Ottawa is in the middle of hosting the IWBF Wheelchair Basketball World Championships, which run in the city until September 19, 2026, and two downtown venues have reshaped parts of their buildings to make it happen.
A major field of competing teams
336 athletes from 28 national men's and women's teams are competing in the championships, made up of 16 men's teams and 12 women's teams. Including coaches, staff and officials, more than 1,200 people are taking part in total. The competition itself is being played at Carleton University and TD Place, while Rogers Centre Ottawa is being used as a practice facility for teams preparing between games.
The Westin becomes home base
Athletes are staying at The Westin Ottawa, which sits right next door to Rogers Centre. To accommodate the volume of wheelchair users on site, the hotel swapped its bathroom doors for sliding doors and widened other doorways so wheelchairs could pass through easily. Sinks and counters were also adjusted to a more usable height for the athletes staying there.
Ross Meredith, general manager of The Westin Ottawa, said the arrangement has worked well on both sides, calling the partnership "an absolute win for both parties."
Ramps and infrastructure upgrades
Wendy Gittens, CEO of Wheelchair Basketball Canada, said the venues involved in the championships went through infrastructure upgrades ahead of the event, including adding ramps where they were needed.
The scale of the event
Carly Grace, vice-president of sales at Rogers Centre Ottawa, said the championships amount to the largest international para-sport competition happening outside of the Paralympics.
Why it matters for Ottawa
Hosting an event of this size means more than filling hotel rooms. For a city that has increasingly positioned itself as a host for major sporting events, landing what organizers describe as the largest para-sport competition outside the Paralympics is a marker of how much logistical work goes on behind the scenes, from door hardware to counter heights, to make that possible.
With the championships running until September 19, Ottawa still has a few more days of games left at Carleton University and TD Place, with Rogers Centre continuing to serve as the practice hub for the visiting teams.
Sources: Ottawa Business Journal, Ottawa 2026 IWBF Wheelchair Basketball World Championships (official event site)
