Team Canada

The 2009 Americas Cup is a qualifying tournament that features nearly 100 of the top male wheelchair basketball players in the Western Hemisphere representing 8 teams from North and South America. Participants are competing on this elite international stage not only for pride of country, but the top three teams are guaranteed the opportunity to attend the next major international tournament – the 2010 World Wheelchair Basketball Championships in Birmingham England.

For the hosting Canadian Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Team this tournament is the marquee event of the summer; it highlights a devoted training schedule that propels the team ever closer to their goal of defending their title as current World Champions. The Americas Cup also presents Team Canada with the opportunity to square off against a perennial foe in the United States, whose talented core of players usually find a way of turning the intensity way up when facing their Northern neighbour. This will be the first time the two powerhouse teams meet since Canada defeated the USA in a double overtime thriller to advance to the championship games at the last Paralympic Games in Beijing.

The newly constructed Richmond Olympic Oval is a state-of-the art facility that provides the ideal venue to showcase the tremendous skill and technique of the sport, while the beautiful city of Richmond, British Colombia and nearby Vancouver provide the picturesque backdrop. Some of the top Paralympians in the world are on hand to thrill spectators with the ferocity, speed and control that has earned wheelchair basketball a reputation as a premiere high performance sport.