Arinn Young practically grew up with a basketball in her hand.
Born and raised in St. Albert, Alta., she fell in love with the sport at five years old. She was 14 when a serious knee injury threatened to take it all away, although a misdiagnosis meant she continued playing for nearly another year.
An MRI later revealed a torn ACL, a torn meniscus and her femur, patella and fibula were bone-on-bone, which required multiple surgeries.
While going through her rehabilitation a family friend whose daughter suffered from spina bifida introduced her to wheelchair basketball.
“That was really my first time truly ever seeing people with a disability,” Young recalled. “It was incredibly overwhelming and then they just put me in a wheelchair and said go have fun.”
Young, now 30, was immediately hooked, but wasn’t quite ready to give up her able-bodied basketball career just yet.
Once cleared to return to active sports, she was back on the court when she went to intercept a pass, took a hit and ended up flat on her back on the gym floor.
She immediately knew it was bad and when her coach ran over and asked if she was okay she looked up at him and said “I’m gonna go play wheelchair basketball and make Team Canada.” Her coach laughed at her, but less than two years later that’s exactly what she had accomplished and more.
That would prove to be Young’s last able-bodied game. The broken leg, combined with ongoing hip issues and her previous knee injuries, meant returning to able-bodied sport was no longer an option. But the end of one chapter soon opened the door to another, one that would change the course of her life.
A new path to the court
“When I was lying on that floor I knew my career was over,” she said. “I knew I had to go pursue [wheelchair basketball] and go make Team Canada.”
She also points out how physically demanding the game is.
“I can confidently say wheelchair basketball is a lot more of a physical sport than even able-bodied,” said Young, who is able to walk, and therefore classified as a 4.5 player in wheelchair basketball. “That’s what really got me in love with it. There was no excuse for why you can’t play.”
Young’s path to the national team moved quickly.
She began playing with the Edmonton Inferno in 2012 and a year later helped the team capture the Canadian Women’s Championship.
That performance helped open the door to the national program. Young joined Canada’s under-25 team in 2013 and the following summer, found herself in Toronto wearing the maple leaf at the World Championships.
Just 17, she was the youngest player on the Canadian roster. She had a limited role and jokingly described herself as “more of a cheerleader.” Canada went on to capture gold on home soil and the experience was unforgettable.
Not only did Young play for Team Canada, but she attended the University of Alabama and played on the Adapted Athletics program, one of the premier collegiate wheelchair basketball programs in the United States. Young spent five years at Alabama, earning a degree in kinesiology while establishing herself as one of the program’s top players and helped lead the team to three national titles.
Canada vs. the world
Young was then ready for another challenge and set her sights on Europe, where wheelchair basketball has a strong professional club system.
Her first stop was Germany, where she spent four seasons competing in the country’s top league. From there, basketball took her to Spain for a season before she moved to France, where she has played for the past two years.
In between she has represented Canada at three Paralympic Games, three World Championships and three Parapan American Games.
She also met her boyfriend, Colin Higgins, while playing, who just happens to be a member of Canada’s men’s national team.
“It’s been an absolute whirlwind,” Young said. “I’ve won a few medals with the national team, I’ve gotten to travel the world and meet new, incredible people and it’s just been the best ride I could ever be on. It’s been great.”
Now Young has the opportunity to help Canada take gold on home soil again.
The 2026 IWBF Wheelchair Basketball World Championships are being held in Ottawa with the finals set for Sept. 19 at TD Place.
She comes into the tournament as a respected veteran who will be counted on to help guide the next generation of players.
Young doesn’t plan on giving up playing any time soon but she has started thinking about what comes next.
She has started coaching and is working towards all her certifications to perhaps one day coach Team Canada.
“I’m just so incredibly grateful,” shared Young. “I hope I can give so much back. Wheelchair basketball has opened so many opportunities and so many doors for me and I want to help others have the same.”
Lisa Wallace
