N.B. wheelchair basketball legends share memories ahead of Hall of Fame induction

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.'"

Sabrina Durepos, originally from Montreal but now living in Fredericton, says when she scored her first basket, she was hooked. (Submitted by Sabrina Durepos)

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.

Dave Durepos of Fredericton represented Canada at five Paralympic Games. (Submitted by Dave Durepos)

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.

Focused on the process

In the latter part of his career, Dave enjoyed helping younger players to understand and succeed in the game.

Sabrina has also acted as a mentor and coach over the years.

Sabrina Durepos 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. (Submitted by Sabrina Durepos)

She played a big role in developing the Centre d'intégration à la vie active minis program in Quebec and the Learn to Play program in New Brunswick. She also was a manager or coach with Team New Brunswick for four straight Canada Games from 2011 to 2023.

When coaching, Sabrina said, she is focused on the process and taking it step-by-step. She said it's about finding what works best for the individual and getting players to know their bodies and the chair itself.

Dave Durepos was Team Canada's flagbearer at the opening ceremonies of the Parapan American Games in Mexico in 2011. (Courtesy of Wheelchair Basketball Canada)

"When a new player comes to the game, like we've got to consider that they're playing wheelchair basketball, also, for a reason, like something in their life has changed," she said.

"It could be an acquired disability later in life, or it could be congenital, but at the same time, there's different phases of it."

The pair will be inducted into the Hall of Fame at an awards banquet Saturday night in Fredericton.