Biography
Maureen Orchard began playing basketball in the early 1960s. She was a coach from 1963 to 1975, and a referee from 1965 until 1980. She was elected a member of the Basketball Manitoba's board of directors in 1963, and was its president from 1973 to 1981, and its treasurer for 24 years. Elected to the board of directors of Basketball Canada in 1975, she served as director of the Canadian national teams from 1977 to 1981. In addition, she was a member of the board of the Manitoba Sports Federation for fourteen years and the Manitoba Games Council for three years. During the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Manitoba, she was director of basketball. [1] She was inducted into the Manitoba Basketball Hall of Fame in the builder category in 2015. [2]
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball through the defender's hoop while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own hoop. A field goal is worth two points, unless made from behind the three-point line, when it is worth three. After a foul, timed play stops and the player fouled or designated to shoot a technical foul is given one or more one-point free throws. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but if regulation play expires with the score tied, an additional period of play (overtime) is mandated.
In basketball, an official enforces the rules and maintains order in the game. The title of official also applies to the scorers and timekeepers, as well as other personnel that have an active task in maintaining the game. Basketball is regarded as among the most difficult sports to officiate due to the speed of play, complexity of rules, the case-specific interpretations of rules, and the instantaneous decision required.
The 1999 Pan American Games, officially the XIII Pan American Games or the 13th Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event that was held from July 23 to August 8, 1999, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Approximately 5,000 athletes from 42 nations participated at the games. The competition was marred by a total of 7 positive drug tests.
Orchard became involved in wheelchair sports in 1985, when she became the treasurer of the Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association (CWSA). As such, she was involved in the creation of the Canadian Wheelchair Basketball Association (CWBA) in 1993, serving as its president from 1993 to 1998. She was inducted into the CWBA Hall of Fame as a builder in 1998. [2] In 2002, she was elected president of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF), a position she held for twelve years. [1]
The Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association (CWSA) is a non-profit organization and the governing body for wheelchair rugby in Canada. The organization represents Canada in the International Wheelchair Rugby Federation (IWRF), Own the Podium, and the national wheelchair rugby team in the Canadian Paralympic Committee. The CWSA's president is Dr. Donald Royer of Sherbrooke, QC.
Under her leadership, the IWBF developed a new player classification and identity card system. [2] She strengthened the system of international zones, with teams earning slots for their zone at the Wheelchair Basketball World Championship and Paralympic Games. [3] She also established age-specific world championships. The first IWBF U23 World Wheelchair Basketball Championship for men was hosted in Toronto, Ontario, in 1997, followed by the 2011 Women's U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in St Catharines, Ontario, in 2011. [2] She was as a Technical Delegate at three Paralympic Games, and was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. [1] After stepping down as president of the IWBF in 2014, she remained a member of its executive council as its secretary general. [4] She was inducted into the Canadian Paralympic Committee Hall of Fame as a builder on 7 April 2017. [5] She retired as secretary general in September 2018, and accepted the title of honorary secretary general. [6] [7]
The IWBF World Wheelchair Basketball Championship is an international wheelchair basketball competition contested by the men's and the women's national teams of the members of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF), the sport's global governing body.
The Paralympic Games or Paralympics are a periodic series of international multi-sport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities, including impaired muscle power, impaired passive range of movement, limb deficiency, leg length difference, short stature, hypertonia, ataxia, athetosis, vision impairment and intellectual impairment. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, are held almost immediately following the respective Olympic Games. All Paralympic Games are governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
The IWBF U23 World Wheelchair Basketball Championship is an international wheelchair basketball competition contested by the men's and women's under-23 national teams of the members of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF), the sport's global governing body. The event is held every four years.
Wheelchair basketball is basketball played by people with varying physical disabilities that disqualify them from playing an able-bodied sport. These include spina bifida, birth defects, cerebral palsy, paralysis due to accident, amputations, and many other disabilities. The International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) is the governing body for this sport. It is recognized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) as the sole competent authority in wheelchair basketball worldwide. FIBA has recognized IWBF under Article 53 of its General Statutes.
The European Wheelchair Basketball Championship, is the main wheelchair basketball competition contested biennially by national teams governed by IWBF Europe, the European zone within the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation. The European Championship is also a qualifying tournament for the IWBF Wheelchair Basketball World Championships and the Paralympic Games.
Sir Philip Craven is an English sports administrator and former athlete. Between 2001 and 2017 he was the second president of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
Wheelchair basketball has been contested at the Summer Paralympics since the 1960 Summer Paralympics in Rome.
Michelle Stilwell is a Canadian wheelchair racer and politician. She is the only female Paralympic athlete to win gold medals in two separate summer sport events. Stilwell was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia as a BC Liberal candidate for Parksville-Qualicum in the 2013 provincial election.
The Canadian Paralympic Committee is the private, non-profit organization representing Canadian Paralympic athletes in the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the Parapan American Games. It represents 25 member sports organisations. The CPC's vision is to be the world's leading Paralympic nation. Its mission is to lead the development of a sustainable Paralympic sport system in Canada to enable athletes to reach the podium at the Paralympic Games. By supporting Canadian high performance athletes with a disability and promoting their success, the Canadian Paralympic Committee inspires all Canadians with a disability to get involved in sport through programs delivered by its member organizations.
Gesche Schünemann is a German wheelchair basketball player and Paralympian who was part of the team that took the silver medal in the women's wheelchair basketball at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, and the gold medal winning team in wheelchair basketball at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London.
Troy Sachs, OAM is an Australian wheelchair basketball player. He competed at five Paralympic Games from 1992 to 2008, where he won three medals. Sachs won two national league championships in Australia, three national league championships in the United States, one national league championship in Germany, and an André Vergauwen Cup championship with Italian club Tabu Cantu.
Amber Merritt is a 4.5-point wheelchair basketball player who plays forward. She represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, where she won a silver medal.
Spain men's national wheelchair basketball team has represented Spain at the IWBF European Championships, IWBF World Championships and at the Paralympic Games. The team won a bronze at the 2013 European Championships. They finished fifth at the 2012 Summer Paralympics, and sixth at the 1992 Summer Paralympics. Spain also has a men's national under-22 team and under-23 team. The under-23 team finished second at the 2009 Paris European Championships.
Tim Frick is a Canadian wheelchair basketball coach who coached the Canadian women's team to three consecutive Summer Paralympic Games gold medals, in 1992, 1996 and 2000, and four consecutive World Wheelchair Basketball Championship titles, in 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006. He was inducted into the Wheelchair Basketball Canada Hall of Fame in 2012, the Canadian Paralympic Hall of Fame in 2013, Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2014 and induction into the BC Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.
Joey Johnson is a professional Canadian wheelchair basketball player. He has competed in several Paralympics and World Championships and was also the first disabled athlete to be inducted in Manitoba's Basketball Hall of Fame.
Joanne Mucz is a Canadian retired Paralympic medalist in swimming. She won eight medals at the Paralmypic Games with five of them at the 1992 Summer Paralympics. After her retirement in 1996, Mucz was named into the Terry Fox Hall of Fame and the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 2006.
The 2017 IWBF Asia Oceania Wheelchair Basketball Championships for men and women were held at the China Disability Sports Training Centre in Beijing, from 23 to 28 October 2017. The men's tournament was won by the Australian Rollers. Iran came second, and Japan overcame Korea in the bronze medal game to come third. In the women's competition, China defeated the Australian Gliders in the gold medal match, while Japan defeated Iran in the bronze medal.
The 2018 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship was held at the Edel-optics.de Arena in Hamburg, Germany, from 16 to 26 August 2018. Both men's and women's tournaments were held, with 12 women's and 16 men's teams competing, representing 19 different nations. Each team selected 12 players for the tournament. The men's competition was won by Great Britain, with the United States winning silver and Australia winning bronze. The women's competition was won by the Netherlands, with Great Britain winning silver and the host nation winning bronze.
Marni Abbott-Peter is a Canadian retired wheelchair basketball player. As a member of Team Canada, she won three gold medals and one bronze during the Paralympic Games as well as four World Championship titles. She was inducted into the Canadian Paralympic Committee Hall of Fame in 2015. She is married to fellow Paralympic athlete Richard Peter.
Jennifer Krempien is a former Canadian wheelchair basketball player. As a member of the Canada women's national wheelchair basketball team, Krempien won four consecutive gold medals at the Wheelchair Basketball World Championship from 1994 to 2006. During this time period, she also won three consecutive Paralympic gold medals from 1992 to 2000. After winning a bronze at the 2004 Summer Paralympics, she did not win a medal at her last Paralympic competition in 2008. Kempien was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 and inducted into the Canadian Paralympic Committee Hall of Fame in 2013.
Duncan Campbell, sometimes known as "the Quadfather", is a Canadian co-inventor of murderball. In the 1970s, Campbell invented the sport with four other Canadians before the sport was renamed to wheelchair rugby. In the sport, Campbell coached the Canadian team that went to the 2000 Summer Paralympics and organized the 2010 IWRF World Championship. Apart from wheelchair rugby, Campbell became a recreational therapist for the G. F. Strong Centre in 1986. His honours include an induction into the Canadian Paralympic Committee Hall of Fame in 2005 and receiving the Paralympic Order in 2013.
