N.B. wheelchair basketball legends share memories ahead of Hall of Fame induction
CBC
Sabrina Durepos remembers the first time she ever scored a basket in wheelchair basketball.
The year was 1990, and she was fresh out of a rehabilitation centre following her accident. Durepos says she weighed less than 80 pounds when she was invited to watch a wheelchair basketball game.
After the game, she went onto the court and tried many times to score a basket.
Everyone was waiting for her to get one before they closed the centre for the night, Durepos said. And when she did, she was immediately hooked.
"I remember that moment like it was yesterday," she said. "The next day, my dad and I went to Canadian Tire, bought a hoop, installed it and he wanted to put it lower, and I said 'No way, 10 feet, I'm gonna get it and I'm gonna make it.'"
From there, the Quebec native and now Fredericton resident spent many years with the senior women's national team, winning two Paralympic golds and three consecutive golds with the national team at the world championships.
Now, Durepos is being inducted into the Wheelchair Basketball Canada Hall of Fame alongside Nova Scotia athlete Walter Dann and, even closer to home, her husband, Dave Durepos.
Dave's path into wheelchair basketball started a little differently.
A former high school and college basketball player, the game was all about running and jumping to him.
When a motorcycle accident put him in a wheelchair and he couldn't do that anymore, he was devastated and didn't want anything to do with wheelchair basketball.
But a staff member at the Fredericton rehabilitation centre brought Dave to a local practice and all of sudden, pushed his chair into the middle of a court.
Finding himself thrust into a blur of moving bodies, Dave, who recalls not wanting to look like a coward, started playing, shooting the occasional evil glance to the rehab worker on the sidelines.
"Fifteen minutes went by and all of a sudden I'm playing basketball and didn't even realize it," said Dave, becoming emotional. "That was life-changing for me."
The Fredericton-born player represented Canada at five Paralympic Games, winning gold three times. He also became the first New Brunswick native to win Olympic or Paralympic gold when he captained the 2000 team at the Games in Sydney.
Snow and freezing rain could affect morning commutes on Tuesday, according to a special weather statement issued by Environment Canada.
Daniel Jolivet, 68, had his first taste of freedom this weekend after spending the last 33 years behind bars.
Peguis First Nation is suing former chief Glenn Hudson over allegations he failed to act in the best interest of the band and financially benefitted from breaches of duty — including claims that he enriched himself, his family and supporters.
The Saskatchewan NDP's pace in 2025 has been frenetic.
If you’re ever walking down this east Hamilton neighbourhood during the holiday season, there’s a festive house that just might grab your attention.
It was just a few months ago that U.S. President Donald Trump told the world he doesn’t want Canadian cars.
Flu cases across Canada are on the rise and may push hospitals to their limits over the holidays and into the new year, leading health officials in regions across the country to warn people not to visit emergency rooms unless it's absolutely necessary.
More than 30 years after Canada's military allowed women to serve in combat roles, it's now specifically designing uniforms and body armour to fit their bodies.
The holiday season has arrived in Thunder Bay, and that means reduced hours, or closures, for businesses, city offices, and other amenities.
As Toronto’s food scene continues to grow, some in the industry say the pool of professional chefs hasn’t kept up with demand.
Police have charged a truck driver from the Hamilton area in a hit-and-run crash that killed a tow truck operator who had been stopped while helping a driver on the side of Highway 401 outside Woodstock, Ont.
Power has been restored to most of Haines Junction after a problem earlier on Monday at the local generating station.
A 56-year-old man will return to court on Tuesday for a charge of second-degree murder, laid in a case London police have called an act of femicide.