The Woodstock, Ont. native will be inducted into both the WBC and NWBA Hall of Fames this month
Paul Bowes’ introduction to wheelchair basketball began not on the court but in the stands—as a dedicated fan. When his stepson Jason lost both legs in an accident and turned to the sport, Bowes found himself drawn into the game.
By 1988, Bowes was coaching the London Forest City Flyers.
“At that time, coaching was just, ‘Hey, this is a great sport, the athletes are going to teach me.’ I’ve got to give it to the London Forest City Flyers; they were very patient with me. I never played basketball,” Bowes explained. “I played every other sport and coached a lot of different sports. Never in a million years did I think I would be getting inducted into, realistically, two Hall of Fames on the night.”
Bowes will be inducted into the Wheelchair Basketball Canada Hall of Fame this month alongside Joey Johnson and Anne Lachance.
Additionally, the Woodstock, Ont. native is being inducted into the NWBA Hall of Fame.
“It’s a huge honour. I never thought wheelchair basketball defined me, but now that I’ve been coaching it for 37 years, it has been a huge part of my life,” Bowes said. “As a coach, you don’t aspire to be in the Hall of Fame. You aspire to inspire others to someday get into the Hall of Fame. To be inducted myself is truly a great honour.”
He credits coaching mentors such as Joe Higgins, Tim Frick, Mike Frogley, and Jerry Tonello for guiding him through the early stages of his coaching journey and helping him develop his craft.
“When I came into the coaching realm, Joe Higgins was the first person that I really got involved with in coaching from 1992-94,” Bowes recalled. “Jerry Tonello’s wife was having a baby, so I got onto the 1994 coaching staff for the World Championships in Edmonton by accident. Joe is just a wealth of knowledge. It just pours out of him. He’s a great mentor and a great sounding board.
“Listening to Tim talk and taking the courses with Tim – my first few courses were with Tim. Being on the bench with Mike Frogley and Jerry Tornello forever, just learning from each other, learning with each other.”
Bowes first joined Wheelchair Basketball Canada in 1993 as an assistant coach with the Senior Men’s National Team – a role he served in until 2005, helping Canada win gold at the 2000 and 2004 Paralympic Games.
“That first gold medal in Sydney, Australia, with the men’s team, having such a good team for so long and coming so close,” Bowes said of coaching highlights. “Our goal was finally realized in 2000.
“It’s not necessarily the gold medals that you win. It’s the friendships and camaraderie that you have with the coaches and players, classifiers, referees and, honestly, the friendships with the other teams. I’ve also got lifelong friendships with other teams, which I hold near and dear to my heart.”
He was appointed head coach of the Senior Men’s National Team in 2005 and, just a year later, led Team Canada to its first—and only—gold medal at the 2006 World Championships.
In 2015, Bowes was named the head coach of the Ontario Women’s provincial program, where he oversaw the training and development of the province’s Senior Women’s Team. He received WBC’s True Sport Award for his work with the program in 2017.
Bowes has also been a part of the coaching staff for the Canadian team at the Invictus Games from 2017-23.
He served as an assistant coach for the German Men’s National Team at the 2022 IWBF World Championships and the 2023 European Championship.
Most recently, Bowes guided the Senior Women’s National Team to a silver medal performance at the 2023 Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
“For me, it’s always about giving back to the sport, which has given me so much,” Bowes said. “I have taken so much from this. I can’t thank WBC enough for all the opportunities that I’ve been given throughout the years.
“To be the recipient of a Wheelchair Basketball Canada Hall of Fame induction with so many other great people it’s truly an honour for me, one that I certainly didn’t expect.”