The trio will be formally inducted during a ceremony in Fredericton on April 27

Wheelchair Basketball Canada announced today that three individuals will be inducted into the WBC Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2024. Dave Durepos, Sabrina Durepos and Walter Dann will be formally honoured during the Awards and Hall of Fame ceremony on April 27 in Fredericton.

“Wheelchair Basketball Canada is proud to welcome these three individuals as Honoured Members of the Hall of Fame,” said Wheelchair Basketball Canada CEO Wendy Gittens. “Their contributions to wheelchair basketball are well documented, and their selection to the Hall of Fame is well merited.”

Born in Fredericton, N.B., Dave Durepos began playing wheelchair basketball following a motorcycle accident. He quickly made a name for himself on the international stage after earning a roster spot on the Senior Men’s National Team in 1994.

As a well-known outside shooter on the court, Durepos represented Canada at five Paralympic Games, winning gold three times (2000, 2004 and 2012). He became the first New Brunswick native to win Olympic or Paralympic gold when he captained the 2000 team in Sydney, Australia.

A member of the 2006 SMNT, Durepos and Team Canada won gold at the World Championships in Amsterdam, and the team was inducted into the Wheelchair Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.

A native of Repentigny, Que., Sabrina Pettinicchi Durepos, was introduced to wheelchair basketball as part of her rehabilitation following a motor vehicle accident.

Durepos spent 12 years with the Senior Women’s National Team, winning gold at the 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta and the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney. She also helped Canada win bronze in Athens in 2004. Additionally, Durepos won three consecutive gold medals with the SWNT at the World Championships (1998-2006).

As a coach and mentor, Durepos was instrumental in developing the CIVA minis program in Quebec. In New Brunswick, Durepos played a pivotal role in developing the Learn to Play program. She has also been a manager or coach with Team NB at four straight Canada Games (2011-23).

Born in Vancouver and raised in Halifax, N.S., Walter Dann contracted polio as a three-year-old. Despite the life-changing diagnosis, Dann continued with his aspirations in sport turning his attention to wheelchair sports.

Dann began playing wheelchair basketball with the NS Flying Wheels in 1968 and debuted with Team Canada that same year at the 1968 Summer Paralympics in Tel Aviv, Israel – the first time the Canadian Men’s National Team competed at a Paralympic Games. He won gold with Team Canada at the 1970 Pan American Games in Jamaica and was a member of the Men’s National Team at the 1972 Paralympic Games in Heidelberg.

Before briefly retiring from the National Team, Dann competed at the 1975 World Cup in Brussels and the 1976 Paralympics in Montreal. Dann returned to wear the Canadian colours at the 1982 Pan Am Games in Halifax and participated in the 1983 Gold Cup in Halifax before retiring permanently.

Dann was inducted into the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame in 1991 and the Canadian Wheelchair Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.

For more information on the Awards and Hall of Fame Banquet and to purchase your ticket for the evening, click here

For a complete list of previous Hall of Fame inductees, visit wheelchairbasketball.ca