BCWBS and Douglas College hosted the BC Breakers Wheelchair Basketball Festival on March 21/22 at Douglas College in New Westminster. BC Breakers played games against the Calgary Rollers and Edmonton Inferno women’s clubs from Alberta in preparation for women’s nationals in April. 22 players from BC and two women’s clubs from Alberta attended the festival along with 8 coaches and several volunteers.
Legendary wheelchair basketball Coach Tim Frick and new BCWBS program coach Jason Costa worked with brand new and development players from across the province. They learned various fundamental skills and also played in a fun but competitive game with the Breakers players. The newly formed Greater Vancouver Women’s wheelchair basketball club had several members attend the event and also held a planning meeting to work out some details and plans for their club. Check out their Facebook page GVWWB for more information. https://www.facebook.com/GVWWB
BC Breakers, the defending National champions, have only 3 veteran players returning from the 2014 squad so will face tough match ups against experienced clubs from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Quebec at this year’s finals to be held in Calgary April 17-19, 2015 at Mount Royal University. Stayed tuned to the BCWBS website and Facebook pages for results.
2015 BC Breakers announced after the weekend are as below:
Jessica Vliegenthart (Kamloops)
Stephanie Park (Maple Ridge)
Amanda Yan (Burnaby)
Cyndi Lawson (Nanaimo)
Kady Dandenau (Pender Island)
Sara Black (Victoria)
Kelly Law (Victoria)
Wendy Jansen (Kelowna)
Coach: Marni Abbott-Peter (Vancouver)
Thank-you to the coaches, officials, volunteers and BCWBS staff who made the festival a great success. Also big thanks to the massage therapy students from Vancouver Career College and physiotherapist Katie Pauhl (former BC Breaker) who provided massage and athletic therapy support to all of the athletes. We would also like to express our appreciation to our long-time community partner Douglas College, the Province of BC and Viasport for their support in running this event.
Game Results:
Day 1
Calgary Rollers vs BC Breakers 50-37
Edmonton Inferno vs Calgary Rollers 48-57
Edmonton Inferno vs BC Breakers 60-43
Day 2
BC Breakers vs Edmonton Inferno 46-68
Edmonton Inferno vs Calgary Rollers 58-48
BC Breakers vs Calgary Rollers 44-67
You can check out the photos from the Festival taken by Gerry Kripps here.
