Kathy Newman has been elected President of Wheelchair Basketball Canada ©Wheelchair Basketball Canada

Kathy Newman has been elected President of Wheelchair Basketball Canada (WBC), replacing Steve Bach, who had been in the role for 15 years.

Bach has stepped down from the Presidency and a place on the WBC Board, but will remain an International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) vice-president and President of the IWBF Americas Zone.

Newman has been a WBC Board member since 2002.

"I am honoured to become the President of Wheelchair Basketball Canada," Newman said.

"These are challenging times for sport in Canada and around the world. 

"Yet at the same time they are exciting. 

"I have been impressed and proud of our members’ resilience and creativity to continue to respond to the ever-changing landscape. 

"With the Tokyo Paralympics in sight, we wish our teams the best as they continue to prepare for this extraordinary experience."

Canada's men's and women's wheelchair basketball teams have both qualified for this year's Paralympics, with the latter winning gold at the Lima 2019 Parapan American Games.

Canadian capital Ottawa is due to host the IWBF World Championships in 2026, and Newman added that WBC was "in the driver’s seat to leverage this event to achieve our organizational goals and do great things."

Carrie McKay and Mike Longo have also been added to the WBC Board, described by executive director Wendy Gittens as "both strategic thought leaders who share our immense passion for sport and champion inclusion".

Longo, senior director of commercial operations at Sunrise Medical Canada, has experience as a wheelchair basketball player, volunteer, coach and corporate partner, and professed to be "committed to help grow our game domestically and to continue to see us take an even bigger role as a leader on the world stage".

McKay is currently senior director of operations for the Ottawa BlackJacks basketball team and assistant general manager of the new Ottawa Aces rugby league side.

"I look forward to sharing my passion for sport and athlete development and dedicating my time and skillsets to the pursuit of making Wheelchair Basketball Canada a world leader in the sport through our commitment to excellence, strong values and forward-thinking leadership," McKay said.

Edward Byers, Thomas Soulliere, and athlete representative Brandon Wagner complete the six-person WBC Board.