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Arley McNeney

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Arley McNeney
Personal information
Nationality Canada
Born(1982-11-15)November 15, 1982
New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
DiedMarch 24, 2023(2023-03-24) (aged 40)
EducationUniversity of Victoria
MFA, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Medal record
Summer Paralympics
Wheelchair basketball
Bronze medal – third place 2004 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair basketball
Wheelchair Basketball World Championship
Gold medal – first place 2002 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship Team Canada
Gold medal – first place 2006 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship Team Canada

Arley McNeney (m. Cruthers) (November 15, 1982 – March 24, 2023) was a Canadian Paralympic wheelchair basketball player and applied communications instructor at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. She won a bronze medal with the Canada women's national wheelchair basketball team at the 2004 Summer Paralympics.

Early life and education

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McNeney was born and raised in New Westminster, British Columbia. At the age of 11, she was diagnosed with avascular necrosis and was an ambulatory wheelchair user until she was 27.[1]

McNeney attended the University of Victoria and the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, where she earned her MFA and competed on the Fighting Illini women's varsity wheelchair basketball team.[2]

Career

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McNeney joined Canada women's national wheelchair basketball team in 2001,[3] and won gold at the Wheelchair Basketball World Championship the next year.[4] As a result, she was the recipient of BC's Premier Athletic Award for New Westminster.[5] In 2004, McNeney was named to Team Canada's national wheelchair basketball team to compete at the 2004 Summer Paralympics,[6] where she helped them win bronze.[7] Two years later, she was named to Team Canada for the 2006 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship.[8]

In 2008, she was selected to compete at the Osaka Cup.[9] However, she was forced to retire from wheelchair basketball after undergoing hip replacement surgery which allowed her to walk again.[1] In 2014, she received the BC Wheelchair Basketball Society's Coach of the Year award.[10]

While working as a communications instructor at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, McNeney and her husband Chris Cruthers began conducting workshops for disabled individuals regarding online dating.[11]

Author

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In 2007, she wrote a book on her experience with the Canadian women's wheelchair basketball team and her retirement,[12] which was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Foundation prizes.[13] A few years later, she wrote her second book called "The Time We All Went Marching," based on memoirs from her grandmother.[4][14]

Death

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McNeney died on March 24, 2023, at the age of 40.[15][16]

References

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  1. ^ a b Cahute, Larissa (February 4, 2016). "SheTalks: Disability opened doors for Vancouver wheelchair basketball champion". The Province. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  2. ^ "McNeney Arley". abcbookworld.com. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  3. ^ "BC Athletes Make Up a Third of Canadian Wheelchair Basketball Teams". bcwheelchairsports.com. June 8, 2001. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Berry, Michelle (November 18, 2011). "The Time We All Went Marching, by Arley McNeney". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  5. ^ "PREMIER HONOURS B.C.'S TOP ATHLETES". archive.news.gov.bc.ca. March 12, 2002. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  6. ^ "B.C. ATHLETES REPRESENTING CANADA IN ATHENS". archive.news.gov.bc.ca. July 19, 2004. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  7. ^ "BCWBS ATHLETES WIN GOLD IN ATHENS" (PDF). letsplaybc.com. 2004. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  8. ^ "OUR CONGRATULATIONS GO OUT TO…" (PDF). letsplaybc.com. Summer 2005. p. 3. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  9. ^ "Canada's national women's wheelchair basketball team to compete in Osaka Cup 2008 in Japan". paralympic.ca. February 11, 2008. Archived from the original on August 12, 2016. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  10. ^ "BCWBS Congratulates Recipients of Annual Awards". bcwbs.ca. March 13, 2014. Archived from the original on October 9, 2014. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  11. ^ Raphael, Philip (February 11, 2016). "Love finds a way — wheelchair and all". Richmond News. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  12. ^ Gillespie, Mike (July 22, 2007). "Scary stuff from mystery writer, political analyst". Times Colonist. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  13. ^ "Ondaatje among Canadians vying for Commonwealth Writers' Prize". cbc.ca. February 14, 2008. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  14. ^ Iseli-Otto, Sabina (December 9, 2011). "Author crafts story out of family history". BC Local News. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  15. ^ "'She was a force against ableism': Tributes pour in after sudden death of former Paralympian Arley McNeney". British Columbia. 2023-03-29. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
  16. ^ Arley Louise Walton Cruthers
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