Add Natasha Sexton Quillan’s name to the list of athletes who have found success in several sports.
The Middle Sackville resident, a 41-year-old mother of two, is an accomplished Para swimmer and paddler and is now on the fast track for a spot on Canada’s women’s sitting volleyball team, which captured a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics. Sexton Quillan, who has had limited mobility in her right arm and shoulder since birth, was in Denver with the national program in May for the ParaVolley Pan America championship, which serves as a qualifier for the 2026 world tournament in Hangzhou, China. Sexton Quillan was on hand for fitness testing to determine which level of classification she qualifies for, based on her ability to complete the core functions of the sport.
Sexton Quillan is hoping for her first taste of international competition when Canada travels to the Netherlands for a tournament in July.
“As a kid, disability was a dirty word so you never really talked about it,” said Sexton Quillan. “About 10 years ago, I started leaning into the fact that I have a disability and started participating in parasports, and it’s been one of the best things I’ve ever done.”
In her own words, Sexton Quillan talks about getting her start in the sport, being part of a national team program and gaining valuable experience on the international stage.
Starting out
“One of my friends in paracanoe and kayak had mentioned something to me about it last fall and showed me an Instagram post from Volleyball Canada looking for players for a national identification camp in Edmonton. I reached out and they brought me out in February, and now here we are.”
First camp
“I had no expectations going in I went out there to get an introduction to how wild being on Team Canada might be. These women are unbelievably talented and I was just like, ‘OK, let’s just have some fun with this,’ and I actually didn’t do horribly, so I started thinking I could get to that level. It would take a while, but I could do this. And apparently they agreed. One of the coaches told me that I was punching above my pay grade right now but it’s not inconceivable that I could ramp up quickly.”
Testing
“I was in Calgary for medical and fitness evaluation in March, and Edmonton early in May for another camp and Colorado will be my formal classification, where they measure my range of motion and watch me perform in the sport. But those are things I’ve done in swimming and canoe kayak, so I have a pretty good idea what to expect.”
Team Canada
“It’s a real learning curve to be travelling with people other than your family, so the Denver trip is good experience for that. And to play for Canada in the Netherlands would be out of this world, a fever dream come true. I was given my first-ever Team Canada jersey when I was in Edmonton, and just to see my name and number on it and a Maple Leaf on the chest was pretty overwhelming.”
