Press Releases

Canadian women's and men's wheelchair basketball teams play in Toronto in advance of Parapanamerican Games

02 August 2007
TORONTO (August 2) – The Canadian national women’s wheelchair basketball team is among eight countries and club teams participating in the Spitfire Challenge from August 3- 6, 2007 at the Etobicoke Olympium, 590 Rathburn Road in Etobicoke, Ontario.
 
The tournament is an opportunity for the Canadian team to continue its preparation and training for the Parapanamerican Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, taking place August 12-18, 2007.   
 
“The Spitfire Challenge (www.spitfirechallenge.ca) is a good way for all players to gain experience against excellent international competition,” said women’s national wheelchair basketball team head coach Tim Frick. 
 
The men’s national wheelchair basketball team is not competing as a team in the Spitfire Challenge, but is attending the event and will participate in two exhibition games against Japan and Mexico.
 
“Tournament Chair Michael Bryce graciously allowed us to contact the national teams of Japan and Mexico to see if we could play games against them while they are attending the Spitfire Challenge,” says Canada’s men’s wheelchair basketball coach Paul Bowes. “With our qualification tournament for Beijing taking place the following week in Rio, these two games mixed in with five days of training, is the perfect tune up for us.”
 
The Canadian Men will play Japan on August 3 at 11 a.m. and Mexico on August 4 at 9:30 a.m. Both games will take place at the Etobicoke Olympium.
 
The Spitfire Challenge will feature teams from Canada, USA, Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico, Japan, Netherlands, Norway and Germany.
 
Currently Canada’s men’s and women’s teams are World Champions, and they are looking forward to the 2007 Rio Parapanamerican Games as the top three teams there will qualify for the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Summer Games.
 
The media is invited to see the world’s best wheelchair basketball players in action. Many of them are likely to be on the floor in Beijing in 2008.

 

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