CANADA UNDEFEATED AT WHEELCHAIR RUGBY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

(Gothenburg, Sweden) The Canadians have swept their pool at the Wheelchair Rugby World Championships in Gothenburg, and are in the medal round.

Canada became the first team to ever defeat the highly regarded American team in an international competition.  The USA winning streak at World Championships and Paralympic Games was stopped by a methodical and composed team of athletes who know their southern neighbours very well.  Team Canada is coached by former US Wheelchair Rugby Paralympic athlete Joseph Soares, and is assisted by Benoit Labrecque from Québec City.

Twelve teams qualified for these world championships, which only occur every four years, with Canada seeded 4th, and competing in a pool along with the United States (1st), Sweden (5th), Switzerland (8th), Japan (9th) and Austria (12th).

The other pool consists of Australia (2nd), New Zealand (3rd), Great Britain (6th), Germany (7th), Belgium (10th) and The Netherlands (11th).

The Canadian National Wheelchair Rugby team entered the world championships seeded 4th, after a disappointing result at the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, Australia. The Canadians medalled at the 1998 World Championships (bronze) earned a silver medal at the 1996 Paralympic Games, where rugby was a demonstration sport, and another silver at the inaugural World Championships in Notwil, Switzerland, in 1995.

Team Canada now plays the Cinderella Team from the other pool, Belgium, which upset higher ranked teams from New Zealand, Great Britain, and Germany, to earn the right to be in the medal round. The US team will play the #1 team from the other pool, the 2000 Paralympic silver medallists from Australia. The winners of these two games will be in the gold medal game on Sunday, while the two losing teams will meet for the bronze.

The World Championships in wheelchair rugby are held every four years, and are recognized by the International Paralympic Committee and the International Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Sports Federation. Teams are pre-qualified for the world championships through results at zonal qualification meets and their previous results at the Paralympic Games and World Championships. The Paralympic Games serve as the World Championships on an alternating basis every four years, giving the sport a high profile top-level competition every two years.

The Canadian National Wheelchair Rugby Team consists of:

Mike Bacon 37 Saskatoon, SK
Dany Bélanger 37 Montréal, QC
Ian Chan 25 Richmond, BC
Adam Frost 33 Vancouver, BC
Dave Gagné 25 Québec, QC
Garett Hickling 31 Kelowna, BC (Co-Captain)
Daniel Paradis 40 Québec, QC
Allan Semeniuk 35 Saskatoon, SK
Patrice Simard 23 Québec, QC
Daryl Stubel 36 Regina, SK
Mike Whitehead 26 London, ON
David Willsie 34 London, ON (Co-Captain)

Joseph Soares Coach Tampa, FL
Benoit Labrecque Asst. Coach Québec, QC
Marco Dispaltro Team Manager St-Jérôme, QC
Jennifer Cadieux Medical Ottawa, ON
Stéphan Charbonneau Equip. Manager St-Jérôme, QC
Cathy Cadieux Team Leader Ottawa, ON