(Ottawa, Ont.) Wheelchair Basketball Canada is pleased to announce that head coaches Matteo Feriani and Marc Antoine Ducharme will lead the Canadian Senior Men’s and Women’s National Wheelchair Basketball Teams to the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) World Championships taking place in Hamburg, Germany in 2018.
As first-time National Team head coaches both Feriani and Ducharme led Team Canada to podium performances and world championship berths at the IWBF Americas Cup qualifier in Cali, Colombia in August.
“We are happy to have Matteo and Marc Antoine on board through to the world championships in 2018,” said Wheelchair Basketball Canada High Performance Director Jeff Dunbrack. “Both coaches have come in and had immediate success with our Canadian teams and have fit in seamlessly with the players and support staff within the National Team program. We are confident they will continue to lead Team Canada toward positive international results as we take on the world in 2018.”
A native of Chambly, Que., Ducharme led the Senior Women’s National Team to a gold medal and undefeated 5-0 record at the Americas Cup. Meanwhile, Feriani, a native of Padua, Italy, coached the Senior Men’s National Team to a silver medal and a 6-1 record in Cali. Team Canada players Patrick Anderson (Fergus, Ont.) and Cindy Ouellet (Quebec, Que.) were both named tournament MVPs at the Americas Cup by the IWBF.
The Canadian teams will centralize next summer at the National Training Centre at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre as they make final preparations for the world championships. The Canadian women are the defending world champions after winning gold as the host nation at the women’s world championship in Toronto in 2014.
The 2018 IWBF World Championships will take place August 16-26, 2018 in Hamburg, Germany and feature 16 men’s teams and 12 women’s teams each vying for the title of world champions.
About Team Canada
The Senior Men’s National Team is one of the most highly respected wheelchair basketball programs in the world. Team Canada reached the podium at four consecutive Paralympic Games from 2000-2012, winning gold medals in 2000, 2004 and 2012, and a silver medal in 2008. The team has also medalled at six of the past eight world championships.
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, a run that includes five gold medals.
About Wheelchair Basketball Canada
Wheelchair Basketball Canada is the national sport 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 seven Paralympic Games. For more information, visit www.wheelchairbasketball.ca.