The 21-year-old is set to represent Canada at the Kitakyushu Champions Cup
Cameron Gelowitz dipped his foot into any sport possible while growing up, trying everything from soccer to diving.
Born in Kamloops, B.C., Gelowitz grew up in Ottawa until the age of 12, when the family decided to relocate back to the West Coast.
Once back in Kamloops, Gelowitz picked up basketball and played into his high school years at Sa-Hali Secondary School.
Gelowitz’s basketball aspirations took a turn in May 2020. He was doing back flips on a trampoline when he suffered an L2 spinal cord injury.
“I was in the middle of the trampoline doing some backflips, and I just ended up completely upside down,” Gelowitz explained. “I tucked my head last minute, and then landed on my shoulders and my legs folded over, and it caused a burst fracture at my T12 vertebrae.”
Following a stint at GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre in Vancouver, Gelowitz returned home to Kamloops, where he was introduced to wheelchair basketball coach Dan Coombs.
“My mom contacted a few people, and they said, ‘Oh, you have to talk to Dan.’ We talked to Dan, and he got me a sport chair,” Gelowitz recalled. “There weren’t any practices going on at the time, so he gave me a sport chair from the Kamloops lot, and I just brought that to school and used it during gym class.
“It was just a chance to get back with my friends. We had intramurals, so I would hop in and shoot around with them. I would also play basketball in gym class with them.”
The 21-year-old was also introduced to sledge hockey but felt more comfortable in the wheelchair basketball community.
“I tried sledge hockey, but I definitely would like to stick with wheelchair basketball,” he said. “I think it’s a sport that really calls to me.”
Gelowitz’s first opportunity to test his wheelchair basketball skills in a competitive environment came in 2023 when he suited up with the BC Grizzlies at the CWBL National Championships in Richmond, B.C.
“I got out there for the first couple minutes, and it felt like I was in a maze, and I was trying to navigate it,” Gelowitz said. “It slows down eventually. That tournament was an eye-opener for me. It was the first time I saw some senior men play, too. I was in awe of what they were able to do.”
Having played stand-up basketball, Gelowitz said the biggest adjustment to wheelchair basketball was chair skills and positioning.
“Being a 3.0, I don’t have the full mobility as a 4.5 would to catch a ball, so understanding what angles I should take to be able to catch balls, to what angles other players should be having to catch the ball, or where I should pass the ball,” he said. “The tips I get most often from anybody is understanding position-wise, where your chair position is, where your position is on the court, how you are compared to where other people are.”
Last February, Gelowitz was invited to travel with the Senior Men’s National Team to Colorado for the Rocky Mountain Cup. With the SMNT preparing for the IWBF Repechage Tournament, Gelowitz had an opportunity to learn from the Paris-bound athletes.
“That was a really fast pace. We had a scrimmage against Italy. I went out for the last five minutes, and it felt like I was running through a maze, I had no idea what was going on,” he said. “The guys were good at showing me the ropes a little bit. When I had questions, they were there to answer. They would just tell me stuff anyway. They’re awesome guys.”
Gelowitz, who won Junior West gold with BC and was named a tournament all-star in March, is now hoping to earn a roster spot on the Men’s Under-23 team for 2025.
His next opportunity to display the progress in his game will come at the Kitakyushu Champions Cup in Kitakyushu, Japan, where Canada’s NextGen squad will compete against Spain and Japan.
Off the court, Gelowitz, who spends his summers working at the Rick Hansen Foundation, is working on his Bachelor’s Degree in Sport Management at Comosun College in Victoria, B.C.