Whereas the world acknowledges Worldwide Day for Individuals with Disabilities, Ottawa was introduced as host metropolis for the 2026 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship on Thursday.
This marks the primary time Canada will host the joint occasion for senior women and men.
CBC Sports activities and Radio-Canada will take centre stage in offering protection because the official streaming companions of the event.
“The organizing committee appears to be like ahead to delivering an unforgettable, emotionally-charged expertise for athletes, stakeholders and spectators whereas spearheading the evolution of the sport in Canada and all over the world,” mentioned Petitclerc in a information launch.
Ottawa 2026 would be the largest workforce sport occasion for high-performance athletes with a incapacity on the earth. Twenty-eight groups — 16 males, 12 ladies — will compete for the world championship crowns.
Empowering social change
Petitclerc, who was named to the Senate of Canada in 2016, mentioned the chance to host the world championship extends past the sector of play.
“Ottawa 2026 represents a momentous event to unite the world, have a good time the resilience of the human spirit, and champion inclusion,” Petitclerc mentioned.
Canada beforehand hosted the lads’s world championship in Edmonton in 1994, the U23 males’s worlds in Toronto in 1997, the U25 ladies’s worlds in St. Catharines, Ont., in 2011, ladies’s worlds in Toronto in 2014 and U23 males’s worlds in Toronto in 2017.
“I’ve personally skilled the fun of representing Canada and successful a gold medal on dwelling soil,” Canadian ladies’s workforce participant Cindy Ouellet mentioned.
“As an athlete, there is no such thing as a larger honour than competing at dwelling in entrance of your loved ones, associates and fellow Canadians.”
Medal contenders
Canadian groups are contenders for gold. The ladies have gained 5 gold and two bronze medals within the 30-year historical past of the event.
Canada’s males have reached the rostrum six instances and took the title in 2006.
Wheelchair Basketball Canada president Steve Bach says the group is eager to tackle this occasion.
“Backed by our wealthy historical past of internet hosting excellence … we’ll host an unparalleled, world-class occasion whereas creating significant legacies,” Bach mentioned.
“There may be a lot work to do within the years forward and we’re desperate to undertake this journey with all of you.”