Marni Abbott-Peter named head coach of Women’s Under-25 team
(TORONTO, ONT.) Wheelchair Basketball Canada is pleased to announce Marni Abbott-Peter will take on the head coaching duties of Canada’s Women’s Under-25 program. Abbott-Peter will also serve as an assistant coach on Marc Antoine Ducharme’s staff with the Senior Women’s National Team.
“We are excited to have Marni lead our Women’s Under-25 program,” said Wendy Gittens, Executive Director of Wheelchair Basketball Canada. “Marni brings a wealth of experience to the role, having played on and coached our Senior Women’s National Team previously.”
As part of her role with the Senior Women’s National Team, Abbott-Peter will assist Ducharme at upcoming events such as the Americas Cup in July and the World Championships in November.
Abbott-Peter is no stranger to coaching – in 2011, she served as an assistant coach on the women’s Under-25 team, and in 2012 she was named an assistant coach on the Women’s National team at the Paralympic Games in London.
She also coached Team BC at the Canada Winter Games on five occasions (1995, 1997, 2003, 2007, and 2015) and recently helped the BC Breakers win the 2022 Women’s National Championship Festival.
“Marni’s experience will be invaluable as we look to build our Women’s Under-25 program,” said Jeff Dunbrack, Wheelchair Basketball Canada High Performance Director. “Marni’s experience as both a player and coach will help guide future Senior Women’s National Team members.”
Before coaching, Abbott-Peter enjoyed a successful Wheelchair Basketball career with Team Canada. As a Canadian Senior Women’s National Team member from 1992 to 2004, she won three straight gold medals at the Paralympic Games (1992, 1996, and 2000). Additionally, Abbott-Peter won three consecutive World Championships (1994, 1998, and 2002).
The Vancouver, B.C. native also won a Paralympic bronze medal in 2004 and came out of retirement in 2010 to help Canada take home a bronze medal at the World Championship.
In 2007 Abbott-Peter was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame and the Canadian Paralympic Committee Hall of Fame in 2015. She was also inducted into the Basketball BC Hall of Fame in 2017.
Abbott-Peter will maintain her position as the Let’s Play & Sport Development Director with BC Wheelchair Basketball Society, in addition to her coaching roles with Wheelchair Basketball Canada.
About Wheelchair Basketball Canada
Wheelchair Basketball Canada is the national sports governing body responsible for the organization of the sport in Canada. It is a non-profit, charitable organization committed to excellence in developing, supporting, and promoting wheelchair basketball programs and services from grassroots to high performance for all Canadians. Wheelchair basketball is a fast-paced, hard-hitting, competitive sport in which Canada is held in high esteem worldwide for winning a combined six gold, one silver, and one bronze medal in the last seven Paralympic Games. For more information, please visit wheelchairbasketball.ca.
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Media Contact:
Dhiren Mahiban
Communications & Digital Media Manager
Wheelchair Basketball Canada
C: 416-574-6682
dmahiban@wheelchairbasketball.ca