Paul Bowes Receives Wheelchair Basketball Canada 2017 True Sport Award
Wheelchair Basketball Canada Announces 2017 Award Winners & Hall Of Fame Inductees
(Montreal, Que.) Wheelchair Basketball Canada proudly announced the names of its major award winners and Hall of Fame inductees on Saturday evening at its 2017 annual awards banquet as part of the festivities of the 2017 Canadian Wheelchair Basketball League (CWBL) National Championship in Montreal, Que.
Cindy Ouellet and David Eng were named Athletes of the Year and Alex Hayward was awarded Junior Athlete of the Year, while Pierre Poulin was honoured with the Leadership Excellence Award and Paul Bowes received the True Sport Award.
Martine Talbot and André Ducharme were inducted into the Wheelchair Basketball Canada Hall of Fame in recognition of their outstanding contributions within the wheelchair basketball community.
The award winners each exemplify fair play and sportsmanship while committing to values of inclusion. They are leaders in their communities, positive role models, and they display superior performance in their respective disciplines.
True Sport Award: Paul Bowes (London, Ont.)
This year’s True Sport Award recipient, Paul Bowes, is adept at creating welcoming, positive and supportive environments that empower his athletes to shine both on and off the court. Just one month prior to the 2016 CWBL Women’s National Championship, Paul assumed the position of head coach of the Ontario women’s wheelchair basketball team. In this role he prioritized the transformation of the culture within the program, successfully creating an environment that values hard work, sportsmanship, commitment and respect. In the past year Paul also took on an assistant coach position with the Ontario women’s development team at the 2016 Défi sportif, spearheaded the team’s participation in the Spitfire Challenge and took on a coaching position at the Invictus Games. He also continues to coach within the Red and Black Aces program, where he contributes to the development of Canada’s top athletes.
About Wheelchair Basketball Canada
Wheelchair Basketball Canada is the national sports governing body responsible for the organization of the sport in Canada. It is a non-profit, charitable organization that is committed to excellence in the development, support and promotion of wheelchair basketball programs and services for all Canadians from grassroots to high performance. Wheelchair basketball is a fast-paced, hard-hitting, competitive sport in which Canada is held in high esteem around the world for winning a combined six gold, one silver, and one bronze medal in the last six Paralympic Games.