The Canadian men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball squads are optimistic that competing on home turf will help them break a long-standing drought at the world championships.
For the first time since 2014, Canada is set to host the IWBF Wheelchair Basketball World Championships, with all matches taking place in Ottawa. The tournament kicks off on Wednesday, culminating in the championship games on September 19.
This event marks the inaugural occasion that Canada has hosted both the men’s and women’s world championships simultaneously, featuring 17 nations represented by 15 men’s teams and 12 women’s teams.
Iran was initially slated to participate in the men’s tournament but withdrew late last week due to visa complications affecting four members of the team, including both the head coach and an assistant coach.
Iran was grouped with Canada, Morocco, and Germany, and their matches will be classified as forfeits, leaving the tournament schedule unchanged.
The Canadian women’s team is well aware of the potential impact of home advantage. The last time the world championship was hosted in Canada, they won gold in Toronto in 2014, while the men’s squad is seeking its first world title since 2006.
Both Canadian teams made it to the quarterfinals during the previous world championships in Dubai in 2023, with the women finishing in fifth place and the men in sixth.
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For Arinn Young, this tournament represents a full-circle moment.
Given that the world championships occur every four years, the chances to compete on home soil are infrequent. This will be the experienced athlete’s fourth world championship and her second time participating in Canada.
‘Exciting’ to play on home soil again
At 30 years old, Young was part of the Canadian gold-medal winning team in 2014, although she played limited minutes as a rookie, humorously describing her role as “more of a cheerleader.”
“There are players who have been in this sport for 15 to 20 years, and they never get a chance to play a major event at home, and I get to experience it twice,” stated Young. “Now that I’m a veteran on our national team and play significant minutes, it’s going to feel different. I’m thrilled to demonstrate who I am as an athlete and what we represent as Canada on home ground once more.”
While players aim to keep politics out of the sport, Kady Dandeneau quoted Prime Minister Mark Carney, expressing that Canada intends to come out “elbows up.”
“We’re coming out to be the aggressors, really setting the tone that we are here to attack,” remarked Dandeneau, who is participating in her third world championship. “We’re not waiting for someone to hand us our chance; we’re going to go out there and create our own opportunities and seize them.”
Canada’s women are in Group A alongside China, Brazil, Great Britain, Australia, and Spain. Group B includes the United States, Japan, the Netherlands, Algeria, Germany, and France.
For the men, Canada last secured a world title two decades ago in Amsterdam and claimed bronze when Edmonton hosted the championships in 1994.
Nik Goncin, a veteran player, acknowledges that while Canada may lack size, it compensates for it with strong team chemistry.
‘We’re playing the best kind of team basketball’
This camaraderie is evident across the diverse range of experience within the team, from 17-year-old Ibrahim Odza to 42-year-old Tyler Miller.
“We’re playing the best type of team basketball,” Goncin stated. “I believe that will be our advantage because we need to rely on that and operate as a unit rather than as individual players trying to shine like in the NBA.”
The men’s tournament is structured into four groups. Group A consists of the U.S., Italy, Brazil, and the Netherlands; Group B includes Australia, Great Britain, Turkey, and Argentina; Group C features Spain, Japan, Poland, and Colombia; while Group D has Canada, Morocco, and Germany following Iran’s exit.
Canadian head coach Matteo Feriani emphasizes the need for his team to be prepared to compete fiercely from the very start.
“In international play, the competition is incredibly fierce, and the physicality is high,” Feriani remarked. “As the home team, everyone is eager to defeat you. They will aim to perform well against us.”
The Canadian women’s team will commence play on Wednesday against Spain, while the men will face Morocco.
The U.S. men’s team enters the tournament as the reigning world champions, while the Netherlands holds the women’s title.