BC Royals Name team for 2019 CWBL Open National Championship
BC Wheelchair Basketball Society announces athletes to represent British Columbia at 2019 Canadian Wheelchair Basketball League (CWBL) National Championship
April 22, 2019 (Vancouver B.C.) BC Wheelchair Basketball’s top competitive athletes are in their final preparation for the 2019 CWBL National Championship. The 2019 CWBL Championship will be hosted by ParaSport & Recreation PEI in Charlottetown, PEI, April 26 to 28, 2019.
“Having won Silver the last 2 years, losing to Quebec each time, we are heading into the 2019 Nationals with a strong experienced team. We have tough games in our pool as well, CIVA (Quebec) has played the reigning champion Gladiateurs in the tough Quebec league all season, and Saskatchewan is going to be hungry after their bronze finish last year,” said Simon Cass, Head Coach, BC Royals. " Our key will be aggressive defense on one end and balanced scoring on the other."
BC Royals finished off the podium in 4th, 5th and 3rd places in the years before the 2018 2nd place finish in Saskatchewan.
BC Wheelchair Basketball is pleased to announce the following athletes named to the BC Royals travelling to PEI this week:
Kady Dandeneau – 4.5 (Pender Island) Deion Green – 3.5 (Victoria)
Ben Hagkull – 2.5 (Chilliwack) Bo Hedges – 2.5 (Wonowon)
Tara Llanes – 1.5 (North Vancouver) Aidan Love – 1.0 (Victoria)
Amanda Pinheiro (née Yan) – 3.0 (Burnaby) Alphonsus To – 4.5 Vancouver)
Victoria athlete Aidan Love, 2018-19 BCWBS Athlete of the Year, is back with this experienced team with a drive and passion to improve on past performances. “After two years of back to back National Silver medals, I am looking forward to seeing my hard work pay off this year in PEI.”
Kady Dandeneau (Pender Island), Tara Llanes (North Vancouver) and Amanda Pinheiro (Burnaby) have recently returned from the 2019 CWBL Women’s National Championship where they were key members of the Bronze medal BC Breakers team. Dandeneau was named tournament MVP and Llanes was named one of the tournament All Stars.
BC Royals will play against teams from Quebec and Saskatchewan in Pool A. Pool B includes teams from Alberta, Ontario and Quebec.
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 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.
About the CWBL National Championship
The Canadian Wheelchair Basketball League (CWBL) National Championship takes place every spring as competitive club teams from across Canada compete for the title of national champion. This year, the event will take place in Charlottetown, PEI from April 26-28. Schedule and results can be found by going to Wheelchair Basketball Canada.