How did you get your start and become recognized in wheelchair basketball? What were the major influences in your life that made you decide that this is what you wanted to do?
“I was introduced to wheelchair sports in GF Strong Rehabilitation Center in Vancouver shortly after I had sustained my spinal cord injury. I met Rick Hansen and he told me all about wheelchair sport, the Paralympic games, and about all of the opportunities that were still available to me even though I had a permanent injury and could no longer walk.
I started out swimming competitively and went to the Para Pan Am games in 1986.That is where I first saw wheelchair basketball being played at the international level. There, I met some of the girls and the coach, and was encouraged to try it. I really liked it and I loved the idea of being back in a team sport. Coach Tim Frick took over the Women’s National Team around then and let me know all of the things I would need to do in order to become good enough to try out for Team Canada.
I would say that the thing that helped me decide that this was what I wanted to do was my first international experience as a basketball player in 1992 at the Paralympic games in Barcelona
In 1991 I made the National Team and went on to play for 14 years. It was an awesome experience and has allowed me to make a career as a Coach after I retired as a high performance athlete.
I would say the thing that helped me decide that this was what I wanted to do was my first international experience as a basketball player in 1992 at the Paralympic games in Barcelona. Coach Frick had prepared us very well for the Games and had a plan for every detail of what we needed to do in order to win a Gold medal. We followed the plan and at the end of the tournament we had our Gold medal!
It was amazing to work really hard with a group of talented, dedicated women to accomplish our goal. We went on to establish a record that has been unmatched by any team in the world since then. I am so lucky to have been a part of it. Coach Frick was a huge influence on me as an athlete and as a person and has continued to be a great mentor and friend.”
– Marni Peter-Abbott, former National Team player and assistant coach