Wheelchair Sport History In 1944, Sir Ludwig Guttmann introduced wheelchair sport as a treatment for people with spinal cord injuries at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital, in Aylesbury, England. Within four years, sport as therapy developed into competition leading to the development of the annual World Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Games. Over 70 countries are members of the International Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Sports Federation, the world governing body for wheelchair sport. In Canada, development of wheelchair sport began in 1947. The Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association (CWSA) was officially formed in 1967 in Winnipeg, as a result of the Pan American Games. The CWSA has ten provincial associations (representing 3000 members) which are responsible for conducting competitions and recreational programs within each region. In British Columbia, the representative is the BC Wheelchair Sports Association (BCWSA). To celebrate over three decades of Wheelchair Sports history in British Columbia, BCWSA held a Millenium Event. Find out more in our Events section.