BC Breakers Roster Announced for 2018 Women’s National Championship
March 27, 2018 (Vancouver, BC) British Columbia Wheelchair Basketball Society (BCWBS), in partnership with Wheelchair Basketball Canada (WBC), will be hosting the 2018 Canadian Women’s Wheelchair Basketball National Championship April 6-8, 2018.
Host team, BC Breakers will be comprised of proven team members from Team Canada along with some talented rookies. Among these rookies are Kelly Harris (Nanaimo), Megan Smith (Vancouver) and Gloria Chan (Vancouver) who are new to the BC Breakers roster in 2017/2018. Along-side senior national team member Kady Dandeneau (Pender Island) and Paralympian Amanda Pinheiro (Vancouver) will be juniors Ryleigh Bissenden (Victoria) and Lynnette Boland (Pender Island) fresh off the 2018 Junior National Championship earlier this month in Quebec. The BC Breakers hope to build on their 4th place finish at nationals in 2017.
“I am excited by the depth of our team going into Women’s Nationals,” commented Head Coach and Paralympic Gold Medalist, Marni Abbott-Peter. “Our team has been working hard together throughout the season to get ready to host some of the best teams from across the country. It’s going to be a fun weekend of tough competition for all the players and teams.”
The complete roster for the BC Breakers include Vancouver based athletes, Pinheiro (Yan), Makiko Harada, Tara Llanes, Smith and Chan; Vancouver Island based athletes Harris, Bissenden, Boland, Cyndi Ludvigson and Sarah Black, Toronto based Dandeneau and Seattle based Jami Tribby.
“Among the many talented female athletes attending this year, we are excited to have Paralympian Cindy Ouellet, with Team Quebec, joining us straight from the PyeongChang Paralympics,” states BC Wheelchair Basketball Executive Director, Sian Blyth. Ouellet is one of four dual sport Paralympic athletes from 2018 Paralympic Games, who competes for Canada in wheelchair basketball and competes in a second sport, in her case, the sport of Para-Nordic skiing. Joining BC Breakers and Team Quebec, will be Team Saskatchewan and the Edmonton Inferno.
All games will be played at the Richmond Oval, Richmond, BC. The Richmond Oval, built for the 2010 Winter Olympics and was originally configured with a long track speed skating rink is a strong community partner of BCWBS. It acts as an indoor multi-sports arena and hosts a variety of grassroots wheelchair basketball events throughout the season.
About BC Wheelchair Basketball Society
The BC Wheelchair Basketball Society (BCWBS) is the provincial sports governing body which provides support to wheelchair basketball programs throughout BC. BCWBS’s mission is to provide experiences that inspire inclusion, participation and excellence through wheelchair basketball.
About Wheelchair Basketball Canada
Wheelchair Basketball Canada is the national sports governing body responsible for the organization of the sport in Canada. It is a non-profit, charitable organization that is committed to excellence in the development, support and promotion of wheelchair basketball programs and services for all Canadians from grassroots to high performance. Wheelchair basketball is a fast-paced, hard-hitting, competitive sport in which Canada is held in high esteem around the world for winning a combined six gold, one silver, and one bronze medal in the last seven Paralympic Games.
About the Canadian Wheelchair Basketball League
The Canadian Wheelchair Basketball League (CWBL) was founded in 1986 and has two primary divisions: the open division and the women’s division. The league features wheelchair basketball club teams from across Canada and culminates each season with a national league championship for each division. The league is fully integrated as both divisions welcome athletes with a disability as well as able-bodied athletes to play in the spirit of competition. It often features some of the country’s best wheelchair basketball players, including past, present and future members of Team Canada.
For more information
Please contact:
Michelle Comeau
BCWBS Communications Manager
M: 1.403.512.7671
E: michellercomeau@gmail.com
