Abilities Centre welcomed the Honourable Adam van Koeverden, Secretary of State (Sport), for his first visit to the facility yesterday, joined by MP Ryan Turnbull (Whitby) and MP Juanita Nathan (Pickering-Brooklin).
The visit began with meetings with members of Abilities Centre’s leadership team and board of directors, where the conversation focused on the organization’s role as a Centre of Excellence for inclusive design and what that looks like day to day for the people who walk through its doors.
From there, van Koeverden toured several of Abilities Centre’s spaces and programs, starting with the HUR (Helsinki University Research) Room, where he tried out one of the machines himself. The room is home to the world’s largest accessible installation of HUR equipment, which was built to let people of all ages and abilities train safely and effectively.
Van Koeverden, Turnbull, and Nathan all took part in a wheelchair basketball game with the Abilities Centre Eagles, shooting hoops on opposing teams. Michael Frogley led the activity, alongside Eric Voss, a former Team Ontario wheelchair basketball player. Frogley is widely regarded as one of the top minds in wheelchair basketball. A 1992 Paralympian, he went on to coach the Canadian Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Team to back-to-back Paralympic gold in 2000 and 2004, plus silver in 2008. Together, they gave the group a taste of just how competitive the sport is at every level.
Before heading to the track, van Koeverden and Turnbull also signed a flag for Eagles player Tamara Steeves, who heads to Ottawa next week to represent Canada at the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) Championships.
From the court, van Koeverden and Turnbull headed to the indoor track, where they raced Airlie Downie-Back, an A.S.A.D. (Academy for Student Athlete Development) student. Downie-Back, who is from Whitby, recently represented Team Canada in the women’s 5000m at the 2026 World Athletics U20 Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, finishing 22nd in the final this past August.
One of the visit’s most memorable moments came off the court, when van Koeverden met Alex Bevacqua, a Thrive participant and powerlifter who represented Canada at the 2026 Special Olympics Canada Summer Games in Medicine Hat, Alberta, this past August, winning two gold medals, a silver, and a bronze. The two talked about training, competition, and what it took to bring home four medals in his first appearance at a national Games.
By the end of the day, van Koeverden had experienced firsthand what it means when Abilities Centre says everyone belongs.