The International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) announced the competition groups for the 2012 Paralympic Summer Games, which take place August 29 to September 9, in London, England.

There are two groups of six teams each for men’s wheelchair basketball division and two groups of five teams each for women’s division. The Canadian men will compete in Group B while the Canadian women will compete in Group A.

The complete competition groups are as follows:

Men

Group A: Spain, Italy, United States, Turkey, Australia, South Africa
Group B: Germany, Canada, Colombia, Poland, Japan Great Britain

Women

Group A: Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Brazil, Great Britain
Group B: China, United States, Germany, France, Mexico/South Africa (final spot to be determined)

For more information, please visit www.iwbf.org. For more information about the 2012 Paralympic Games, please visit www.london2012.com.

About Team Canada

The Senior Men’s National Team is amongst the top wheelchair basketball teams in the world. The Canadian Men are the defending silver medallists from the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games. They won back-to-back Paralympic gold medals in 2000 and 2004 and have reached the podium at five of the last six consecutive 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 six consecutive World Championships.