club
4	Elaine Allard	25 February 1977	1.5	Saint-Eustache
5	Janet McLachlan	26 August 1977	4.5	Vancouver
6	Arinn Young	10 July 1996	4.5	Legal
7	Cindy Ouellet	8 December 1988	3.5	Québec
8	Tamara Steeves	23 September 1989	1.5	Mississauga
9	Maude Jacques	21 April 1992	2.5	Sainte-Catherine
10	Katie Harnock	12 August 1983	2.0	Elmira
11	Darda Sales	11 September 1982	4.5	London (Ontario)
12	Tracey Ferguson	7 September 1974	3.0	Holland Landing
13	Jamey Jewells	23 August 1989	1.0	Donkin
14	Amanda Yan	22 May 1988	3.0	Burnaby
15	Melanie Hawtin	20 July 1988	1.5	Oakville
Alt.	Corin Metzger	28 February 1992	2.5	Elmira

• Coach : Bill Johnson
• Assistant coaches : Michael Broughton, Michele Hynes
• Physiotherapist : Sheila Forler Bauman
• Team Doctor : Richard Goudie
• Massage Therapist : Sophie Lavardière
• Team Manager : Katie Miyazaki
• Sports psychologist : Adrienne Leslie-Toogood
• Physiologist : Mike Dahl
• Strength coach : Kyle Turcotte

See also

• Canada women's national basketball team

Notes

1. "Team Canada - Women's National Team". Wheelchair Basketball Canada. Archived from the original on 2014-11-03. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
2. "Schedule & Results - 2014 WWWBC". Wheelchair Basketball Canada. Archived from the original on 17 August 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
3. "A Canadian Perspective". Wheelchair Basketball Canada. Archived from the original on 2014-08-11. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
4. Labanowich & Thiboutout 2011, p. 293.
5. Labanowich & Thiboutout 2011, p. 297.
6. "WBC welcomes Michèle Sung as SWNT coach". Wheelchair Basketball Canada.
7. "Past World Championship Results". Wheelchair Basketball Canada. Archived from the original on 2014-08-08. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
8. "Event Overview". Wheelchair Basketball Canada. Archived from the original on 6 August 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
9. "Women U25 National Team". Wheelchair Basketball Canada. Archived from the original on 2014-07-18. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
10. "Women's U25 Roster". Archived from the original on 2014-07-22. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
11. "Team Canada Places Fourth at 2015 Women's U25 World Wheelchair Basketball Championship". Wheelchair Basketball Canada. 6 July 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
12. "Canada falls to Germany, finishes sixth at the IWBF Women's U25 World Championship". Wheelchair Basketball Canada. 9 October 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
13. "2012 Women's Roster". Wheelchair Basketball Canada. Archived from the original on 2014-12-27. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
14. "Wheelchair Basketball Canada Nominates Men's and Women's Teams for Rio 2016 Paralympic Games". Wheelchair Basketball Canada. 2016-05-30. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
15. "Team Canada Women's Roster". Wheelchair Basketball Canada. Archived from the original on 2014-11-03. Retrieved 10 August 2014.

References

• Labanowich, Stan; Thiboutout, Armand (2011). Wheelchairs Can Jump!: A History of Wheelchair Basketball. Boston: Acanthus Publishing. ISBN 9780984217397. OCLC 792945375.

Further reading

• Strohkendl, Horst (1996). The 50th Anniversary of Wheelchair Basketball. A History. New York: Waxmann Verlag. ISBN 9783893254415.

External links

• Wheelchair Basketball Canada