Bowes previously served as both an assistant and head coach for Canada’s SMNT
Wheelchair Basketball Canada has appointed Paul Bowes as head coach of the Senior Women’s National Team (SWNT).
Bowes joins the SWNT as Team Canada prepares for the upcoming Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
“Paul brings a wealth of knowledge to our Senior Women’s National Team program with over 30 years of coaching experience,” said Wheelchair Basketball Canada Executive Director Wendy Gittens. “Having coached professionally and with our National Teams previously, Paul understands our athletes’ technical needs and requirements. WBC is committed to developing the best Senior Women’s National Team, and we are confident Paul’s experience will help our athletes succeed.”
The Woodstock, Ont. native most recently served as an assistant coach for the German Men’s National Team at the 2022 IWBF World Championships and the 2023 European Championship.
“I am extremely honoured to be part of this team heading into the Parapan American Games to qualify for Paris,” said Bowes. “It has been a dream of mine to coach with the women’s team. I’ve been an assistant coach and a head coach with the Senior Men’s National Team for many years, and it has always been a goal of mine to get involved with the women’s program.”
Bowes served as a guest coach during the SWNT camp in the Netherlands last November.
“I liked what I saw and thought that this team has got a lot of talent and skill and is definitely a podium team with the potential to win gold,” Bowes said. “I am glad to be working with not only these excellent athletes but also WBC, the support staff and the coaching staff that works hard behind the scenes to prepare our athletes to reach peak performance as a team on and off the court.”
Bowes originally joined WBC in 1993 as an assistant coach with the Senior Men’s National Team and served in that role till 2005, helping Canada win gold at the 2000 and 2004 Paralympic Games. He was named the head coach in 2005 and led Team Canada to a gold medal victory at the 2006 World Championships. He was also an assistant with Canada’s Under-23 Men’s team and coached with the Red and Black Aces program.
“Paul is a strong communicator and culture leader,” said Wheelchair Basketball Canada High Performance Director Jeff Dunbrack. “Paul’s experience coaching with our Senior Men’s program and the German National Team will make him an invaluable asset to the growth of our Senior Women’s National Team.”
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 that competes at the annual CWBL Women’s National Championship. Bowes received WBC’s True Sport Award for his work with the program in 2017.
Bowes took the head coaching position with the Rhine River Rhinos in 2021 – coaching the professional German club in Wiesbaden for one season.
He has also been a part of the coaching staff for the Canadian team at the Invictus Games from 2017-23. Bowes started coaching wheelchair basketball with the London Forest City Flyers in 1988 – a club he still coaches today.