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Canadian Paralympic Committee celebrates Canada Day in London, England with Paralympic gold medallists and National Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team

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Canadian Paralympic Committee celebrates Canada Day in London, England with Paralympic gold medallists and National Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team

24 June 2011

LONDON, June 27, 2011 – Athletes from the Canadian Women’s National Wheelchair Basketball Team – one of Canada’s most successful sports squads of all time – will join the Canadian Paralympic Committee to celebrate Canada’s 144th birthday as part of Canada Day in London, England on July 1, 2011.

Members of the public and media are also invited to meet Mandeville, the London 2012 Paralympic Games mascot, and try their hand at wheelchair basketball free throws.

WHO: Canadian Women’s National Wheelchair Basketball Team, including Paralympic gold medallists Chantal Benoit (Mont-Saint-Hilaire, QC), Tracey Ferguson (Holland Landing, ON) and Kendra Ohama (Calgary, AB), Gaétan Tardif (Toronto, ON), Canadian Paralympic Team Chef de mission for the London 2012 Paralympic Games and Elisabeth Walker-Young (Vancouver, BC), Canadian Paralympic Team Assistant Chef de mission for the London 2012 Paralympic Games
WHAT: Wheelchair basketball demonstration, athlete autographs and interview opportunities with Paralympic athletes and team leaders, plus opportunity for media and public to take wheelchair basketball free throws and participate in a game against the National team
WHERE: Trafalgar Square, London, UK, Information booth and wheelchair basketball demonstration by Entrance C
WHEN: July 1, 2011, 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.: Wheelchair basketball demonstration and 10:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.: Canadian Paralympic Committee information booth

Public and media are invited to take wheelchair basketball free throws throughout the day

Backgrounder

The Canadian team is looking forward with great anticipation to the London 2012 Paralympic Summer Games to be held from August 29 to September 9, 2012. Over 150 athletes and thousands of patriotic Canadians will be making themselves seen and heard in London during the Games!

“We are encouraged by the support shown for our Canadian Paralympic athletes,” said Gaétan Tardif, the Canadian Paralympic Team’s Chef de mission for the London 2012 Paralympic Games. “An estimated 200,000 Canadians live in the UK and more than one million visit each year. We’d like to invite every one of them to wear red and white on Canada Day and throughout the Games to cheer us on!”

Building on the great success of the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, Canada is looking to continue its winning ways at future Paralympic Games. The Canadian Paralympic Team is aiming to finish in the Top-8 nations at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, based on gold medal count.

At last year’s Canada Day in London celebrations, a crowd of 50,000 people took part. This year, 75,000 are expected. It’s the sixth year of the event.

“Canada Day is a perfect occasion to celebrate our Canadian Paralympic athletes who compete for Canada and bring pride to our nation,” said Tardif. “To be in Great Britain is especially meaningful as it is the birthplace of the modern Paralympic Movement, thanks to Dr. Ludwig Guttman. What started with one sport, archery, grew into the Stoke Mandeville Games in 1948. Since then, the Paralympics have grown to become one of the world’s largest sporting events.”

Tardif will be onsite for Canada Day in London, along with the Canadian Paralympic Team’s London 2012 Assistant Chef de Mission, Elisabeth Walker-Young. Tardif has been involved in six previous Canadian Paralympic Team missions and Walker-Young is an accomplished swimmer who competed at four Paralympic Games and won six Paralympic medals.

Also on Canada Day, the Canadian Paralympic Committee will participate in the National Capital Commission’s Canada Day festivities in at Major’s Hill Park, in Ottawa, Canada.

About the Canadian Women’s National Wheelchair Basketball Team

The Canadian Women’s National Wheelchair Basketball Team is the only wheelchair basketball team to have won three Paralympic gold medals in a row (1992, 1996 and 2000) and four World Championships in a row (1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006). The 12-woman squad includes three athletes who were part of that winning streak: Chantal Benoit (Mont-Saint-Hilaire, QC), Tracey Ferguson (Holland Landing, ON) and Kendra Ohama (Calgary, AB). Canada is also a leader in developing new talent and will host the inaugural 2011 Women's U25 World Championships in St. Catharines, Ontario, July 15 to 21. For more information, visit wheelchairbasketball.ca.

About the Canadian Paralympic Committee

The Canadian Paralympic Committee is a non-profit, private organization with 46 member sports organizations dedicated to strengthening the Paralympic movement. The Canadian Paralympic Committee’s vision is to be the world’s leading Paralympic nation. Its mission is to lead the development of a sustainable Paralympic sport system in Canada to enable athletes to reach the podium at the Paralympic Games. By supporting Canadian Paralympic athletes and promoting their success, the Canadian Paralympic Committee inspires all Canadians with a disability to get involved in sport through programs delivered by its member organizations. For more information, visit www.paralympic.ca.