Alberta Northern Lights celebrate and continue winning tradition 2026 CWBL Finals

EDMONTON – The Alberta Northern Lights celebrated their legacy while continuing a winning tradition at the 2026 Canadian Wheelchair Basketball League finals Sunday at the Saville Community Sports Centre.

In Division 1 tournament play, the Northern Lights capped an unbeaten run on Sunday with a 63–52 victory over Toronto’s Variety Village for the gold medal. The win sealed a perfect 4–0 record on home court.
 
“It’s unreal, all 10 of our players worked incredibly hard this weekend and couldn’t be prouder to be part of this group, this organization,” said Division 1 MVP and Paralympian Reed De’Aeth. “Seeing how happy everyone is, how happy I feel, how happy I’m sure our organization is. It’s unreal.”
 
The hosts opened with a 58–51 win over the Twin City Spinners before defeating Centre d’intégration à la vie active (CIVA) twice.
 
The Northern Lights earned a 73–57 victory in Friday’s Hall of Fame Game, then followed it up with a 74–60 win over their Quebec rivals in Saturday’s semifinals.
 
“It’s been kind of the same group throughout,” said De’Aeth. “We were able to grow as a whole. Just being able to get our chemistry going. Darrell Nordell stepped up and came up with the right plan when we needed it, and we played well as a team.”

CIVA, the defending Division 1 champions, captured bronze with a 57–47 victory over the Twin City Spinners.

Award winners and Hall of Fame inductees

On Saturday,  Wheelchair Basketball Canada announced a pair of award winners and a trio of Hall of Fame inductees during the CWBLFinals on Saturday.
 
For her exemplary leadership, Parker Cooke was awarded the Leadership Excellence honour, while Hayes Cooke was named the recipient of the True Sport Award in recognition of his contributions to the sport at the community level.
 
The Hall of Fame welcomed three new members: Gary McPherson (builder), Roy Sherman (Athlete) and the 1980s Alberta Northern Lights (team).

1980s Northern Lights honored

Speaking of the 1980s Alberta Northern Lights, the team was honoured during a special halftime ceremony on Friday.

Members of the historic squad were in attendance as Alberta faced CIVA in a rematch of the 2025 gold medal game.

Founded in the 1980s, the Alberta Northern Lights quickly rose to become one of the most recognized wheelchair basketball programs in the world, consistently ranking among North America’s top teams and helping establish major competitions such as the Challenge Cup.

The Northern Lights athletes were instrumental in Alberta’s multiple national championship-winning teams. They played a key role in developing community outreach initiatives, junior camps, and city leagues that continue to grow the sport today.

“I think Alberta has a history of great basketball, the whole area was a big basketball area. That’s kind of where I grew up from,” said Ron Minor, who served as Vice President of the Board of Directors for the Alberta Northern Lights. He was inducted into the Edmonton Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.

 “I moved to Edmonton, and Edmonton was, at that point, the focal point for wheelchair basketball. We were one of the top teams in Canada and one of the top teams in the U.S.”With files from Wheelchair Basketball Canada