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Wheelchair Basketball Canada has named 24 athletes who will represent Canada at the 2026 IWBF Wheelchair Basketball World Championships from September 9–19 in Ottawa, with Manitoba represented by Winnipeg athlete Bethany Johnson, East St. Paul athlete Josh Brown and Lorette-based Senior Women’s National Team head coach and Basketball Manitoba’s Director of Wheelchair Operations, Joey Johnson.
BETHANY JOHNSON
Winnipeg’s Bethany Johnson has been selected to Canada’s Senior Women’s National Team and will make her World Championship debut in Ottawa. The 4.0-classified athlete first appeared with the senior national team at the 2023 Parapan American Games and was part of Canada’s fourth-place finish at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris and bronze-medal result at the 2025 IWBF Americas Cup.
Johnson graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in sport management after previously studying kinesiology at the University of Manitoba. She has also represented Manitoba in wheelchair basketball and canoe-kayak. Last summe, she interned with Basketball Manitoba as its Program Administrator.
JOSH BROWN
East St. Paul’s Josh Brown has been selected to Canada’s Senior Men’s National Team for his first senior World Championship. The 3.0-classified athlete made his senior national team debut at the 2025 IWBF Americas Cup after previously representing Canada at the junior level.
Brown played domestically with the Toronto Rollin’ Raptors and graduated from Southwest Minnesota State University. He has signed to play professionally in Spain with BSR CB Villa de Leganés for the 2026–27 season.
JOEY JOHNSON
Joey Johnson of Lorette will guide Canada’s Senior Women’s National Team as head coach. Named to the position in May 2026, Johnson previously served as an assistant coach with Canada’s Senior Men’s National Team at the 2019 Parapan American Games and the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. He most recently coached Great Britain’s men’s national team to a silver medal at the 2024 Paralympic Games.
As an athlete, Johnson competed at five Paralympic Games, winning three gold medals and one silver. He was also a member of Canada’s gold-medal team at the 2006 World Championship.
TEAM CANADA IN OTTAWA
Canada qualified automatically as the host nation. The Canadian women will compete in Group A with Brazil, China, Great Britain, Australia and Spain. The Canadian men will compete in Group D with Morocco, Germany and Iran.
Both teams open play Wednesday, September 9. The women face Spain at 4:15 p.m. EDT, followed by the men against Morocco at 7:30 p.m. EDT.
The World Championships will help determine the number of qualification positions allocated to each international zone for the 2028 Paralympic Games.
VIEW THE COMPLETE OTTAWA 2026 SCHEDULE
SENIOR WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER
- Kady Dandeneau – Pender Island, B.C.
- Elise Froese – Victoria, B.C.
- Melanie Hawtin – Oakville, Ont.
- Bethany Johnson – Winnipeg, Man.
- Puisand Lai – Toronto, Ont.
- Tara Llanes – North Vancouver, B.C.
- Rosie Long – Oakville, Ont.
- Mercy Nyakundi – Hamilton, Ont.
- Cindy Ouellet – Quebec City, Que.
- Tamara Steeves – Mississauga, Ont.
- Élodie Tessier – Saint-Germain-de-Grantham, Que.
- Arinn Young – Legal, Alta.
WOMEN’S COACHING STAFF
- Joey Johnson (Lorette, Man.) – Head Coach
- Craig Campbell (Coburg, Australia) – Assistant Coach
- Emerson Martin (Winnipeg, Man.) – Assistant Coach
- Matthew Tang (Toronto, Ont.) – Performance Analyst
WOMEN’S SUPPORT STAFF
- Lindsay Berard (Winnipeg, Man.) – Mental Health Lead
- Lindsay Bradley (Ottawa, Ont.) – Physician
- Jeff Dunbrack (Halifax, N.S.) – High Performance Director
- Paul Murata (Toronto, Ont.) – Senior Women’s Athletic Therapist
- Hana Parkin (St. Catharines, Ont.) – Senior Women’s Strength and Conditioning Coach
- Emma Shimizu (Ottawa, Ont.) – High Performance Coordinator
SENIOR MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER
- Josh Brown – East St. Paul, Man.
- Reed De’Aeth – Sherwood Park, Alta.
- Nik Goncin – Regina, Sask.
- Colin Higgins – Rothesay, N.B.
- Brandon Louie – Don Mills, Ont.
- Lee Melymick – Toronto, Ont.
- Tyler Miller – Kitchener, Ont.
- Blaise Mutware – Toronto, Ont.
- Ibrahim Odza – Toronto, Ont.
- Garrett Ostepchuk – Regina, Sask.
- Kyrell Sopotyk – Aberdeen, Sask.
- Lionel Tamoki – Montreal, Que.
MEN’S COACHING STAFF
- Matteo Feriani (Padova, Italy) – Head Coach
- Nicolas Palmer (Laval, Que.) – Assistant Coach
- Jared Sajtos (Regina, Sask.) – Assistant Coach
- Jesse McNalley (Toronto, Ont.) – Performance Analyst
MEN’S SUPPORT STAFF
- Lindsay Berard (Winnipeg, Man.) – Mental Health Lead
- Danielle de Laat (Hamilton, Ont.) – Senior Men’s Physiotherapist
- Jeff Dunbrack (Halifax, N.S.) – High Performance Director
- Janet McMordie (North Vancouver, B.C.) – Physician
- Hailey Roll (Mississauga, Ont.) – High Performance Manager
- Isaac Seabrook (Grimsby, Ont.) – Senior Men’s Strength and Conditioning Coach
Source: Wheelchair Basketball Canada