PATH TO PARIS: Gavel’s travels take USask alum back to Paralympics

The 33-year-old Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology graduate (Class of 2015) from the University of Saskatchewan (USask) and former member of the Huskie women’s basketball team will be working with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in a new role that comes with some old familiar feelings as she prepares to head back to the Paralympics.

“At the Games, I will be representing all Paralympic athletes, so I am really excited to see the young ones who have made a Paralympic team for the first time,” said Gavel, who also serves as chair of the Canadian Paralympic Athletes Council and was appointed to the Canadian government’s new Ministerial Athlete Advisory Committee on July 19. “There is nothing like making the national team for the first time. Understanding and appreciating the journey that goes along with it is probably my favourite part, not necessarily from a training point of view but from a life point of view, and the excitement that comes with that. Making the Paralympic team is still one of the best days of my life.”

A master of multi-tasking, Gavel is juggling multiple roles with a variety of athletic organizations, along with working on completing her PhD and preparing to begin post-doctoral research. But for now, she is focused on getting ready to represent WADA at the Paralympics, to engage with athletes and to raise awareness about doping-free sport.

“It’s an athlete engagement program which focuses on promoting and teaching clean sport. That said, in addition to actually being at the Games, one of the biggest things that I have learned in each of these roles is it’s also an opportunity to teach everyone outside of the Paralympic bubble what Paralympic sport is all about; the different intricacies that go into being a Paralympic athlete,” she said. “No matter the role, I have definitely leaned on the mentorship and the experience that I have gained over the years. From both an international and national perspective, I think I can help the system and improve the quality of sport experiences for all athletes.”

Gavel’s experiences include playing three seasons at the highest level of Canadian university basketball with the powerhouse Huskies under head coach Lisa Thomaidis – finishing third at nationals in 2010, second in 2011 when they won the Canada West championship, and sixth at nationals in March of 2012 – before suffering her third serious knee injury that required career-ending microfracture surgery in September of 2012. But just months later, Gavel was back on the court, this time as a wheelchair basketball player, later leading Saskatchewan to a national junior title.

“I got into wheelchair basketball in December of 2012, so it was very fast transition,” said Gavel. “But being a part of the Huskies’ program, from both a culture and expectation perspective, helped me tremendously. I knew what it took to make a national team so all I had to do was develop the skills needed to succeed. And that was not only through basketball training, but also sport science. Not only did I have the basketball program and Huskie Athletics supporting me, but also the College of Kinesiology at the University of Saskatchewan, who were experts in their respective fields. Again, I had a lot of help along the way.”

Gavel moved on from USask in 2014 to accept a full scholarship to play wheelchair basketball for one year at the University of Alabama, which placed second in nationals in 2014 when Gavel was named the team’s most improved player. She went on to make Canada’s national wheelchair basketball team that year and won a silver medal at the 2015 Parapan American Games in Toronto and finished fifth at the 2016 Paralympic Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, before capturing gold at the 2019 Parapan American Games in Lima, Peru.

Gavel credits her years at USask and with the Huskies program for her success.

“I would say that not a lot of things in my life have gone according to plan, but things have turned out the best way possible,” she said. “I have lived my dream for over 15 years now. How incredible is that? To be a 17-year-old surrounded by some of Canada’s best basketball players and coaches, the Huskies provided me with the perfect environment to develop both as an athlete and a person. It was truly a privilege to have had so many extraordinary teammates and coaches.

“When you’re there, you think it’s normal. Well, after playing for multiple programs now, it truly isn’t ‘normal.’ To have the experience of playing high-performance sport for some of the best coaches in the world like Lisa and (Huskies assistant coaches) Jackie (Lavallee) and Ali (Fairbrother), then go to other environments with, let’s say, those ‘habits,’ it has really helped me a lot. That experience at the University of Saskatchewan was the most impactful four years of my life.”

After eight seasons with the national wheelchair basketball team and helping them qualify for the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021, Gavel left the program to focus on family and her graduate studies, starting her doctorate after successfully defending her master’s thesis in exercise physiology at the University of Toronto in 2019. Gavel is now on pace to complete her PhD program in December at Ontario Tech University, where she has also served as a sessional lecturer.

“I was able to get some lecturing experience last year and it was incredible,” said Gavel, who was recently inducted into the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame in 2023 in the athlete category. “Now it looks like I will be transitioning to the University of Michigan after Christmas to start a post-doc and do some more Paralympic sport research there. So I am really looking forward to that.”

As Gavel looks back on her experiences in athletics and academics, she points to her time at USask and with the Huskies program for changing her life, on and off the court – from P.A. to Paris to a PhD.

“It was an amazing experience,” said Gavel, who flies to France on Aug. 25, with the Paralympic opening ceremonies scheduled for Aug. 28. “Even when I suffered my career-ending knee injury in September of 2012, (the Huskies) took care of me that entire year, honouring my athletic scholarship and providing me with the facility and resources I needed to excel in wheelchair basketball and the classroom. It was the most challenging phase of my life and they helped me when they didn’t technically have to. Being so helpless, but having the unconditional support of others, I got to learn what tremendous leadership looks like. Where I am today is all because of that program and that university.”