Meet the Council Members
-
Jeremy Hall
Chair
When Jeremy Hall and his racing partner Jessye Brockway finished third at the last Paralympic qualification regatta in Italy in early June, they thought their dream to compete in Tokyo had evaporated, just missing out on the result they needed to qualify. But three weeks later Canada was allocated a bipartite spot for the PR2 mixed doubles sculls event, which meant Hall and Brockway had indeed earned a ticket to their first Games.
Hall competes under the PR2 classification, which is for athletes with leg injuries who can’t use the traditional sliding seats. PR2 boats have fixed seats and are propelled only by the athlete’s trunk and arms.
In 2019, Hall earned a silver medal at the world rowing championships in Bulgaria in men’s singles sculls despite only having competed since 2017.
Men’s PR2 singles sculls, however, is not a Paralympic event. The only PR2 rowing event open to Hall is mixed double sculls. So, Hall launched a campaign to find a partner for his boat and landed a talented partner in Brockway. In 2019, Hall raced with Brockway of Mill Bay, B.C., at the worlds and they placed a promising 11th.
Hall started rowing in 2017 at the Edmonton Rowing Club then moved to Vernon to train under Martin George. He joined the national team in January 2018 and eventually moved to the national team training centre in Victoria. In his first race on the world stage in 2018 he won a bronze medal in singles sculls at an international regatta in Italy.
Heidi Peters
Vice-Chair
In 2022, Heidi Peters and her teammates won the silver medal at the world championships Canada’s best ever international result in the sport. A year later they solidified their spot for the Paralympic Games at a qualifying tournament in Cairo.
In February 2020 she helped Team Canada secure a spot for the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo by leading the team in scoring and winning gold at the World ParaVolley final Paralympic qualification tournament in Halifax. In Tokyo, at her second Games, Canada took fourth spot.
Peters has been a member of the team since 2013. She also won bronze at the 2019 and 2015 Parapan Am Games.
In Grade 12, Peters was diagnosed with bone cancer in her left leg. She missed her school year to undergo chemotherapy. Despite treatment the cancer refused to leave, ultimately leading to the amputation of her leg.
During Peters’ recovery at the Edmonton Children’s Hospital, she was introduced to sitting volleyball by national team teammate Jolan Wong who also lost her leg to cancer at a young age.
Tyler McGregor
Member
A leader on Canada’s national Para ice hockey team for many years now, Tyler McGregor was named captain of the squad in 2019.
At the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games, McGregor was an alternate captain as Canada won the silver medal. He was third in scoring in PyeongChang, with eight goals and five assists in five games.
He’s been Canada’s top scorer at the last two world championships in 2019 and 2021, where Canada also finished in second place. He was second overall with 13 points in 2019, tabulating six goals and seven assists, and sixth overall in 2021 with 11 points.
At the 2017 World Para Ice Hockey Championships in Gangneung, South Korea, McGregor scored two goals in 13 seconds in the final, as Canada defeated arch-rivals USA 4-1 to win a record fourth world title. McGregor was third in tournament scoring and tied for most goals with 12 goals. He also had five assists for 17 points.
McGregor established himself on Canada’s national Para ice hockey team at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games. He earned three assists in five games and helped Canada to a 4-1 overall record and the bronze medal.
The youngest member of Canada’s gold medal-winning team at the 2013 world championships, McGregor has fast tracked to success in the sport.
At age 15, he broke his leg in his 2009 season opener. An OHL prospect at the time, he underwent surgery but developed a growth behind his leg. He was diagnosed with spindle cell sarcoma, a form of soft-tissue cancer that originates in the bone. His leg was amputated on the same day as the 2010 OHL Draft.
McGregor realized quickly that he wanted to get back into hockey and started playing again with a standing amputee team. However he switched to Para ice hockey in 2011 and his determination led him to the national team, and now to being one of the very best in the game.
He made his national team debut at age 18 at the 2012 World Sledge Hockey Challenge in Calgary, earning a goal and two assists as Canada won the silver medal. Less than a year later, McGregor helped Canada to gold at the world championships.
Amy Burk
Member
Amy Burk has been a member of Canada’s national women’s goalball team for many years. She has attended the 2020, 2016, 2012 and 2008 Paralympic Games, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2023 IBSA World Championships, and the 2011, 2015, 2019, 2023 Parapan Am Games. She has been nominated for MVP at several international championships.
In November 2023, Burk and her teammates won the gold medal at the Parapan American Games in Santiago to earn a berth for the 2024 Paralympic Games.
Born with Albinism and a visual impairment, Burke grew up with a love for competition. She played basketball in elementary school and was introduced to goalball at age 12 by her itinerant teacher, who sat on the board of directors for recreational sports for PEI. Burk’s teacher gave the PEI goalball coach her name, who then reached out to her, paying her a visit at her school and inviting her to come try the sport of goalball with the provincial team.
Upon her first introduction to goalball, Burk was jaw dropped by the fact that grown women were voluntarily flinging themselves in front of and getting hit by a ball. Still, she gave it a try, but in the end decided it wasn’t for her.
In 2004, one year later, Burk decided to call the PEI goalball coach and ask if she could give the sport another try. He agreed, and this time she immediately fell in love with the goalball, joining the PEI provincial team.
Burk has been nominated several times for the PEI “Female Athlete of the Year Award,” most recently for 2019.
In 2008, Burk moved to Ottawa and began playing goalball for Team Ontario.
Abi Tripp
Member
At the London 2019 World Para Swimming Championships, Abi Tripp claimed a bronze medal in the 4×100-m freestyle relay 34 points and reached one individual final, placing fifth in the 100-m breaststroke SB7.
In 2018, at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, Tripp brought home bronze in the S8 50-m freestyle. A few months later at the 2018 Pan Pacific Para Swimming Championships, Tripp finished fourth in the 200-m individual medley SM8 and fifth in the 100-m backstroke S8.
At the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, Tripp – just 15 years old at the time – made the finals in the 400-m freestyle (6th), 100-m freestyle (7th) and 200-m individual medley (8th). Her times in the 400 free and 200 IM were also Canadian records.
Tripp started 2016 with a bang. She broke the 13-year-old Canadian record in the women’s SM8 200-m individual medley clocking 2:58.77 at the 2016 Canadian Para Swimming Trials in April 2016. Andrea Cole had held the mark since 2002 at 3:03.04.
Tripp made her major Games debut at the Toronto Parapan American Games in 2015. She finished 4th in the 50-m freestyle, 100-m freestyle, 100-m breaststroke and 200-m IM.
Christina Picton
Member
Multi-sport athlete Christina Picton made her Paralympic debut at the Beijing 2022 Games, where she competed in four events and reached the top eight in each, including a sixth-place finish in the cross-country sprint. She secured her spot for Beijing after posting three top-five finishes at the 2021-22 season-opening World Cup in Canmore.
Picton’s journey into Para nordic skiing began after years of playing and developing Para ice hockey in Canada. In 2018, she first discovered cross-country skiing through a participant in the “Learn to Sledge” program she facilitates in Port Colborne, Ontario. Her first time on snow was in December 2018, and just weeks later, she competed in her first race.
In 2019, Picton earned provincial team status after accumulating enough race points throughout the season. This led to her attending a prospects training camp in Canmore, where she began pursuing skiing at a higher level. In January 2020, only one year after her first race, Picton travelled to her first international competition in Utah, where she placed third in both the sprint event and middle-distance race. Shortly after, she attended her first World Cup event as a prospect with the national team.
Before skiing, Picton was a trailblazer in Para hockey, playing the sport for 17 years. In 2019, she was one of four women invited to the men’s national Para hockey development camp, where she competed against the United States. From there, she received an invitation to try out for Hockey Canada’s senior men’s national Para ice hockey team, becoming the first female athlete to do so. She was also the captain of Canada’s national women’s Para ice hockey team, helping to grow the sport for future generations.
In 2025, Picton was elected to the Canadian Paralympic Committee Athletes’ Council, where she will advocate for Para athletes across Canada and help shape the future of the Paralympic Movement. She has been involved in Para sport since she was 11 years old and continues to contribute both on and off the field of play.
Picton was born with a congenital deficiency that affected both her legs, leading to her right leg amputation at age 16. She started a graphic design company, Amped Design & Creative, after moving to Canmore in 2021. As a graphic designer, she has contributed to the Para sport community by designing logos for multiple Para sport organizations.
Amanda Rummery
Member
Amanda Rummery competes in the 100 m, 200 m and 400 m in the T47 category. In 2024, she broke the Paralympic standard in the 400m with a Canadian record of 57.99 at a competition in California, ranking her second in the world.
She set a new personal best of 59.06 to finish fourth in the 400m and a season’s best of 26.61 to finish 6th in the 200m at the 2023 Para Athletics World Championships. She made her world championship debut in 2019.
Rummery made her major games debut at the 2019 Parapan American Games.
