(Ottawa, Ont.) Wheelchair Basketball Canada is pleased to announce the list of 12 athletes named to the 2015 Canadian Senior Women’s National Wheelchair Basketball Team that will be nominated to the Canadian Paralympic Committee to compete on home soil at the Toronto 2015 Parapan American Games, where the team will vie for a top three finish in order to qualify for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Summer Games.
The roster features 10 returning players from the team that captured the gold medal at the 2014 International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) Women’s World Championship in Toronto, Ont. Seven players have also represented Canada at the Paralympic Games.
“We are very excited with the group of athletes we have selected and feel we have a great dynamic within the team,” said Team Canada Head Coach Bill Johnson. “Building off the momentum of winning the world championship in 2014, we are ready to embrace the challenge of competing at the Toronto 2015 Parapan Am Games and achieving our ultimate goal of qualifying for Rio 2016.”
“Building off the momentum of winning the world championship in 2014, we are ready to embrace the challenge of competing at the Toronto 2015 Parapan Am Games and achieving our ultimate goal of qualifying for Rio 2016.”
“Building off the momentum of winning the world championship in 2014, we are ready to embrace the challenge of competing at the Toronto 2015 Parapan Am Games and achieving our ultimate goal of qualifying for Rio 2016.”
The athletes selected to the team are (athletes’ city of residence indicated / athletes with Paralympic Games experience denoted with a *):
- Arinn Young (Legal, Alta.)
- Cindy Ouellet (Quebec, Que.) *
- Darda Sales (London, Ont.)
- Elaine Allard (St-Eustache, Que.) *
- Erica Gavel (Prince Albert, Sask.)
- Jamey Jewells (Donkin, N.S.) *
- Janet McLachlan (Vancouver, B.C.) *
- Katie Harnock (Elmira, Ont.) *
- Maude Jacques (Lac-Beauport, Que.) *
- Melanie Hawtin (Oakville, Ont.)
- Rosalie Lalonde (St-Clet, Que.)
- Tracey Ferguson (Richmond Hill, Ont.)*
Head Coach: Bill Johnson (Winnipeg, Man.)
Assistant Coach: Michael Broughton (Toronto, Ont.)
Assistant Coach: Michele Hynes (Winnipeg, Man.)
Team Manager: Katie Miyazaki (Saskatoon, Sask.)
The roster was finalized following the conclusion of selection camp last week at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre in Scarborough, Ont.
The Canadian women will next compete at an international friendly tournament from February 11-14, 2015 in Osaka, Japan as they make final preparations on the road to the Toronto 2015 Parapan Am Games.
The Parapan American Games run August 7-15, 2015 in Toronto, Ont. The wheelchair basketball competition will take place at the Ryerson Athletic Centre in downtown Toronto.
About Team Canada
The Senior Women’s National Team is amongst the most successful and dominant teams in Canadian amateur sport history. The team captured three consecutive Paralympic gold medals in 1992, 1996, and 2000, and bronze in 2004. They have also reached the podium at seven consecutive world championships.
About Wheelchair Basketball Canada
Wheelchair Basketball Canada is the national sports governing body responsible for the organization of the sport in Canada. It is a non-profit, charitable organization that is committed to excellence in the development, support and promotion of wheelchair basketball programs and services for all Canadians from grassroots to high performance. Wheelchair basketball is a fast-paced, hard-hitting, competitive sport in which Canada is held in high esteem around the world for winning a combined six gold, one silver, and one bronze medal in the last six Paralympic Games.