Wheelchair basketball star happy to see Sask. well-represented on national team

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results. Nik Goncin has competed on Canada's senior men's national wheelchair basketball team since 2013, and now he gets to do it with others from his province. 'It makes me really proud to be from Saskatchewan, if I'm honest. When I first started on the team there was nobody from Saskatchewan,' he told CBC's Saskatchewan Weekend. The 2026 IWBF Wheelchair Basketball World Championships will take place in Ottawa this month. Three of the 12 athletes on the men's team are from Saskatchewan. Goncin and other players say this is a testament to how parasports have advanced in the province. 'It's been so Ontario-heavy, and Quebec, for such a long time, which makes sense from a population standpoint," Goncin said. "So to see more athletes coming from smaller provinces, particularly Saskatchewan, shows what kind of athletes are coming from Saskatchewan and what kind of training we're doing." The men's team is competing in a world championship on home soil for the first time since 1994. The event is put on by the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF). Garrett Ostepchuk, also from Regina, and Kyrell Sopotyk from Aberdeen are the other players from the province. One of the coaches, Jared Sajtos, is also from Saskatchewan. Goncin was there during the earlier days of wheelchair basketball in the province. He and his family fled the Bosnian War and moved to Regina when he was two years old. He lost his leg to cancer as a teen, and at first he was reluctant when his high school gym teacher asked him to try the sport in which he would eventually become a star. 'I politely told him, 'Absolutely not. I'm not interested.' It wasn't on my radar up until then and he ended up convincing me to come out that next Tuesday, and I was hooked ever since,' Goncin said. The men's and women's national teams will play against teams from around the world from Sept. 9 to 19. WATCH | Wheelchair basketball took Regina's Reid Richard around the world. Now he's a coach.: Wheelchair basketball took Regina's Reid Richard around the world. Now he's a coach. | Duration 5:35 Reid Richard was born without tibia bones in his lower legs. His parents faced a tough decision for their son: either have metal rods implanted repeatedly as he grew up, or proceed with amputation. They ultimately chose amputation, and Richard says that was the right choice. Eventually, Richard discovered wheelchair basketball, and went on to play at an elite level. Now, he's transitioned to coaching the next generation. He's featured in a new video for the CBC Creator Network by Regina based filmmaker, RC Equina. The tournament will determine how many spots each zone gets at the 2028 Paralympic Games. Goncin said the parasports community has grown in the province, but there could always be more support, especially in smaller cities and towns. 'There's probably still athletes in Saskatchewan that are eligible to play parasport and don't know about it,' he said. 'It's pretty special' Sopotyk, 24, has also witnessed the growth of the parasports community. He played hockey until a spinal cord injury changed his path when he was 19. His rehab program in Saskatoon and recreation leagues in the city led him to start with parasports. 'Being able to find wheelchair basketball and get involved at a high level really filled that void and helped me transition into a new life,' Sopotyk told CBC. Kyrell Sopotyk has been playing wheelchair basketball for about five years. (Wheelchair Basketball Canada) Now in his second year on the national team, he said it's great he can learn from other athletes from his home province. 'To be able to learn and look up to other guys from Saskatchewan that have been doing it for over a decade, it's pretty special,' he said. The team finished in sixth place at the 2022 IWBF Wheelchair Basketball World Championships in the United Arab Emirates and in fourth place at the 2025 IWBF Americas Cup in Colombia. Canada's most successful campaign so far was in 2006, when both the men's and women's teams captured gold in Amsterdam. Their first games are on Wednesday.