Danielle Peers

File:Danielle Peers.jpg

Danielle Peers is a Canadian former wheelchair basketball player. They are an associate professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation at the University of Alberta and a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Disability and Movement Cultures.

Early life

Peers was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, alongside their older brother Jamie. They began playing basketball at the age of 10 but began showing growing signs of muscle imbalance as a teenager. They eventually switched to wheelchair basketball in an effort to give their legs a rest before being diagnosed with muscular dystrophy.{{cite web |last1=Osborne |first1=Miriam |title=WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL: ONE WOMAN'S STORY |url=https://www.canadianliving.com/health/prevention-and-recovery/article/wheelchair-basketball-one-woman-s-story |publisher=Canadian Living |access-date=June 28, 2021 |date=August 29, 2007}} Following their diagnosis, Peers retired from the Grant MacEwan Griffins Women's Basketball team and was named an assistant coach.{{cite news |last1=Tait |first1=Cam |title=Tait on Two |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/80421194/tait-on-two/ |access-date=June 28, 2021 |publisher=Edmonton Journal |date=August 14, 2003|via=newspapers.com}} However, Peers wished to continue to play basketball and was invited to try out for the Canada women's national wheelchair basketball team.

Career

Peers made their Paralympic debut for Team Canada at the 2004 Summer Paralympics, where they helped the team win a bronze medal.{{cite news |last1=Tait |first1=Cam |title=Wheelchair hoops star |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/80420961/wheelchair-hoops-star/ |access-date=June 28, 2021 |publisher=Edmonton Journal |date=August 22, 2005|via=newspapers.com}} Upon returning to Edmonton, Peers became the first woman to play on the Alberta Northern Lights men's roster after practicing with the team for seven years.{{cite news |last1=Tait |first1=Cam |title=Peers hopes to add power to the Lights |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/80421004/peers-hopes-to-add-power-to-the-lights/ |access-date=June 28, 2021 |publisher=Edmonton Journal |date=January 22, 2005|via=newspapers.com}} In their debut, Peers recorded the second-highest point total on the team with 14 in an eventual 74–52 win over the Utah Jazz.{{cite news |last1=Tait |first1=Cam |title=Peers sparkles in Lights debut |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/80421170/peers-sparkles-in-lights-debut/ |access-date=June 28, 2021 |publisher=Edmonton Journal |date=January 23, 2005|via=newspapers.com}} At the conclusion of the season, Peers helped the Lights become the first Canadian team to win a National Wheelchair Basketball Association championship.

Peers was also scouted by members of France's men's wheelchair basketball team who invited them to become a benchwarmer for the C.S. Meaux. They eventually began playing 40 minutes a night and was awarded an apartment, training, and a small stipend for their play.{{cite news |last1=Petersen |first1=Scott |title=Courting her dreams |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/80420905/courting-her-dreams/ |access-date=June 28, 2021 |publisher=Nanaimo Daily News |date=August 19, 2006|via=newspapers.com}} At the conclusion of the season, Peers was named MVP of the 2006 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship and the 2007 National Championship.{{cite news |last1=Tait |first1=Cam |title=Peers back in action after heart surgery |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/80421052/peers-back-in-action-after-heart-surgery/ |access-date=June 28, 2021 |publisher=Edmonton Journal |date=May 28, 2009|via=newspapers.com}} While they trained to compete at the 2008 Summer Paralympics, Peers was also working towards their master's degree at the University of Alberta. Despite the training, Peers missed the competition for they were forced to undergo heart surgery.

=Post-playing career=

Peers eventually retired from competitive wheelchair basketball to pursue a career in academia focused on disability. Alongside Nancy Spencer-Cavaliere, they conducted a study on the impact reverse integration had on disabled athletes self-image.{{cite news |title=Danielle Peers |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/80421129/danielle-peers/ |access-date=June 28, 2021 |work=The Independent |date=October 6, 2015|via=newspapers.com}} As a result of their research, Peers received the 2009 Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, a 2011 Trudeau Scholarship, and a 2015 Banting postdoctoral fellowship at Concordia University.{{cite web |last1=Kappler |first1=Brian |title=Banting fellow Danielle Peers fosters inclusivity |url=https://www.concordia.ca/cunews/main/stories/2015/11/17/banting-postdoctoral-fellow-is-working-hard-to-foster-inclusivity-danielle-peers.html |publisher=Concordia University |access-date=June 28, 2021 |date=November 17, 2015}} In 2011, Peers was inducted into the Wheelchair Basketball Canada Hall of Fame.{{cite web |title=Hall of Fame Inductees |url=https://www.wheelchairbasketball.ca/programs/awards-hall-of-fame/hall-of-fame-inductees/ |website=Wheelchair Basketball Canada |access-date=11 July 2021}}

Following their PhD, Peers was appointed an assistant professor in Physical Education and Recreation at the University of Alberta (U of A).{{cite web |title=Danielle Peers: At the Intersections of Inclusion |url=https://www.ualberta.ca/the-quad/2017/03/danielle-peers-at-the-intersections-of-inclusion.html |publisher=University of Alberta |access-date=June 28, 2021 |date=March 16, 2017}} In 2020, Peers was named a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Disability and Movement Cultures at U of A.{{cite web |title=Meet the U of A's Spring 2020 Canada Research Chairs |url=https://www.ualberta.ca/the-quad/2020/05/meet-the-u-of-as-spring-2020-canada-research-chairs.html |publisher=University of Alberta |access-date=June 28, 2021 |date=May 28, 2020}} As a CRC, Peers led a research study examining available information online on athletes with disabilities. Their findings found an overall lack of accessible information on websites after examining the construction of para-athletes within 127 national and provincial-level sport organizations, as well as a number of the nation's elite clubs.{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Michael |last2=Graham |first2=Nicole |title=Lack of online access a barrier for athletes with disabilities: study |url=https://www.ualberta.ca/folio/2020/09/lack-of-online-access-a-barrier-for-athletes-with-disabilities-study.html |publisher=University of Alberta |access-date=September 7, 2023 |date=September 30, 2020}} Following the studies publication, Peers was also granted tenure and promoted to the rank of associate professor.{{cite web |last1=Love |first1=Jocelyn |title=November Awards and Accolades 2020 |url=https://www.ualberta.ca/kinesiology-sport-recreation/news/2020/november/november-awards-and-accolades-2020.html |publisher=University of Alberta |access-date=September 7, 2023 |date=November 30, 2020}} Prior to the start of the following term, Peers was recognized with U of A's 2021 Killam Accelerator Research Award.{{cite web |last1=Dew |first1=Steven |title=Congratulations to the 2021 Killam Laureates |url=https://www.ualberta.ca/the-quad/2021/10/congratulations-to-the-2021-killam-laureates.html |publisher=University of Alberta |access-date=September 7, 2023 |date=October 13, 2021}} While serving as an associate professor, Peers also became the co-director of the Just Movements CreateSpace, co-principal investigator of the Re-Creation Collective, and Academic Lead on Equity Praxis and Systemic Ableism at U of A.{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Carrie |title=Announcing the Academic Lead on Equity Praxis and Systemic Ableism |url=https://www.ualberta.ca/the-quad/2023/07/announcing-the-academic-lead-on-equity-praxis-and-systemic-ableism.html |publisher=University of Alberta |access-date=September 7, 2023 |date=July 20, 2023}} In September 2023, Peers was awarded the Order of Sport, marking induction into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.{{cite web |title=Virtue, Moir and St-Pierre headline Canada's Sports Hall of Fame class of 2023 |url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/canada-sports-hall-of-fame-2023-1.6958622 |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=September 7, 2023 |date=September 7, 2023}}