Tara Llanes

Started: She took up the sport in 2016. (wheelchairbasketball.ca, 01 Jan 2020) Reason: Fellow wheelchair tennis player Amanda Yan encouraged her to try wheelchair basketball. At the same time, she was trying to improve her speed on the tennis court, and former wheelchair basketball player Richard Peter said basketball would help. (wheelchairbasketball.ca, 01 Jan 2020) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (cbc.ca, 19 Apr 2024; wheelchairbasketball.ca, 18 Mar 2024; pinkbike.com, 27 Mar 2024; paralympic.ca, 16 Apr 2024) Awards: She was named in the All-Star Team at the 2023 and 2024 editions of the Canadian Wheelchair Basketball League [CWBL] Women's National Championship. (wheelchairbasketball.ca, 22 Mar 2024, 16 Apr 2023) She was named Female Athlete of the Year for 2022 by Wheelchair Basketball Canada [WBC]. (wheelchairbasketball.ca, 01 Jan 2024) In 2022 she was inducted into the USA BMX Hall of Fame in the female racer category. (usabmx.com, 29 Dec 2021; USA BMX Facebook page, 30 Oct 2022) In 2019 she received the MJ Boudreault Award from the British Colombia Wheelchair Basketball Society [BCWBS]. (bcwbs.ca, 13 Oct 2020) In 2017 she was named Female Athlete of the Year by the British Colombia Wheelchair Basketball Society [BCWBS]. (bcwbs.ca, 13 Oct 2020) Additional Info: BUSINESS OWNER She owns Tara Llanes Industries, which sells adaptive mountain bikes. "When I got hurt, some friends got this adapted mountain bike that had full suspension and it just looked like it could do things that I wanted to do. I was out on the trails and people would see me and say, 'I know someone who would love that bike or I've got a friend in a wheelchair'. I literally had no idea how to run a business. None. At all. But [former partner] Elladee runs her own sales agency and she showed me the ropes of running a sales business. There was a lot of trial and error. There was a lot of error! It's how I learned and I'm still learning so much but I've come a long way." (Facebook page, 09 Jun 2022; wheelchairbasketball.ca, 20 Jul 2020) ADAPTIVE TRAILS In 2021 her adaptive mountain bike company Tara Llanes Industries combined with Trail Holistics to release their own guidelines on how they believe mountain bike trails should be constructed to accommodate adaptive riders. "Canada is full of selfless, wonderful, nature loving people and by continuing the open-door policy of acceptance and inclusiveness for adaptive riders, this just adds to the amazingness of this beautiful country. With these guidelines, we're ensuring that we are ahead of the game with adaptive mountain biking in British Colombia and continuing the growth of mountain biking for all in this super natural province." (pinkbike.com, 24 Mar 2021; wheelchairbasketball.ca, 20 Jul 2020)