(OTTAWA, ONT.) Team Canada will compete at the 2015 International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) Women’s U25 World Wheelchair Basketball Championship in Beijing, China on June 30 to July 6, 2015.
The IWBF Women’s U25 World Championship takes place every four years. Team Canada placed fourth at the inaugural U25 World Championship held in St. Catharines in 2011. Players must be 25 years old or younger to be eligible to compete.
“This will be a tremendous opportunity for these young athletes to continue their development while representing Canada against the world’s best. We have a very competitive team,” said Team Canada Head Coach Ross Norton. “The athletes have worked tremendously hard and we look forward to showing our full potential and improving upon our fourth place finish from the last junior world championship in 2011.”
The team will depart on June 24 to centralize for a training camp in Vancouver before they depart for China where they will take on Australia, Germany, Great Britain, Japan and host China in the round robin.
The IWBF Women’s U25 World Championship round robin games are played between June 30 and July 4, with the semifinals being played on July 5 and the medals games played on July 6. The full competition schedule has not yet been released.
The roster features four returning players from the Canadian squad at the 2011 junior women’s world championship.
The following athletes will be representing Canada (athletes’ city of residence indicated / athletes with Paralympic Games experience denoted with a *):
- Alarissa Haak (Sherwood Park, Alta.)
- Arinn Young (Legal, Alta.)
- Corin Metzger (Elmira, Ont.)
- Danielle Arbour (St. John’s, N.L.)
- Élodie Tessier (St-Germain de Grantham, Que.)
- Erica Gavel (Prince Albert, Sask.)
- Helaina Cyr (Sherwood Park, Alta.)
- Maude Jacques (Lac-Beauport, Que.) *
- Rosalie Lalonde (St-Clet, Que.)
- Sara Black (Toronto, Ont.)
- Zoe Hahn (Linwood, Ont.)
- Head Coach: Ross Norton (Edmonton, Alta.)
- Assistant Coach: Simon Cass (Victoria, B.C.)
- Team Manager: Andrea Muir (Saskatoon, Sask.)
- Team Physiotherapist: Teresa Budwal (Brampton, Ont.)
About Team Canada
The Women’s U25 National Team develops the top young Canadian female athletes in preparation for the IWBF Women’s U25 World Championships, which take place every four years. Players must be 25 years old or younger to be eligible to compete. Canada hosted the inaugural world championship for junior women in 2011, where the Team Canada placed fourth.
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.