The 2011 Coloplast Canadian Wheelchair Rugby National Championships have just begun, but the event has already made history. In its round-robin game against British Columbia, Team Saskatchewan became the first wheelchair rugby team to ever play an all-female lineup. 

Though wheelchair rugby is a coed sport and women have played since the beginning, female athletes remain rare. Team Saskatchewan, however, has four – more than any other team in the world – and today Miranda Biletski, Kristen McBride, Jessie Staples and Cory Harrower proved that they could hold their own in this male-dominated sport. The squad outscored its opponents 12 – 8 and was Saskatchewan’s most successful lineup. 

”I thought we rocked it,” said Biletski. “[The all-female lineup] is like our secret weapon now.” 

According to Team Canada Head Coach Kevin Orr, Saskatchewan owes its success to the presence of role models like Biletski and Harrower, both of whom are on the national team. 

“It’s amazing that a province as small as Saskatchewan can recruit so many female athletes and I think it’s because of Cory and Miranda,” he said. “The reason Canada has more women on its national team than any other country is because we have strong female athletes out there inspiring the next generation to get involved.” 

According to Saskatchewan Head Coach Kevin Kirkup, however, Saskatchewan’s size is actually an advantage. “We have to find every possible player we have,” he said. “We’re a small province so we need every available body: female, male, whatever.” 

It’s no surprise that Canada is once again breaking ground in wheelchair rugby. The sport – originally called Murderball because of its high level of contact – was invented in Winnipeg in 1977. Since then, wheelchair rugby has been exported to 34 countries worldwide and continues to grow. 

But though women still make up less than five percent of wheelchair rugby players, Biletski hopes that the numbers will soon rise. 

“We’ve come a long way,” she said. “People are starting to realize the advantage of having women on their team and it’s just going to get better from here.” 

Wheelchair rugby action continues Saturday and Sunday at the Physical Activity Center at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. To see the full schedule and results, please visitwww.cwsa.ca/en/site . To see a video blog about this article, please visit:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PCHVLvGnBs 


About Wheelchair Rugby 
Wheelchair rugby is a team sport for male and female athletes with a mobility-related disability in at least three limbs. It is a unique sport created by athletes with a disability that combines some elements of basketball, handball, and ice hockey. The object of the game is to carry the ball across the opposing team's goal line. Two wheels must cross the goal line for a goal to count, and the player must have firm control of the ball when he or she crosses the line. All wheelchair rugby players compete in manual wheelchairs. Players must meet the minimum disability criteria of the sport and must be classifiable under the sport classification rules. 

For more information or to schedule an interview contact: 
Arley McNeney 
Communications Coordinator – Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association 
1-778-788-9091 
arley@cwsa.ca 

Andrea Muir 
Event Chair 
306-241-1157 
swsa@shaw.ca 

On the web: www.cwsa.ca/en/site 
Facebook: facebook.com/wheelsportscanada 
YouTube: youtube.com/WheelsportsCanada