// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs Erica Gavel a judge? She must gavel a lot.
 | Parts of this article (those related to her career post-2016) need to be updated. (December 2025) |
.jpg) Team Canada – Erica Gavel | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality |  Canada | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | May 25, 1991 | |||||||||||||||||
| Height | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) | |||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Wheelchair basketball | |||||||||||||||||
| 4.5 | ||||||||||||||||||
Event | Women's team | |||||||||||||||||
| College team | University of Alabama | |||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Bill Johnson | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Erica Gavel (born May 25, 1991) is a Canadian 4.5 point wheelchair basketball player who won a silver medal at the 2015 Parapan American Games in Toronto. In 2016, she was selected as part of the team for the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Biography
[edit]Erica Gavel was born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, on May 25, 1991.[1] She attended Carlton Comprehensive High School, where she was a promising basketball player. She went on to play for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies. Towards the end of her first year, she suffered a serious knee injury that required surgery. Like most young and fit people, she recovered quickly, and was ready to play again at the start of her second year. She played for most of the season but then tore her cartilage in the same knee. This benched her for 18 months. She had no sooner recovered than she injured the knee a third time. This time it required microfracture surgery. There was no cartilage between her femur and tibia. Doctors told her that she would never play competitive sport again.[2]
Gavel remembered that a classmate played wheelchair basketball, and decided to give it a try. She was classified as a 4.5 point player.[2] On March 30, 2014, Gavel led Team Saskatchewan to their first Junior National Championship. Her passion and performance earned her a five-year athletic scholarship to play at the University of Alabama Crimson Tide, which was placed second in the National Intercollegiate Championship in 2014. Gavel was named the team's Most Improved Player.[3] That year she selected for the Canadian national team, which went on to win Silver at 2015 Parapan American Games in Toronto, Ontario). In 2016, she was selected as part of the side for the 2016 Summer Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.[1]
When Canadian professional sports started resuming play during the 2020 Covid-19 Pandemic, Gavel advocated for women's sports and specifically athletes with disabilities be considered when designing and funding precautionary measures.[4]
In 2023, Gavel was elected chair of Canadian Paralympic Athletes' Council.[5]
Awards
[edit]- 2015 – Silver at 2015 Parapan American Games (Toronto, Ontario)[1]
- 2023 - The Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame (Prince Albert, Saskatchewan)[6]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 "Canadian Paralympic Team Media Guide - Rio 2016 Paralympic Games September 7-18, 2016 / Rio de Janeiro, Brazil" (PDF). Canadian Paralympic Committee. pp. 313–314. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 4, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
- 1 2 Leaderhouse, Dave (July 8, 2013). "Gavel's basketball career rolls forward as injuries force her to change gears". Prince Albert Daily Herald. Archived from the original on September 23, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
- ↑ D'Andrea, Jeff (June 20, 2014). "'Your career is over' to making Team Canada: Erica Gavel's journey of never giving up". paNOW. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
- ↑ Ewing, Lori (May 26, 2020). "Advocate hopes females aren't forgotten when sports world reopens". CBC. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Canadian Paralympic Committee (February 21, 2023). "Erica Gavel elected chair of Canadian Paralympic Athletes' Council". PR Newswire. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
- ↑ "2023 Inductees". The Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
External links
[edit]- Erica Gavel at Wheelchair Basketball Canada
- Erica Gavel at the Canadian Paralympic Committee
- Erica Gavel at the International Paralympic Committee
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- 1991 births
- Living people
- Canadian women's wheelchair basketball players
- Paralympic wheelchair basketball players for Canada
- Wheelchair basketball players at the 2016 Summer Paralympics
- Sportspeople at the 2019 Parapan American Games
- Sportspeople at the 2015 Parapan American Games
- Medalists at the 2019 Parapan American Games
- Medalists at the 2015 Parapan American Games
- Saskatchewan Huskies basketball players
- University of Alabama alumni
- Sportspeople from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
- Sportspeople from Saskatoon
- 21st-century Canadian sportswomen
- Parapan American Games medalists in wheelchair basketball
- Parapan American Games gold medalists for Canada
- Parapan American Games silver medalists for Canada