Josh Vander Vies (born December 28, 1984) is a Canadian lawyer and former Paralympic athlete. He won a bronze medal for doubles boccia at the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Sum ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

before retiring.

Early life

Vander Vies was born on December 28, 1984, in

Sarnia Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes, ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

to parents Gary and Sandy. He was born without fully formed arms or legs. He is a graduate of High Park French Immersion School and Northern Collegiate Institute. He earned a diploma in general arts and science from Lambton College before enrolling at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

Career

Vander Vies made his international debut in Boccia at the 2003 World Cup in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, New Zealand. Following this, he qualified for the

2004 Summer Paralympics The 2004 Summer Paralympics (), the 12th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Athens, Greece, from 17 to 28 September ...

in Athens but failed to medal in his debut. He was then elected to the International Boccia Committee as an Athlete Representative and competed at the 2006 Boccia World Championships. As a law student at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

, Vander Vies also competed internationally at the 2010 World Championship and 2011 World Cup. In 2010, he was appointed one of 25 torch bearers prior to the

2010 Winter Paralympics The 2010 Winter Paralympics (), or the tenth Paralympic Winter Games, were held in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, from March 12 to 21, 2010. The opening ceremony took place in BC Place Stadium in Vancouver and the Closing ...

London 2012 - Marco Dispaltro and Josh Vander Vies

After failing to qualify for the

2008 Summer Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China, from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...

, Vander Vies returned to the Paralympics in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

for doubles boccia. He played boccia Mixed Pairs-BC4 alongside Marco Dispaltro and won a bronze medal against Great Britain by a score of 8–2. Following the Games, Vander Vies retired from the sport but remained president of Athletes CAN, the association of Canada's national team athletes. In 2020, Vander Vies was named Canada's assistant chef de mission during the

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the Inte ...

. The following year, he announced he was running for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

in the riding of

Vancouver East Vancouver East () is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1935. Since 2015, it has been represented by New Democratic Party MP Jenny Kwan. Vancouver East ...

at the next federal election. The election was held on September 20, 2021; Vander Vies came second to incumbent

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

Jenny Kwan Jenny Wai Ching Kwan ( zh, t=關慧貞; born 1967) is a Canadian politician who is the Member of Parliament (Canada), member of Parliament (MP) for Vancouver East (federal electoral district), Vancouver East. A member of the New Democratic Pa ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vander Vies, Josh 1984 births Boccia players at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Boccia players at the 2012 Summer Paralympics British Columbia candidates for Member of Parliament Canadian lawyers with disabilities Canadian sportsperson-politicians Candidates in the 2021 Canadian federal election Lawyers in British Columbia Liberal Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Living people Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Paralympic boccia players for Canada Paralympic bronze medalists for Canada Sportspeople from Sarnia