BC Wheelchair Society announces athletes to represent British Columbia at 2023 Canada Winter Games
December 16, 2022 (Vancouver B.C.) BC Wheelchair Basketball’s top Canada Games prospects hosted Team Alberta and Team Quebec in a Canada Winter Games warm tournament this past weekend. The final selections were made after this tournament as to which athletes will represent Team BC at the upcoming 2023 Canada Winter Games, in Charlottetown, PEI.
Since the 2019 Canada Winter Games, the players have been participating in a variety of tournaments with their BC-CWBL teams and at a few additional junior aged tournaments. This included the 2022 Junior National Championship which took place in June 2022 as a test event for the upcoming PEI 2023 games where Team BC won Gold.
“We are excited to announce our final twelve (12) that will be heading to PEI in February to represent Team BC,” states Team BC Coach, Simon Cass (Victoria). “The coaches have had some incredibly difficult decisions, since the pool of 16 we've been working with for the last several years is of a very high caliber. In my personal wheelchair basketball career, I have not been in a situation where so many players deserved a spot on this team. We're very proud of all of them. With that being said, now we look forward to how we can maximize our opportunities with these 12.”
BC Wheelchair Basketball is happy to announce our 2023 Canada Games Team travelling to PEI in February:
Joel Aukema* (Langley) Lannette Boland* (Pender Island)
Joel Ewert* (Prince George), Elise Froese (Fraser Valley)
Benjamin Garrett* (Abbotsford) Benjamin Hagkull* (Chilliwack).
Gabriel Harrison* (Pender Island), Keaton MacEachern (Chilliwack),
Matthew Norris* (Maple Ridge), Megan Smith* (Vancouver),
Nicholas van Bakel* (Pender Island), Jeffer Ward (Vancouver).
*denotes athletes who competed in the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer, Alberta.
Alternate Team Members:
Lily Brook (Salmon Arm) Riley Stiles (Prince George) Brandon Twaites (Fraser Valley)
Photo Credit: Victory Creative Group
“We just completed a great test event against Team Alberta and Team Quebec, two of the top seeded teams in the country, and we have 2 more training camps after the holidays; providing plenty of opportunities to get better before we all get on the plane,” commented Cass. “I can't wait to get our team to PEI so we can enjoy our experience on and off the court.”Joining this tremendous group of athletes will be Team BC Head Coach, Simon Cass (Victoria), Assistant Coaches Marni Abbott-Peter (Vancouver), and Tim Frick (Pender Island).
Good luck to all the teams on what should be a great tournament.
Click for Tournament Schedule.
